As a physician-investigator in pediatric critical care at Mass General for Children, Michael Flaherty, DO is committed to providing the best care for injured children and conducting research to reduce the chances of those injuries happening in the first place.

Dr. Flaherty is working on the forefront of pediatric injury prevention by incorporating scientific data into his education and outreach efforts.

He works with the MGH Trauma and Injury Prevention Program to investigate ways to decrease preventable injuries including sports-related concussion, off-road vehicle injuries, and teenage motor vehicle crashes and is interested in the effect of legislation and policy changes on the rates of preventable injuries.

Dr. Flaherty also started a subsection of an organization called the Injury Free Coalition for Kids, a national injury prevention collaboration among physicians, social workers and injury prevention experts. Coalition members, which represent a range of patient demographics and areas of care, meet monthly at Mass General to discuss injury prevention research and community advocacy.

In collaboration with Dr. Flaherty, the Mass General Research Institute’s Summer Safety Awareness Campaign is geared toward sharing science-based strategies to reduce the risk of preventable injuries to children this summer.   

Our first series features safety tips relating to heat and sun exposure

With much of the country currently experiencing record high temperatures over the past week, it’s hard not to be aware of the dangers posed by the hot weather.  Here are five ways to limit the dangers posed by high temperatures and bright sun:

In addition to being painful, sunburns can lead to blisters, headache, fever, nausea and other unpleasant symptoms.  Apply sunscreen to your face and whole exposed body parts (SPF50 at least) and remember to reapply every two hours. Consider reapplying sooner if you are in the pool/ocean

It is important to hydrate ourselves, particularly after prolonged exposures to the heat or after multiple days of hot weather. If you know you will be exposed to the heat from more than an hour, plan accordingly and prepare yourself with bottled water and other refreshments. You may need to drink more water than usual to stay hydrated and may want to moderate your intake of beverages with alcohol or caffeine, which can have a dehydrating effect.

Wearing the right clothing is particularly important for long exposure to the heat and hot sun during the peak sunlight hours between (10 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.). Experts recommend wearing lightweight, loose-fitting clothing made of natural fabrics such as cotton, linen and silk. While it may seem counterintuitive to wear pants or long sleeves on a hot day, the added sun protection that they provide can be a big plus.

Whenever possible, wear a wide-brimmed hat (and/or sunglasses) to protect your face and eyes from UV rays. Eyes can get sunburned just like skin and become watery, gritty, itchy or sensitive to light. A loose fitting, wide brim hat made of lightweight, breathable material can help to shield your face, scalp and neck from sun damage while still letting air circulate.

During an extended heat wave, make plans to visit to an air-conditioned space, seek out shade or take advantage of local resources such as public pools, cooling centers and sprinkler parks to beat the heat. The City of Boston website provides a list of local cooling centers, more tips, fact sheets and heat-relief resources in multiple languages for residents, and many other cities and towns across Massachusetts and nationwide have heat relief resources posted online as well.