Tips to have safe, happy summer

Summer officially started early Wednesday, and so before anyone gets a slash from a stingray or pulled out to sea in a riptide, here’s a reminder of a few safety tips that will keep you in action this summer instead of on the sidelines.

First, if you’re going out in the sun, wear sunscreen. A recent Mayo Clinic study finds that it takes just five serious sunburns to double ? yes double ? your risk of developing melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. Are there many among us who have spent time along the beach and not had that many burns ? or even 10 times that many? That study just adds to all the fears about sunburns, with the top scare being that even one bad sunburn in your youth can double your risk of getting skin cancer.

Believe us, it isn’t worth it just to get a little golden this summer. That tan that seemed so cool a few years ago, it’s so not these days. (Really.)

Other safety tips ? and we’re pretty sure you know them, but it doesn’t hurt to be reminded ? include the following: