Car heat trap
In summer, you just want to go and buy an ice cream or quickly withdraw some money and the baby can wait in the car. That's one of the things you should never do! Because the car can become a life-threatening heat trap within minutes.
How quickly does a stationary car heat up in the sun in summer? And how long can a baby or toddler stay in it? The correct answer is: a car heats up brutally fast - and much faster than is often assumed. Within five to ten minutes, temperatures inside a car can reach up to 50 degrees Celsius.
Cars therefore quickly become a heat trap for babies and small children. After ten minutes at the latest, life-threatening conditions can arise.
What does this mean for all of us? We should be extremely careful never to leave our small children unattended in a parked car in summer. Even if it's just a quick trip to the bank or the bakery. Because something can always come up. Then two minutes become five and five minutes become eight - and then we have a life-threatening emergency with a baby or toddler in the car.
So as a reminder for hot days: take your child out of the car, take them with you, never leave them alone in a parked car. This also applies to the dog.
Opening the window a crack is not a solution either! Temperatures rise just as quickly and to life-threatening levels.
Further interesting tips
Mongolian spot
Medically, our topic today is a very small, harmless one. But it does include a bit of cultural history - and even an excursion tip. It's about the so-called Mongolian spot.
Ticks
My conclusion after almost 15 years as a paediatrician in private practice: tick-borne diseases are probably the most overestimated health risk - at least from the parents' point of view.
U7a screening
Our series of U examinations continues a little irregularly, because U7 is not followed by U8 - but by U7a.