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Sunburns can be serious, but for the most part, we know how to treat them at home: Use cool compresses, grab some aloe gel, and drink plenty of water. There are times, however, when a sunburn can need medical attention, even if it feels like one of those things you would never consider a trip to the doctor for. Here’s how to recognize whether your sunburn warrants a look by a medical professional.

You have flu-like symptoms

If your sunburn is accompanied by a high fever, a headache, severe pain, dehydration, confusion, nausea, or chills, you should consult your doctor, according to the Mayo Clinic. Per Healthline, these are the symptoms of “sun poisoning,” which is real and can be pretty serious.

Healthline also points out you may be at an increased risk of sun poisoning for a variety of reasons: Maybe you have fair skin, are on antibiotics, take oral contraceptives, use certain herbal supplements (like St. John’s wort), used a citrus oil on your skin before your sun exposure, or live by the equator or up in the mountains. If you just moved to a new region or didn’t know that your oral medication or recent chemical peel could increase your risk, you might end up with sun poisoning before even realizing that was a possibility.

You want to be careful of dehydration here. Stay as hydrated as you can—and get to a doctor.

The sunburn is blistering and huge

Dermatologist Dr. Maral Skelsey told Lifehacker that a burn qualifies as severe if there is “extensive blistering over 10% of the body surface area.”

She summed it up like this: “Whenever there is fever, rapid heartbeat, signs of dehydration such as decreased urinary output or poor capillary refill and more than 10% of body surface area affected, seek medical attention.”

Mayo Clinic also says you should also see a doctor if your sunburn is “severe,” has blisters, and covers a large portion of your body. Let’s talk about what “severe” means and why it’s important to identify if your sunburn is.

Per Johns Hopkins, “Severe sunburns may cause a person to become dehydrated and even go into shock. This is characterized by fainting, low blood pressure, and profound weakness. Immediate medical attention is necessary if this happens.”

Johns Hopkins also notes that pain is usually at its worst point by six to 48 hours after the burn takes place, so be alert if your pain lasts longer than that.

You have signs of a skin infection

If you see swelling, pus, or red streaks leading from your blisters, you might have a skin infection and should immediately consult a doctor, according to the Mayo Clinic. You could be prescribed a round of antibiotics. If there is no infection present, you may still be recommended a corticosteroid cream or a short course of prednisone.

Skelsey said that in addition to possibly being prescribed steroids or antibiotics and pain medication, doctors may even suggest specialized wound dressings and daily wound care.

The key here is knowing when a sunburn has escalated from painful nuisance to serious concern. Of course, wear your sunscreen and protective layers any time you’ll be in the sun to avoid this problem ahead of time.

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Screenshot: Khamosh Pathak

Google Lens is a useful tool for learning more about the world around you. You can use it to scan a QR code, search the web using a picture of a dress you saw in a store, or translate text in a foreign language. While many of us use this feature on our Androids and iPhones, it’s also available on desktop via Google Chrome.

On your computer, Google Lens works slightly differently. Instead of a live camera view, you can use the feature on any saved image, or on any website you’re browsing. Google Lens can scan whatever you’re looking at and find similar images, recognize items, and more. If there’s text in the image, you’ll be able to select and copy it, or translate it to English (or any other language).

As long as you’re using the latest version of Chrome, you’ll find the Google Lens feature tucked into the right-click menu. Right-click on the image you want to scan and choose “Search image with Google Lens.” If you want to scan multiple images on a page, right-click any empty part of the screen, and choose “Search images with Google Lens.”

Screenshot: Khamosh Pathak

Triggering a search will bring up the Google Lens feature in the sidebar, or you can open tit in a new tab using the Expand button in the top-right. You’ll see three main tabs below the image: “Search,” “Text,” and “Translate.” The Search feature will help you find the image, or recognize items in the image.

To quickly copy any or all text from the image, switch to the “Text” feature. Any recognized text in the image will be automatically highlighted. Use the cursor to select the text block you want to copy, and can click the “Copy” button.

Switching to the “Translate” feature turn on Google Translate. Recognized text will be automatically translated within the image, and you’ll also see it appear in a text box to the right. From there, you can change the translation language and copy translated text. The feature will also read out the translated text for you if you choose “Listen.”

    

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I knew “a lot of” brain development happens during a child’s first few years of life—but I wasn’t aware how incredibly fast the process occurs. Considering that an infant’s brain doubles in size by the time they turn one, its newborn neurons are making, “at least one million new neural connections every second,” according to the child development agency First Things First, and a child’s brain is 90% fully developed by age five. This all means that how parents nurture their baby’s brain during those early years is critical.

According to Dr. Dana Suskind, a pediatric surgeon who studies child brain development, one of the best ways parents of little ones can aid this process is by providing a language-rich environment full of “serve-and-return interactions” and plenty of “talking, smiling, pointing, responding, singing, narrating your day” to help young kids develop cognitive skills such as reading, memory, and language, and soft skills like resilience.

Suskind recommends parents employ a simple “3Ts strategy” to foster strong connections: Tune in. Talk more. Take turns.

Tune in to your child

As parents, we are unfortunately often distracted by our jobs or household chores, even in the presence of our babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. One of the best ways you can foster an optimal environment for a young child’s social development is by tuning in to what they are focused on, and building conversation around that.

Think of it as baby-led conversation (even if they can’t talk). Notice what they are watching or listening to; guide your own attention there, and start asking questions. If they’re entranced by a squirrel on the deck, you can say, “Are you looking at a squirrel? Wow that squirrel has such a fluffy tail!” Likewise, if their eyes perk up at the sound of a train: “Do you hear the train? Trains have loud whistles.” According to Suskind, “Your mission is to match the conversation with whatever is fascinating them in the moment.”

Talk, talk, and talk some more

Once you’ve tuned in to what’s captured your little one’s attention at any given moment, it’s time to flex that small talk muscle. Think of it as a freestyle poetry slam, where you can say just about anything you want related to the topic at hand. Use a rich variety of language to add words to a child’s memory bank and build their vocabulary. “Continue to engage them in conversation about it using diverse language that encourages focus and engagement,” says Suskind. For example, “Look at what that squirrel is doing. She’s standing on two legs. What is she eating? Is that an acorn? I bet she’s going to have a nap after this!”

(This reminds me of the time when, fresh out of ideas of how to entertain my six-month old after a long day of togetherness, I placed her on my hip, turned to the spice cabinet, and started reading labels, telling her what each spice was used for. It killed a good 5–10 minutes—which is a lot when you’re in that final countdown to bedtime. And hey, now she can properly pronounce cardamom.)

Take turns while talking

The best conversations are the ones where both parties are equally engaged—and that goes for even the tiniest of chat buddies. Whether they have a blossoming vocabulary, rudimentary words, or gurgles and finger pointing, it all counts. In the final step, “engage in back-and-forth conversation patterns by asking questions that encourage your child to describe the world around them or how they’re feeling.” Start with your own observations and emotions to encourage them to participate. “Wow, garbage trucks are so colorful. I see green. What colors do you see? Where do you think it’s going? It is so exciting when the garbage truck comes down our street!”

Why you should adopt the 3Ts strategy

This University of Chicago study showed that enriching the home language environment can enhance the quality of child-caregiver interactions. (“The utilized more praise, explanations, and open-ended questions but less criticism, physical control, and intrusiveness than their control counterparts when interacting with their child.”)

Parents can continue to use the 3Ts strategy long after their babies turn five to foster a lifetime of “serve-and-return” interactions. It requires no research, devices, or specialized training. Just a conscious effort to notice what’s got your child’s attention, put your verbal focus there, and start a conversation.

  

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TikTok recently discovered a scientific truth about avocados: the green flesh of a cut avocado won’t turn brown overnight if it isn’t exposed to air. Unfortunately, the hack that’s supposed to protect your avocado is an unsafe one, according to the FDA.

TikTok after TikTok shows people discovering to their amazement that a cut avocado stored in a container of water on the counter is still green after a day, or even a couple of days. Another variation on the hack is to store whole avocados in water in the fridge, where they’re supposed to stay good for weeks. (We even covered a similar hack earlier this year, so we can’t feel too superior.)

Why you shouldn’t store avocados in water

A spokesperson from the FDA told Good Morning America that the avocado-in-water-hack is actually a terrible idea. The skins of avocados can contain pathogens like Listeria and Salmonella, although normally these would only be present in small amounts. Rinsing the avocado before preparing it, and scrubbing it with a produce brush (if you don’t have one, you really should get one) will normally remove enough of the potential germs that they shouldn’t be an issue.

When you store an avocado in the fridge for weeks, though, those bacteria can multiply. Listeria is notoriously good at growing in refrigerator temperatures, which tend to slow the growth of other kinds of bacteria. Listeria can cause mild food poisoning in healthy adults, but is especially dangerous to babies if you contract listeriosis while pregnant.

After the avocado has spent a few days in the fridge, washing it is no longer likely to remove enough bacteria to keep it safe. FDA studies have found that when avocados are stored under water, bacteria from the skin can make their way into the edible flesh of the avocado, where it’s not possible to rinse or scrub them off.

How to keep a cut avocado from turning brown

Fortunately, you can keep a cut avocado from browning without dunking it in water at all. The reason avocados brown is that oxygen reacts with chemicals in the flesh, so all you have to do is either keep oxygen away from the cut surface of the avocado, or interfere with the chemical reaction that causes browning. Here are a few ways to do that:

Lemon or lime juice will interfere with the chemical reaction, since it contains antioxidants like citric acid and vitamin C. Simply coat the cut surface of the avocado with a little tart citrus juice. (Pro tip: this works for apples, too.)

Plastic wrap is another quick and easy way to stop avocados (and even prepared guacamole) from browning. Just press the film into the surface of the avocado, making sure not to trap in any air bubbles.

Spray oil can do the same job as plastic wrap: spritz the avocado, giving it a thin layer of oil that will keep oxygen away.

  

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WWDC 2022 is nearly here. While most of Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference is actually a series of presentations and events for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS developers, most of us are focused on Apple’s main keynote. Here, the company shows off new features and changes coming down the pipeline across its various software platforms, and, occasionally, reveals new devices, as well. Here’s how to watch this year’s presentation.

What will Apple announce at WWDC 2022?

It’s impossible to know for sure what Apple will reveal during its keynote, since the company makes very few official announcements ahead of time. However, based on precedent and rumors, we have some guesses that will likely pan out.

First of all, it’s almost a given we’ll see the next iteration of Apple software across the board. Apple always uses these keynotes to unveil the latest OSs the company has been cooking up, and we don’t expect this year to be any different. We’re expecting to see previews for iOS 16, iPadOS 16, macOS 13 (possibly named Mammoth), watchOS 9, and tvOS 16.

Apple’s only preview ahead of the conference was about upcoming accessibility features. The company showed off new options like door detection, advanced accessibility controls for Apple Watch, live captions, new VoiceOver languages, the ability to split game controllers with a second person, among other new features. While the company didn’t confirm which iOS version would receive these features, it’s likely they’ll arrive with iOS 16.

Rumors for iOS 16, iPadOS 16, macOS 13, and watchOS 9

As far as rumors go, there haven’t been too many this year. Most of the rumors we do have concern iOS 16: We should expect new changes to notification center, lock screen, and Focus, and we could get features like wallpapers with widgets and a social media overhaul to Messages. We might even see Always-On Displays for the first time on an iPhone, but that will likely arrive only on the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max later this year.

For iPadOS 16, the rumors say Apple is planning big changes to multitasking and windowing. Don’t get too excited, though—we hear every year that this update will finally be the one to make the iPad a real laptop killer. I doubt it, but, hey, we can hope. Expect many of iOS 16's features to wind up in iPadOS 16, as well.

9to5Mac thinks macOS 13 will be dubbed “Mammoth” and will feature some M1-exclusive features now that Apple has phased out Intel chips from the lineup. We might also finally see a System Preferences overhaul that makes it feel more like the Settings app found on iPhone and iPad. If Apple wants its ecosystem to feel seamless, that’s one change that could help.

WatchOS 9 could bring some modest changes, if limited rumors are to be believed. We might see optimized wallpapers for larger watch faces, an improved low power mode, and new workouts, among other quality-of-life changes to watchOS.

We might see a colorful, M2 MacBook Air

If Apple does dive into hardware, you can expect to see the new MacBook Air. This laptop has been circulating the rumor mill for some time, promising a color refresh reminiscent of the M1 iMacs, Apple’s upcoming M2 chip, and MagSafe. Apple could very well skip over this announcement in favor of sticking strictly to software, but it’s good to keep on your radar.

How to Watch WWDC 2022

Apple’s keynote is set to start at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT) on Monday, June 6, 2022. You can stream the conference from this YouTube link, which is currently live, but Apple will also make the stream available on its main website, the Apple Developer app, and the Apple TV app.

[9to5Mac]

   

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Smartphones have transformed our lives, mostly for the better, but they’ve also increased the access people can potentially have to your private information the moment you hand yours over. When you allow someone else access to your phone to make a call, swipe through a few pictures, or try out a new game, you might want to control what else they can do with it before you pass it off. And because these scenarios often come up without warning, you need a quick way to partially lock everything down.

This isn’t just about privacy—you might let someone’s kid borrow your phone to play a game or watch a video, and you don’t need them purchasing $500 worth of Robux while they’re in there. The goal is to restrict their access while letting them get what they need from your phone—and depending on which platform you’re using, you have options that don’t involve any third-party apps.

How to block user access on an Android phone

With Android phones, you have two basic approaches:

Guest Mode. Depending on your setup, you might be able to tap on the user icon in your Quick Settings and simply choose “Add guest.” This puts the phone into Guest Mode, which restricts access to the phone’s default apps and bars access to your data and logins. It’s only going to be available if you’ve set up an account on your phone in the first place, though, and does allow your guest to basically use the device as they would any phone, just without your logins and stored credit cards.

Screen Pinning. A more thorough restriction is to pin an app to your screen. You have to enable this in your Security settings (you might need to search for it, as different manufacturers bury it in different spots), but once it’s turned on, you can pin any app to your screen, and the guest user won’t be able to navigate away from that app without unlocking the phone with your PIN. To pin an app, just swipe up or hit your Overview button and choose “pin.” You can un-pin by swiping up and entering your PIN.

How to block user access on an iPhone

There’s a similar process for an iPhone, but it’s called “Guided Access.” You’ll find the option under the Accessibility settings. Once enabled, you can do the following any time some sticky-fingered kid wants to peruse YouTube videos on your phone:

1. Open the intended app.
2. Triple-click the side or home button, depending on your OS version. You can also say “Siri, turn on Guided Access.”
3. You can circle things on your screen with your finger if you want to disable specific areas, but that’s optional.
4. Tap Start, then enter your passcode.

Your phone will now allow someone to use only the app on the screen, without any access to anything else.

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Screenshot: Jake Peterson

iTunes. A Obi-Wan would say, that’s a name I’ve not heard in a long time. Apple killed the game-changing Mac application in 2019, splitting its combined services into three simplified apps: Music, TV, and Podcasts. While this decision was in many ways a good one, those of us who have used Macs for years (or even decades) likely miss the old ways, at least a little. If you belong in that category, this MiniPlayer controller for Apple Music will give you a hit of sweet iTunes nostalgia.

While iTunes eventually ballooned into an app that served many purposes, it remained, at its core, a music player. As such, Apple designed it to include useful and fun features and controls like the visualizer, digital LPs and booklets, and, of course, the MiniPlayer. While the Music app has a MiniPlayer of its own, the classic iTunes MiniPlayer is, well, classic. Don’t get me wrong: the current MiniPlayer is fine. It features the album art for the track currently playing, along with hidden playback buttons that only appear when you hover over it.

But sometimes you just need a throwback. That’s where Mario Guzman’s “Music MiniPlayer for macOS” comes in. The free app lovingly recreates the original iTunes MiniPlayer down to the last detail, from the “Aqua” UI, to the vertical “stop light” window controls, to the minimalist track information. You’ll think your M1 iMac is straight out of 2010.

The MiniPlayer isn’t just a fun nostalgia trip, either: it’s perfectly useful for Apple Music playback. After booting up the app for the first time, it will immediately show what’s playing in the Music app and allow you to control playback—skip, pause, scrub, change the volume; everything you’d expect from a music controller. Click the arrow to the left of the playback bar to open expanded controls, including shuffle, repeat, and Playlist control. Dive into settings to choose whether the time label shows your song’s remaining time, or the overall duration of the track. You can also choose to keep the MiniPlayer floating above all windows, so you can access it at all times.

Guzman didn’t stop at the iTunes MiniPlayer, either: the developer also faithfully recreated the iTunes widget, that funky oval-shaped player Apple included as part of its “Dashboard” feature (including the classic “flip” to access settings). If you’re someone who’d rather live in 2005, this one’s for you.

While there are plenty of homages to classic software available for download, Guzman is doing something different: by making these utilities identical in look and feel to when Apple released them, those of us who can’t (or don’t want to) let go of the past are given an opportunity to experience it again, one track at a time.

[9to5Mac]

    

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