Health
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- Allergic Living
Website: www.allergicliving.com
For people living with serious food and environmental allergies, the cottage, with its nearby forests,
buzzing bees, and endless barrage of snack foods, can be a threatening place. Visit www.allergicliving.com,
the companion site to Allergic Living magazine, to find tips on how to combat these allergies. Also contains
a database of recipes suitable for allergy sufferers.
- American Animal Hospital Association
Website: www.healthypet.com
The American Animal Hospital Association is an international veterinarians’ organization. Its website has a
large library of articles with tips for keeping your pets healthy (one article deals with car sickness) and
out of mischief (another asks and answers the question: "How do I keep my dog from rolling in stinky
things?"). There’s also a searchable database with the addresses and phone numbers of animal hospitals across
North America, including a handful in Ontario cottage country.
- Canada Safety Council
Website: www.safety-council.org
The Canada Safety Council is a national, non-profit dedicated to reducing unnecessary injuries and fatalities
to Canadians while they work and play. Cottage-relevant sections include primers on sun protection, swimming
safety, snowmobiling, PFDs, ATVs, and the safe handling of propane (including a gas barbecue quiz). The site
also has links to related government and industry websites.
- Cottage Dreams
Website: www.cottagedreams.org
If your cottage sits empty all week and you’d like to see it put to use, consider participating in the
Cottage Dreams program. Here’s how it works: You donate a Sunday-to-Friday (or more) stay at your cottage to
a recovering cancer patient and their family, so they can enjoy a relaxing break at the lake, free of charge.
Visit the site to find out about participating in the program as a donor or recipient, or to make a cash
contribution.
- Health Canada, West Nile Virus
Website: www.westnilevirus.gc.ca
Does the lack of reliable information on West Nile Virus bug you? Take your questions to Health Canada’s
official site on the subject. In addition to a thorough background on the history, symptoms, and treatment of
the virus, the site provides advice on how to protect yourself. You can also download videos and brochures
and view a cross-Canada map showing regions where dead birds have tested positive for the virus.
- Healthy Swimming
Website: www.cdc.gov/healthyswimming
While much of the information on this site, administered by the American Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, is for pool swimmers, there’s useful stuff for cottagers too, including downloadable fact sheets
on the symptoms and treatments of swimmer’s ear, swimmer’s itch, cryptosporidium, and giardia.
- Lifesaving Society
Website: www.lifesaving.ca
Did you know that drowning is the third leading cause of preventable death for children under the age of 10?
So reports the website, the place to go if you’re looking for tips on how to stay safe around the water.
Their site includes a list of safety tips geared specifically for cottagers as well as a guide to being ice
smart in winter. If you want to brush up on your first-aid skills, they’ll also help you locate a convenient
course location.
- Lyme Disease Information Sheet
Website: www.health.gov.on.ca/english/public/pub/disease/lyme_mn.html
The Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care's thorough information page on Lyme Disease includes:
Information on transmission, symptoms, and treatment of the disease as well as how to avoid ticks, and what
to do if you spot one.
- Ministry of Health
Website: www.healthyontario.com
Sometimes nature can be a pain. Whether you’re dealing with a fishing hook in the thumb or an itchy brush
with poison ivy, the provincial government’s online health-care database can offer treatment advice. Look up
the nearest hospital or learn more about Telehealth Ontario, a toll-free program (866-797-0000) that connects
you to a registered nurse from the cottage.
- Muskoka-Parry Sound Health Unit
Website: www.mpshu.on.ca
Covers a number of subjects concerning cottagers around the province, including rabies and West Nile virus.
Under “Water Quality,” you’ll find articles on the various types of filtration systems and a step-by-step
guide to disinfecting wells.
- Ontario Hospital Locator (Ontario Hospital Association)
Website: www.oha.com/
Cottage country hospitals work hard to keep us healthy. Consider making a donation to your local hospital. To
find your hospital, click the Hospital Locator button on the left hand column. Use the locator's search field
at the top of the page to find hospitals by name or by the town in which it is located.
- Stop West Nile
Website: www.stopwestnile.ca
A one-stop shop for articles, information, and mosquito repellant products.
- West Parry Sound Health Centre
Website: www.wpshc.com
The West Parry Sound Health Centre is an Ontario eastern massasauga rattlesnake antivenin depot, with experts
in treating rattlesnake bites. Their website contains a downloadable PDF fact sheet on massasauga rattlers,
as well as information on what to do if you’re bitten by one
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