Follow these tips for getting along with Mother Nature this summer

It only takes one bad sunburn or night of mosquito bites to make you take back your wish for that endless summer.

We’ve compiled tips from the experts on staying cool and comfortable, and organized them by the most pertinent time of day. However, many of these safety tips provide the most benefit when consistently practiced.

8-10 a.m.

What summer safety tip does Dr. Rutu Ezhuthachan of Health Plan of Nevada, wish she could broadcast to the city of Las Vegas?

“Stay hydrated.” And wear sunscreen, and stay in the shade, and avoid direct sunlight and …. But if she had to pick just one, she says, “Definitely drink your water.”

Get ahead of the heat and start your day off well-hydrated, especially if you’ve been slamming shots the night before.

10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Your mother always badgered you to wear sunglasses to prevent wrinkles. She’s not wrong, but there are other medical reasons to don some shades.

“Wearing sunglasses is really important in the valley, because we have very clear skies for the most part; we have very sunny days,” Ezhuthachan says. “Lots of sun exposure can actually predispose you to cataracts.”

The American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends wearing sunglasses that block 100 percent of UV-A and UV-B rays, and are labeled either “UV400” or “100% UV Protection.” Lucky for you, it says that higher price doesn’t necessarily translate to higher UV protection. Any pair with the 100 percent label will do.

12-2 p.m.

There’s one tip that cancels out the rest: Just don’t be outside in the hottest part of the day, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (do you want to be, anyway?)

If you must go outside, Dr. Mark Stovak, the sports medicine physician at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine, recommends putting ice around your neck, armpits and groin if you get overheated or start to feel lightheaded. That’s where there are big blood vessels close to the surface of your skin, speeding the cooling process.

Sweat is another inevitable issue during midday heat. Various drying powders, from baking soda to baby powder, are often cited as ways to stave off sweat, or at least to minimize the damage once it’s done. Stovak, though, doesn’t think they do much.

“I’ve never, as a physician, prescribed Gold Bond or talcum powder,” Stovak says.

2-4 p.m.

You heard it from Baz Luhrmann and you’re hearing it from us: wear sunscreen. Not just any sunscreen, though. Consumer Reports recently released the results of their annual sunscreen tests and revealed that 43 percent of the sunscreens they tested, even when applied properly, did not meet the SPF levels claimed on their labels. “Natural” sunscreens — often referring to mineral sunscreens that use titanium dioxide or zinc oxide as their active ingredients — fared even worse in the tests, with only four of 13 performing according to their label’s SPF and not a single one making Consumer Reports’ list of recommended sunscreens.

We’re not going to leave you hanging. Here are a few of Consumer Reports’ recommended sunscreens, in both spray and lotion form: Coppertone Water Babies SPF 50, No-Ad Sport SPF 50, Trader Joe’s Spray SPF 50+ and Banana Boat SunComfort Continuous Spray SPF 50+.

Dr. Ezhuthachan also warns pool- or lake-goers that “sometimes when we’re near water, we get a false sense that it’s cool — you’re getting in and out (of the water), you might feel cool.”

“But a lot of that heat can be reflecting off the pool as well, so you could still be vulnerable to getting sun damage and sunburn and you really need to reapply (sunscreen) over time,” Dr. Ezhuthachan says.

And, news flash: No sunscreens on the market are waterproof. The FDA bans brands from using the term for sunscreens. They can be labeled water resistant for either 40 or 80 minutes, and then they must be reapplied after you’ve gone in the water, Consumer Reports says.

4-6 p.m.

Blue cheese burgers, corn on the cob and grilled peaches, anyone? The summer season is defined by some of the most quintessential grilling holidays: Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day. But spending a day doubled over with a stomach bug isn’t what most people mean when they say they wish they could extend their holiday weekend.

To keep foodborne illnesses at bay, the Southern Nevada Health District recommends doing all possible to maintain proper temperatures in both raw and cooked meats. Buying meat last at the store and going straight home after grocery shopping can minimize the amount of time meat spends outside the refrigerator — and therefore warming up to bacteria-friendly temperatures. To keep meat below 40 degrees before it goes on the grill, the Health District recommends keeping meat in a cooler and out of direct sunlight, or in the refrigerator while it’s marinating.

Cookouts can put pets at risk, too. Data from PetPlan Insurance shows that vet visits from grape and raisin toxicity in dogs are 40 percent more likely during the summer, and that 70 percent of all corn cob ingestions by dogs occur between June and August. Keeping a clean grilling area benefits furred and unfurred attendees.

6-8 p.m.

Keep calm and carry mosquito repellent — particularly at sunset and in the two hours afterward, when mosquitoes are most likely to be out. Although cases of the Zika virus have appeared in Southern Nevada in travelers returning from Latin America, as of press time no mosquitoes carrying the virus have been discovered here, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. That doesn’t change the fact that the bugs and their bites are annoying and can carry other diseases such as West Nile Virus, according to the Southern Nevada Health District.

Consumer Reports tested how well repellents work against both Culex mosquitoes, which can carry West Nile, and Aedes mosquitoes, which can transmit Zika. Their top three recommendations repel against both mosquito varieties and deer ticks for at least seven hours: Sawyer Picaridin, Ben’s 30% Deet Tick and Insect Wilderness Formula and Repel Lemon Eucalyptus.

Natural products just don’t cut it for Consumer Reports when it comes to repellents. Five of the six plant-oil-based repellents tested by Consumer Reports lasted an hour or less. If the thought of putting Deet on your skin makes you squeamish, the Repel Lemon Eucalyptus would be your best bet.

After 8 p.m.

Let’s just say sweating feet and strappy sandals are not a match made in anyone’s idea of heaven. Sweating feet and paper surgical tape, on the other hand? According to a study by a Stanford physician and colleagues on long-distance runners, paper tape over blister-prone areas can prevent the blisters from developing in the first place. Those walking the Strip or bar hopping in Fremont East may be toasting to this inexpensive solution on those nights that feel like ultramarathons.

Contact Sarah Corsa at scorsa@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0353. Find @sarahcorsa on Twitter.