Music Festival Season Starts with Sueños

Although this has turned out to be an unseasonably cold spring, Sueños Music Festival this weekend is a reminder that summer is right around the corner. CDPH urges Chicago residents to exercise summer festival safety, first and foremost of which are harm reduction basics.

Harm reduction is the practice of minimizing the negative social and/or physical consequences associated with human behaviors, both legal and illegal. For summer festival season this means staying hydrated, engaging in crowd safety, knowing the signs of a heat stroke, carrying Narcan and testing drugs before consumption. Visit any Chicago Public Library branch or bit.ly/FindNarcan to access free Narcan® or email osu.cdph@cityofchicago.com to request fentanyl, xylazine, or nitazene test kits.

Healthy and Safe Swimming Week

Swimming is a fun, healthy way to stay physically active and spend quality time with family and friends, but practicing proper swim safety is paramount for people of all ages. The CDC's Healthy and Safe Swimming Week highlights the roles that swimmers, caregivers, aquatics and beach staff, residential pool owners, and public health officials play in preventing disease outbreaks, pool chemical injuries, and drowning. Take the following steps to ensure everyone can enjoy the water safely:

• Watch kids closely when they are in or around water. Avoid distracting activities like being on a phone.
• Know how to recognize and respond to a swimmer in distress and how to perform CPR.
• Teach children basic swimming and water safety skills.
• Take regular breaks to make sure nobody is running out of energy in the water.
• Pee in the toilet, not in the pool!

Visit the CDC's Healthy Swimming toolkit online for more information on best practices while enjoying the water this summer.

CDPH Recognizes Memorial Day

This coming Monday, May 26, is Memorial Day in the United States. CDPH, along with all City departments, recognizes this federal holiday, and all CDPH offices and clinics will be closed. We wish all Chicagoans a fun, safe, and healthy long weekend!

Healthy Chicago Podcast

Episode 85 [SPANISH]: Have you ever had an unexpected reaction after trying a new perfume, moving into a different home, or ordering something unfamiliar at a restaurant? You might be dealing with an allergy, and not even know it.

In the latest episode of our podcast, we talk with Virginia Morgan, a nurse practitioner specializing in family medicine at OSF HealthCare. She breaks down what allergies are, how they develop, and how you can find out if you're allergic to something.

We also dive into asthma: how to tell the difference between asthma and allergies, how to spot symptoms early, and the most effective ways to manage it.

Listen or watch the newest episodes on YouTube, Spotify, Apple and the CDPH website.

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