Summer should be a time for play and relaxation, but if you have kids, you know this isn't always the case. If the prospect of sleepaway camp, summer sports, and tick bites are keeping you up at night, here are a few things you can do to get ahead of some of summer's biggest healthcare stressors. 

1. Schedule Your Boosters and Vaccines

Now's the time to make sure every member of the family is up to date on their vaccinations. Summer travel, overnight camps, and the increase in outdoor socializing that comes with the season all create more opportunities for exposure—and the last thing any parent wants is to discover mid-July that a required vaccine was missed.

Talk to your family doctor about the following vaccinations or boosters:

• MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella)
• DTaP/Tdap (Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis)
• Varicella (Chickenpox)
• Polio
• Hepatitis A and B
• Meningococcal
• HPV
• COVID-19 and flu vaccines, when recommended

Sollis Pediatrics includes child well checks and select vaccines, with unlimited center access to stay on top of your child’s preventive care needs on your schedule—not a traditional pediatrician’s six-week waitlist. Whether it’s a routine update or a travel-specific vaccine before an international trip, Sollis members can be seen promptly and get back to planning their summer.

2. Get Physicals Done Sooner Rather than Later

Summer camp is where wonderful memories are made. Unfortunately, it's also an ideal environment for the rapid spread of respiratory and GI illnesses. Strep throat, stomach bugs, respiratory viruses, and a rotating cast of seasonal illnesses circulate through shared bunks, dining halls, and activity spaces with impressive efficiency. 

Few things derail the start of summer faster than a scramble to get your child's camp physical completed. Forms need to be submitted, vaccination records reviewed, and signatures obtained, and unfortunately most families begin this process later than they should.

Something to keep in mind is that camp physicals require forms to be uploaded into the patient’s chart, vaccination records to be reviewed, and—critically—state-specific requirements to be confirmed. A physician licensed in New York, for example, may not be able to sign off on a Florida resident's physical, which means families visiting from Palm Beach who are spending the summer in the Hamptons need to plan ahead.

Sollis offers same-day camp and school physicals, handling health assessments in time for enrollment deadlines with unlimited same-day appointments. But the Sollis team has one strong piece of advice for families: start early. 

3. Have a Plan to Beat the Heat

Sunburns: Sunburns are among the most common summer injuries, and among the most underestimated. A mild burn can be managed at home with cool water, moisturizer, and rest. But moderate to severe burns—those that produce blistering, deep skin discomfort, or signs of infection like spreading redness and swelling—require proper medical assessment and treatment. This means that taking proper precautions during daylight hours is of the utmost importance.

• Cover up and stay hydrated: Apply a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher at least 15 minutes before sun exposure, and reapply every two hours or after swimming and sweating. Wearing lightweight, long-sleeved clothing, a wide-brimmed hat, and UV-protective sunglasses adds an extra layer of defense against harmful UV rays. Seek shade during peak sun hours, typically between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., when the sun's rays are strongest. On the hydration front, aim to drink water consistently throughout the day rather than waiting until you feel thirsty, as thirst is already a sign that your body is becoming dehydrated. Carry a reusable water bottle, and consider drinks with electrolytes if you're sweating heavily. Limiting alcohol and caffeine, which can accelerate fluid loss, will also help you stay properly hydrated and feeling your best.
• Come in when you need care: If you have large blisters or blisters or burns covering a significant area of the body, or your skin looks white, purple, or leathery, it's likely you need medical attention. An urgent care doctor can assess any signs of infection, provide pain management, rule out signs of heat illness or dehydration, and provide wound care if necessary. If you or your child is experiencing confusion, loss of consciousness, a very high fever (above 103°F), or signs of severe heat stroke, as these are medical emergencies that go beyond what urgent care can handle and should be taken to the emergency room.
• How Sollis can help: Sollis provides clinical burn care and pain management for sunburns, with ER-trained physicians available 24 hours a day to evaluate severity, clean and dress affected areas, and prescribe appropriate medications. Our members don’t have to guess whether their or their child’s burn is serious enough for a doctor—they simply call or come in, and get a clear answer fast.

Heat illness: This is a spectrum of conditions that occur when the body is unable to properly regulate its core temperature in response to heat exposure and physical exertion. Heat illness ranges in severity from mild conditions like heat cramps and heat syncope (fainting) to the more serious heat exhaustion, and at its most dangerous, heat stroke. Risk factors for heat illness include prolonged heat exposure, strenuous activity, high humidity, inadequate fluid intake, and certain medications or medical conditions that impair sweating.  

• Know the symptoms: Children are particularly susceptible to heat exhaustion and heatstroke, with overheating escalating easily from uncomfortable to dangerous with alarming speed. Symptoms include heavy sweating, weakness, nausea, confusion, and rapid pulse. 
• Come in when you need care: Heat exhaustion can escalate to heat stroke very quickly, especially for children, so it's better to err on the side of caution. If symptoms don't improve after moving to a cool environment and rehydrating, and additional symptoms like vomiting, fainting, rapid or weak pulse, severe headaches, and prolonged muscle cramps appear, go to urgent care. For symptoms like a body temperature higher than 103°F, lack of sweating, confusion, disorientation, or loss of consciousness, seizures, or slurred speech, take them to the emergency room immediately. 
• How Sollis can help: Sollis Pediatrics is on 24/7 standby with telemedicine and in-person care with rapid diagnostics and on-site procedures including IVs, so children get the relief and care they need without delay—and their parents get a physician’s rapid assessment rather than a worried Google spiral.

 

4. Know the Symptoms of Summer Skin Conditions

Sunburn gets all the attention, but it’s far from the only summer skin problem.

• Impetigo: This highly contagious bacterial skin infection spreads rapidly through camps and shared spaces and is common among children. It typically presents as red sores or blisters that quickly rupture, ooze, and form a characteristic honey-colored crust, most often appearing around the nose, mouth, hands, and forearms.
• Athlete's foot: This common summer fungal infection thrives in warm, wet environments like locker rooms, pools, and sweaty shoes. It causes itching, burning, peeling, and sometimes blistering on the skin between the toes and the soles of the feet. 
• Swimmer’s itch: This common skin reaction is caused by microscopic parasites found in both fresh and saltwater lakes, ponds, and coastal areas. It presents as small, red, intensely itchy bumps or blisters that develop within hours of swimming and can last anywhere from a few days to two weeks. While swimmer's itch is not contagious and does not cause serious illness, the intense itching can be very uncomfortable for and scratching can lead to secondary skin infections.  

What these summer skin conditions have in common is that the correct treatment depends entirely on the correct diagnosis—is it bacterial, fungal, viral, or allergic? Treating a fungal infection with the wrong medication, or dismissing an impetigo outbreak as a minor irritation, can make things significantly worse.

When you're a Sollis member, you have 24/7 access to ER-trained clinicans who can evaluate, diagnose, and prescribe treatment for summer skin conditions on the spot. If you or your child need specialist care from a dermatologist, Sollis can expedite your appointment with a top physician in your area. Rather than bouncing between a GP, a dermatologist, and a pharmacy over several frustrating weeks, Sollis members fast-track and streamline their care, making it harder for a skin condition to disrupt your summer plans. 

5. Be Aware of Insect Bites and Stings

Mosquitoes, bees, wasps, and chiggers are part of summer, but sometimes the nuisance can cross over into medical concern: allergic reactions to stings can become anaphylactic emergencies within minutes and infected bites can escalate into cellulitis and other skin infections if not properly treated.

• Ticks deserve their own conversation, particularly for families spending time in the Northeast. The Hamptons and surrounding areas see heavy tick activity throughout the summer, and tick-borne illnesses like Lyme disease, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, and others are a genuine and growing public health concern. Read our guide to tick bites and Lyme disease here. 
• Chiggers are common in grassy and wooded areas. Their bites leave behind clusters of welts that itch for days. Excessive scratching can break the skin and introduce bacteria, leading to secondary infections like impetigo.
• Bee stings can usually be managed at home, but for the 5-7.5% of Americans with an allergy, a sting can put them at risk for anaphylactic shock. If your child has difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, a tightening throat or difficulty swallowing, a rapid or weak pulse, dizziness or loss of consciousness, nausea or vomiting, or hives or swelling after a bee sting, call 911 or go the ER immediately. 

How Sollis can help with bug bites and stings

Sollis conducts comprehensive tick testing at its Southampton center, covering Lyme disease and the full spectrum of tick-borne illnesses. When treatment decisions are complex, the Sollis team confers directly with infectious disease (ID) specialists — and the care navigation and aftercare team connects members with ID physicians for ongoing management as needed.

If a tick bite is confirmed or suspected, Sollis can administer a prophylactic dose of doxycycline to reduce the risk of infection before illness develops. For pediatric patients, Sollis physicians prescribe age-appropriate antibiotics, since doxycycline is not recommended for young children and alternative protocols apply. Members are encouraged to bring in the tick itself in for identification and testing. Tick identification doesn’t always confirm whether the tick was infected, but it can provide meaningful peace of mind—and occasionally changes the clinical picture entirely.  

6. Save Our Number for Orthopedic Injuries 

Hiking, watersports, cycling, beach volleyball, and backyard activities all carry real injury risk for adults and kids alike. And then there’s pickleball — perhaps the defining athletic story of the last several years, and, as the Sollis team will tell you from direct experience, one of the most reliable causes of orthopedic injuries they see all summer. Tennis courts across the country have been converted to pickleball courts, and the injuries have followed: broken bones, sprains, shoulder problems, ankle fractures. Pickleball’s misleadingly gentle reputation has a way of catching people off guard.

The traditional path for an orthopedic injury is a frustrating multi-stop odyssey: urgent care for an initial evaluation, a referral to an imaging center, then a wait of weeks or months to see an orthopedic specialist.  

Sollis membership includes orthopedic care with on-site imaging, including X-ray, CT, ultrasound, and MRI (available for an additional fee), so the diagnosis can begin in the same visit. When specialist care is needed, Sollis can route members to exactly the right specialist for their specific injury with expedited referrals that are three-times faster than the national average. 

Ready for a Summer with Sollis?

Whether it’s a camp physical in June, a tick bite in July, or a pickleball injury in August, Sollis should be your family’s first call all summer long.