August marks the end of the summer and the beginning of the school year. It’s also the time we celebrate National Family Fun Month along with National Immunization Awareness Month and National Eye Exam Month – so now is the perfect time to plan some time with your family to look after their health and wellbeing – and to have some fun.
If we’ve learned anything in the last year, it’s about the importance of vaccinations. It’s a good idea to review your and your child’s immunization records and get an eye exam each year. The CDC has posted vaccination schedules based on age on their website.
The CDC recommends getting:
· Annual flu shot
· COVID-19 vaccine (starting at age 12)
· Tetanus, chickenpox and or shingles vaccine (age dependent)
· HPV (starting at age 9)
· Meningitis vaccine
· Hepatitis A and/or B vaccine
· Pneumonia vaccine – PCV13 (pneumococcal conjugate) for children under 2 and those with certain medical conditions, PPSV23 (pneumococcal polysaccharide) is suggested for adults 65 and older, those with certain conditions, and adults ages 19 to 64 who smoke
· MMR
Annual eye exams are also recommended for all. During a comprehensive eye exam, your eye doctor can observe and evaluate the health and condition of the blood vessels in your retina, which are a good predictor of the health of blood vessels throughout your body. Conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia all are visible by changes in the appearance of the retinal blood supply and blood vessels.
Children should also get eye exams. They often don’t speak up if they have poor vision, because they don’t recognize anything is wrong. An annual eye exam is the only way to ensure your child is seeing clearly and comfortably to succeed in the classroom. In addition, the number of children developing nearsightedness is growing faster than ever.
After taking care of your family’s health needs, take advantage of the rest of the month to have some fun together before school starts.
- Aug. 1: Play Outside Day Visit these six awesome parks in Louisville.
- Aug. 2: Ice Cream Sandwich Day. Take a walk across the bridge and get an ice cream treat at the Widows Walk!
- Aug. 3: International Friendship Day. Have your kids reconnect with a school mate while being active and playing games!
- Aug. 4: Chocolate Chip Cookie day. Try the new Crumbl Cookie’s in Middletown – considered the “world’s best cookie.”
- Aug. 6: Root Beer Float Day. Check out one of these 10 best places to buy a root beer float!
- Aug. 7: Water-Balloon Day. No better way to enjoy a hot day than a water-balloon toss!
- Aug. 8: Bowling Day. Go to one of these great bowling locations in and around Louisville!
- Aug. 10: S’more Day. What a great way to end a Tuesday!
- Aug. 11: Hip Hop Day. Have a dance party with some old-school tunes!
- Aug. 12: International Youth Day. Get creative and use this day throughout the final weekend before school starts – maybe even offer your kids a “YES” day!
Spend time in August looking out for your family’s health and be sure to have some laughs before it’s time to head back to school.