Few things say "summer" like a day at the beach. From soaking up the rays, to feeling the sand between your toes, to lounging under an umbrella and finishing a book, a relaxing day by the sea is the perfect way to spend a sunny day. A recent poll showed that 65% of vacationing families prefer to spend their time at a tropical location, and according to the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans take approximately two billion trips to the beach each year!

But unfortunately, it's not always a picnic. A trip to the shore can quickly be ruined by an errant wave, a startled sea creature, or a serious sunburn. Luckily, most bad beach days can be cured with a few aspirin and a coat of aloe vera, but sadly many serious injuries are more common than we'd like to believe. In fact, according to the 2015 statistics from the United States Lifesaving Association, the American Lifeguard Safety and Drowning Statistics showed that almost 14,000 major medical aids were provided and almost 324,000 minor medical aids. It can be scary, and even overwhelming, to consider the possibilities standing in the way of a joyous occasion, so we have gathered some top beach safety tips to keep you and your family healthy this summer.

1. Be Aware of Warning Signs

Literally! Most public and state beaches have color-coded signs at their entry points advising you on potentially hazardous conditions. If you don't see a sign, or can't interpret the meaning of flags, check with a lifeguard or park ranger. In most cases, red flags indicate strong surf and dangerous currents--make sure the beach is open. Yellow flags are typically indicative of moderate conditions where extra caution should be taken. Green flags are a go for normal, safe conditions, although care should still be exercised when swimming. Black or purple flags warn of a potentially dangerous marine life presence, such as sharks, manta ray populations, or jellyfish, meaning that while the sand is safe, the water should be avoided. If you notice any unsafe conditions, report them to a lifeguard or park ranger immediately and warn other beach-goers.

2. Practice Swimming Safety

Before you or your family members go for a dip, be sure you're confident swimmers, even if it's a strong dog paddle. Even strong swimmers can be victims to drowning, so be sure to understand the differences between pool and ocean swimming. Ocean floors aren't flat, and sands shift constantly creating an unstable bottom. Beach conditions change from year to year, so a park you've previously swam at might be an entirely new environment than it was during previous visits. Tides and currents change rapidly, especially in inclement weather, and even confident swimmers can experience exhaustion, fatigue, and injury if they aren't careful. Make sure that small children and adults who can't swim suit up in a life vest--and see that it's properly fitted. All water babies should practice the buddy system. Not only is it more fun, but it can save your life.

3. Practice Safe and Sober Fun

It may be tempting to throw back a few ice cold beers while you're soaking up the rays, but nearly 22% of all fatal drownings involved alcohol usage. Not only does liquor impair your judgement, but it can dehydrate you, making you more susceptible to heat-related injuries, such as heatstroke. If you plan to drink on the beach, be sure to stay clear of the water--unless you're drinking it! Invite a few friends who plan to stay sober, just in case someone has a few too many and needs assistance. And as always, be sure to check your beach or state park's laws, as some prevent alcohol on the shore entirely.

4. Protect Yourself from the Sun

It only takes one blistering sunburn in childhood or adolescence to double your chances for melanoma later in your life. Make sure you are coating yourself in sunblock with an SPF of at least 35, if not higher, and reapply often as stated by the package directions. Buy new sunblock each season, as it can expire and lose effectiveness. While SPF is a great start, it's wise to invest in a large brimmed hat, an umbrella, sunglasses, and clothing with SPF treated fabric. Don't neglect the backs of hands, the tops of feet, or your scalp--all skin is sensitive to burns! And just because the sun may not be shining doesn't give you a reason to skip protection. Plenty of sun damage happens on overcast days when the UV index is at its peak.

5. Under the Sea

While most sea life isn't harmful, it's wise to be aware of potential risks while bobbing beneath the waves. The most common fear are shark attacks, which aren't that common, coming it at an average of 19 per year, with only one every two years being fatal. What you should be looking out for are barnacles, mussels, and razor clams, whose shells are sharp enough to slice through skin. Suit up in some aqua booties and always maintain awareness of where you're stepping.

Before the season of sun and fun is in full swing, why not spend a gorgeous springtime weekend getting your favorite beach ready for summer? There's no need to wait for International Beach Cleanup Day--which is September 17th--to get your shoreline in tiptop shape. It might sound like a whole load of work outside your capabilities, but hosting a cleanup is actually pretty simple.

Each year, beach and ocean trash present a serious problem to the biological health of our coasts. Not only does the litter make the land unattractive, but fish, animals, and plant life in the tides can be fatally endangered by waste. While you may not be able to host your own animal rescue, you can definitely make a major impact on how much garbage finds it's way into the waters in the first place by following our easy guide to tackling the trash.

Step One: Identify the beach or state park you want to clean!

Unlike other social activities, you don't need a permit or reservation to host a beach clean-up. Simply identify which part of the coastline you'd like to take care of--keep in mind your local park systems may have different regulations, so check with the park officials to make sure you don't need to do anything special beforehand. Keep in mind that on busy weekends parking can be limited, so pick a time and location where you and your crew can easily get to work.

Step Two: Send out invites!

Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are awesome ways to connect with your community and build a trash-tackling team. Invite your friends, family, and neighbors to participate, and use an event planning app such as Evites, Facebook, or Eventful to keep track of attendees. Let your guests know they can bring friends, and encourage everyone to bring some snacks, drinks, or food to grill after the clean-up. After all, you're already at the beach, might as well turn it into a party! Remind your guests to bring any clean-up supplies you might need, which leads us to...

Step Three: Gather your supplies!

Depending on the severity of the mess, you'll want to bring a good amount of compostable bio-degradable trash bags, gloves, scissors, mechanical pick-up devices, a recycling container, water, and plenty of sunblock. If there is a risk for biological waste or drug paraphernalia, be sure to wear close toed shoes and instruct children not to pick up any needles. As well, depending on your local flora and fauna, some potentially dangerous animals, such as the toxic blue-ringed octopus, can live in shoreline trash and present a health hazard to humans. Exercise caution when picking up any containers with holes in them to make sure you're not intruding on anything dangerous. And on that note, be sure to grab a first-aide kit, just in case anyone does get hurt.

If you're low on funds, ask local grocery stores, big box stores, or food banks if they can donate cleaning supplies. Most local libraries have tool lending libraries where you might be able to get some helpful items. Swap sites like Craigslist and LetGo should not be overlooked, as people are frequently giving away leftover household items.

Step Four: Rally the troops!

Have everyone meet at the agreed upon time and place. Begin your cleanup by dividing up the section of beach, including the parking lot, and pairing people up in teams. This is a good way to make new friends or reconnect with people you haven't seen for awhile, so have fun with it! Make three playlists of beach-themed songs that last one hour, and at the end of every playlist have everyone take a break together. When all three are done, the beach should be in good shape and you should be ready to party!

Make sure to have information on hand for closest restrooms, dumpsters, recycling disposal, and park rangers. Take a few minutes before the cleanup starts to update everyone on the plan for the day as well as resources, then get going.

Step Five: Educate, educate, educate

If you see people hanging out, invite them to join your group or at least let them know what you're doing. Environmental protection shouldn't fall on any one person's shoulders, and if they're out enjoying the waves, chances are they might be interested in helping keep them clean. Even if people aren't there to join you, take pictures of the event and live Tweet or Instagram it--not only will this be a fun way of documenting your day, but you will set a great example to other people and perhaps inspire them to host their own beach cleanup. Do a blog post talking about how you approached the event and share your resources!

Step Six: Do it again!

By now you're a total pro at this thing, so schedule another cleanup later in the summer or get in touch with a local environmental group to be part of their cleanups.

See? Doesn't that seem a lot easier and more fun than you might've thought? Are you ready to get out there and keep the coast clean? If so, let us know in the comments of any helpful hints or suggestions you might have.

Spring break wasn’t all fun and games for Oregon fourth grader Henry Kreckman. The youngster returned to school at Netherwood Knoll Elementary with a wound on his chest and the perfect story for how he spent his vacation—getting bit by a shark.

Henry’s parents, Clint and Sara, described the strange encounter with a nurse shark in the waters off a resort where the family was vacationing in the Bahamas, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.

“It was clamped onto his chest,” said Clint of the 2.5 foot long nurse shark. 

Henry, age 9, was on the beach with his mother, brother Jack and two other friends when they saw the nurse shark in shallow water. The family was content to leave the shark undisturbed, but an unidentified man intervened. He took the shark out of the water by the end of it’s tail and welcomed the boys to “pet the shark.” Although the boys refused, the man lost control of the shark and it latched itself to Henry’s chest. 

“I heard Henry screaming ‘get it off me, get it off me,’ I stand up and my friend goes running up the beach yelling ‘shark bite’ and I go running into the water,” Sara said. The man brought her bleeding son to the beach after removing the nurse shark from his chest. 

Luckily, Sara is a pediatrician and was able to treat her son immediately. She described the injury as “a triangle bruise the size of a tennis ball” with “puncture wounds at the top and bottom.” Henry’s shirt also suffered damage, with a perfect hole left in the center. Sara, prepared for emergencies, had a supply of First Aide items and acknowledged that the injury looked worse than it was. 

The man who provoked the shark disappeared, but was described by Sara as being in his late 20s. His identity remains unknown, and although he likely wasn’t attempting to hurt anyone, the Kreckman family is lucky Henry walked away with nothing more than a bruise. 

These sorts of attacks do nothing to improve the reputation of sharks, who are assumed to be vicious predators just waiting to attack innocent humans. Nurse sharks in particular are gentle, slow-moving bottom dwellers, not commonly associated with attacking humans. Although they have strong jaws, they are generally harmless to swimmers. But like any animal, if they are provoked or threatened by people in their environment (or lifting them out of their environment) they can become defensive. Fortunately, this specimen was on the smaller side, as Nurse sharks can grow up to 14 feet. A larger shark could’ve done permanent damage.

It’s important to remember that no wildlife should be considered docile or tampered with. These creatures are here for us to observe, appreciate, and study from afar, and the animals cannot be blamed for following their instincts. Sadly, in most cases it’s the animal who suffers worse than meddling humans, as often they are killed or grievously injured at the hands of intruders to their environment. Please be sure not to handle ANY sharks you see in the wild and if you see anyone behaving irresponsibly, notify the nearest professional or confront them politely.