Summer health advice abounds from the Weill Cornell Medical College's Web site from Dr. Holly Andersen, director of education and outreach at the Ronald O. Perelman Heart Institute at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, where she details numerous tips on:

* Exercising safely during the summer;

* Making healthy sunglass choices;

* Protecting "tweens" and teens from sun damage;

* Slimming down for swimsuit season;

* Helping seniors keep their cool during summer heat waves and preventing heat-related injuries;

* Preparing children for summer camp;

* Treating sports injuries with the R.I.C.E. (rest, ice, compress, elevate) method;

* Preventing summertime sniffles and other allergic reactions;

* Celebrating safely and responsibly;

* Preparing for vacation with a health checklist; and

* Avoiding burns from barbecues, fireworks and other activities that can pose hazards.

Some of the advice is not necessarily what you've heard a million times before. For example, she notes that ophthalmologists recommend that when buying sunglasses, darker sunglasses don't necessarily provide better protection against the sun. "The lens tint should block 80 percent of transmissible light, but no more than 90 percent to 92 percent of light; neutral gray, amber, brown or green are good colors to choose from," she writes.

The article also recommends sunglasses that wrap all the way around the temples and even people who wear contact lenses that offer UV protection should still wear UV-protected sunglasses, as should children. "Remember that the eyes of very small infants should always be shaded from direct exposure to the sun," Andersen writes.

And take strict precautions to avoid severe sunburns. "Even one blistering sunburn can increase your risk of skin cancer. As few as five sunburns can double your risk of skin cancer," says Dr. Anjali Dahiya, a dermatologist at the Iris Cantor Women's Health Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

Teenage girls should be particularly careful, stresses the article, "since melanoma, a potentially fatal skin cancer, is the most common cancer in young women between the ages of 25 and 29. Much of the damage from the sun in these young women will already have occurred in their teens."

The article recommends using self-tanning creams in lieu of tanning beds, which "are not good for anyone. Teenagers and young adults looking to get that perfect tan should use tanning creams to get a safe summer glow."

Another bit of advice you may not have heard before is to avoid outdoor morning activities if you're prone to allergies, since pollen counts are usually highest in the early to midmorning hours between 5 and 10 a.m., and to shower and shampoo after playing or working outside to avoid symptoms.

For the full list of health tips, see http://weill.cornell.edu/news/releases/wcmc/wcmc_2010/03_16_10.shtml.