Given that it’s the height of summer in the UK, many families are heading off abroad to take advantage of the school holidays and the summer sun. As a result, thousands of families across the country are making sure they’ve got everything for their trip; passports, travel documents, sun cream, bathing suits, etc.

If you’ve got children, then chances are you’ll be ensuring you’ve got everything to keep them safe from the sun, such as sun cream designed for kids, burn cream just in case, suitable shading (umbrella, car window cover, etc). But many people overlook their children’s eye safety, forgetting to take suitable sunglasses with them for their kids.

You mightn’t think that sunglasses are an important consideration for a child, but they’re just as crucial for them as they are for adults.  Many high profile opticians, including Vision Express and Direct Sight, have stated that young kids should be introduced to eye protection and sunglasses as early as possible, reducing the possibility of damage to their eyes as they’re growing up. The RNIB (Royal National Institute for the Blind) has echoed this advice, suggesting that children need to have their eyes protected from prolonged exposure to the sun, whether you’re travelling abroad or staying in the UK this summer.

Although experts disagree on the exact figure, it’s generally accepted that somewhere between 50% and 80% of sun exposure (both the eyes and skin) takes place before we’re 18 years old – suggesting that it’s these earlier years that we need to pay the most attention to the protection of our children’s eyes.

Many opticians are also warning about the dangers of buying fake designer sunglasses (both for yourself and for your children) when travelling abroad, particularly those sold by market traders or any proprietor without a permanent establishment. Many British people are tempted by the fake designer goods available in many popular holiday destinations, particularly given the prices are often hundreds of pounds cheaper. However, the lenses in these sunglasses are almost always sub-standard, meaning they offer little or no protection from the sun. This is particularly pertinent when it comes to children, as people are often tempted to buy cheap sunglasses for their kids, especially when the traders are selling fake brands and frames that are often targeted at younger markets.

Guest post from Zara, who works for a company specialising in designer eyewear, including Carrera, Oakley, Ray Ban sunglasses and many, many more. She’s also hugely interested in eyecare and optical health, and dedicated lots of time and effort to educating people on looking after their eyes.

A lot of people now days like to get involved with the charity 10k runs, marathons and half marathons. There are plenty of worthwhile causes to get involved with, which sees more than 5 million people participate yearly. It is no doubt that long distant running has been seen as more of a past time and hobby of a sport than it has in previous years.

But with the increase in people doing these long distance runs, I have made it my mission to increase the adoption of yoga as a method of preparing your muscles for the runs and making sure they are in top shape for your next long distance run.

Whilst running is good for your cardio training and builds strength to the muscles, it tends to leave them contracted and shortens them. Whilst the perfect antidote for the tightness of long distance running are the abundance of positions in yoga that are perfect for stretching out and lengthening the muscles.

The usual suspects that are good to work for runners are the hamstrings, the glutes, the hips and the buttocks and with a whole range of suitable postures to give these muscles a good work out, there are of course many other stretches and exercises that are good for runners. The best beginner/intermediate yoga postures for runners are as follows.

The “Downward Dog” is the first on our list as it is a good stretch to aid the muscles in the legs whilst also giving a good amount of exercise to the shoulders and back. This is great for alignment and can help with the posture and key elements to ensure fitness whilst running and is a great warm up for getting a lot of the muscles warmed up and lengthened.

This position is good for lengthening the muscles but there are some more positions that are beneficial to runners also as they will help with circulation, breathing, flexibility and ultimately strength.
A typical runner with have a flawed running technique and will experience too much pounding, tightening and shortening of the muscles and not enough focus is put on restorative and elongating muscle exercises.
If you feel you could be in need of a break in a warmer climate and for those that are interested in a yoga spa holiday, the tutors in charge will be able to take what you enjoy the most and give you exercises as a means to help your muscles for repairing.

So, we all know that there are Crocodiles in the sewers, Obama isn’t American, and women can’t have orgasms.

Whether or not you are a victim of any of these common myths, everyone can fall for a lie sometimes and swimming pool myths are no exception. In order for you to get your facts straight and hopefully relax a little more by the pool, I have collected up some of the most popular and prevalent myths about swimming pools, and most importantly – why you shouldn’t let them spoil your holiday.

Myth #1 – Chlorine makes swimming pools smell bad.

“We went to the pool today, and had to leave because the smell of chlorine was so strong. I even put in a complaint.”

Honestly, there is no reason why well-looked after swimming pools should smell at all. That familiar ‘swimming pool smell’ that seems to vary in intensity is not actually the chlorine itself, but things called combined chloramines that are created when chlorine does its job destroying bacteria & other ‘organic material’ (yup including THAT organic material). So the chances are that if you find the smell too much, the pool staff most likely need to use more chlorine and better swimming pool filters to clear up those nasty chloramines.

Quite simply, the dirtier the clientele & the less rigorous the cleaners, the more chloramines build up and the smell gets stronger. Sort it out please, hotel manager!

Myth #2 – Don’t swim for an hour after eating or you’ll get cramp and drown!

“Kids! NO!!!! You can’t swim for an hour you’ve just had your lunch.”

Well, whichever side of the fence you are on, we all know that parents’ main function is to worry about everything, know everything, and have the final word. But on this one, my mum, your mum, most people’s mums – were in the wrong. People get cramp because they are using their muscles more than their system can currently handle; it’s a simple case of blood flow, oxygenation and muscle health not living up to the demands placed on them. Of course, if you’ve just had a large meal, your body is diverting more blood to the digestive system, which could moderately increase your chances of getting a mild cramp. Even in this case, the chances are increased no more than jumping in the swimming pool and going wild after a whole morning lazing about.

So, send the kids in the pool whenever they want. The digestive, muscular & circulatory benefits of swimming far outweigh any truth in this ridiculous myth!

Myth #3 – They put chemicals in the water that turn purple if you wee!

“Listen kids – don’t wee in the pool. It will turn the water green, everyone will know, and you’ll have to go home.”

Call it the wee-finder, call it guilty water, call it a ‘most embarrassing’ childhood fear, call it what you want, but this myth is especially pervasive and seems to be accepted by children worldwide.
But thankfully here’s another terrifying myth we can safely put to rest. I for one remember being told this on some fun day out with all my mates at the Lido. We all looked in terror at one another, promised we wouldn’t wee and get ourselves kicked out, and spent the entire day running off to the toilets every time we sipped our drinks. It was late in the day when one of my friends whisperingly told me he had wee’d in the swimming pool… and there was no purple cloud.

Mmm… combining the answers to myths #1 and #3… we’ve uncovered the true purpose of this myth. To save money on chlorine! But seriously, don’t wee in the pool.

Myth #4 – Chlorine turns blonde hair a nasty bogey green!

“Tracy, don’t get in the pool… I spent hours in it yesterday and my hair turned green! It’s too much chlorine!”

This is another case of mistaken identity. Poor old chlorine is like the ‘usual suspect’ in the neighbourhood, always getting lined up to take the rap for any old crime that comes along. Quite simply, good old misunderstood chlorine is innocent, but someone else was at the scene of the crime – and left some irrefutable evidence. The real perpetrator of this swimming pool horror is a common mineral (get it? Huh-huh…) often found in swimming pools in safe levels. Copper, the vicious green hair-colouring blonde-thief, can be introduced by using mineral-based systems intended as alternatives to popular swimming pool chemicals.

Guess what you need to clear up excess minerals like copper? Our best mate – good old innocent chlorine!

Well, that’s it for this post. I’d be especially interested to know if anyone’s got any more swimming pool myths for me to debunk, and in the meantime – enjoy the pool!

New Zealand has so many unique places to visit, with the lush greenery covering the whole country it makes a complete change to the concrete jungle we are used to here in the UK, the mountainous regions provide stunning back drops and it is no surprise it has been used in countless movies, most famously the Lord of the Rings was shot on location in the country sides and forests of New Zealand.

But it’s not just the country side that has amazing qualities to express to you, travel north to Coromandel for the hot water and springs that can be found on the coast line and buried in the sand you will find water the temperature of a warm bath. These Geothermal Springs can’t be swum in directly, but in the surrounding areas the water has cooled down just enough to enjoy the heat.

There are various healing properties associated with the thermal water springs in New Zealand, the pH 7.4 water is rich in minerals such as boron, calcium, silica and sulphate, all of which are great for various conditions such as eczema, arthritis and joint pains. The springs offer a total body healing and relaxation experience that really needs to be tried first hand to really feel the benefits on the body.  The water is drawn from 644m below and is purified through hundreds of meters of volcanic rock, leaving only water to help you purify your body.

This is of course due to the active volcanoes around the area, there are many more around the world, here are a couple others that you should definitely try and find yourself relaxing in at some point.

The Blue Lagoon in Grindavík in Iceland and is one of the purest reserves of water around the world, renewed every 40 hoours and containing 6 million litres of water. It is fairly tourist orientated, but it doesn’t take away from the magic of the moment.

If you are looking for a slightly less commercial spot to relax, perhaps with a loved one, talk with the locals in Chile whilst you are on holiday there, the regions around the Liquíñe-Ofqui fault, where a lot of the springs have been capitalised upon by the tourism industry. There are many untouched springs, but it is often best to ask the locals where the best (and safest) ones are.

The experience of laying in one of these pools is unparalleled. So if you every find yourself on a Holiday in New Zealand or any of the other places, you must make sure you give one a go.

A holiday romance or maybe a one night stand while away on vacation can be a lot of fun, but can also result in some nasty infections.

The number of people contracting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) or infections is on the increase. People are far more likely to indulge in high risk sexual behaviour while they are on their holidays than they would do normally and this is contributing toward the worrying increase in the number of people contracting various STDs.

Chlamydia is one such disease that has become one of the most commonly occurring STDs today. Left untreated it can cause sterility in both men and women. Symptoms include painful urination, discharge, abdominal pain, nausea and even bleeding from the genitals. Luckily it is easily treated with an appropriate anti-biotic.

Another common STD is herpes. The most common form of the disease is as cold sores but the number of people visiting their doctor for Genital herpes is on the increase. There is no known cure for the disease but the breakouts can be treated with appropriate medication.

The frequency of other STDs including Syphillis, Gonorrhoea and Urethritis are also on the increase. This increase is particularly noticeable in young people who have not received adequate disease information and are not adequately aware of the risks.

Travellers and holiday makers are particularly susceptible to sexual temptation when away from home. A one night stand in a Heathrow Hotel or a drunken liaison while away from home on holiday can easily result in a nasty infection that can present serious health risks and be passed on to others very easily.

One of the reasons for the increasing number of people catching STDs is the lack of awareness and knowledge regarding how to avoid catching diseases of this type.

Basic precautions that anyone can take include:

1. Abstinence: If you don’t have sex with anyone you can’t catch anything
2. Select partners carefully: Casual sex with others who have casual sex significantly raises your chances of catching a STD
3. Examine your partners: Easier said than done, but examination can reveal evidence of infection
4. Use a condom: This will greatly reduce the risk of passing an infection