After the pilot announces that we're free to move about the cabin, I get up and stretch my legs fairly often, especially during a long flight. As most of us know, it's important to prevent potentially fatal blood clots, known as deep vein thrombosis.

On very long flights, however, I pop a Valium or other medication to help me sleep. Apparently, that's a pretty dumb idea [1], according to the World Health Organization. Why? Because it's hard to get up and walk around the cabin when you're zonked out at 30,000 feet.

This is just one of the tips to prevent some of the stresses that many of us are likely to encounter this summer. CNN.com has a helpful list of tips and tactics [2] to cope with all sorts of "summer bummers."

For instance, the quickest way to recover from heat rash [3]—aka prickly heat—is to hop into the nearest shower. A rinse helps unclog the sweat glands, whereas lotion only worsens the condition.

Another common problem (especially for people who live on the coasts) is adjusting to higher altitudes. If people aren't careful, they can suffer from altitude sickness [4]. The way to offset it is to give your body a chance to acclimate slowly, and avoid caffeine and nicotine.

Good advice for anyone who's planning to hike peaks above 9,000 ft. A couple summers ago, an enthusiastic friend visiting from the East Coast tackled Wheeler Peak [5], New Mexico's tallest mountain which is at around 13,000 ft. She blazed up the trail, but woke up the next day with a swollen head. (By this, I mean that her face was literally puffy, not that she bragged about bagging a 13,000 ft. peak.)

Another interesting tip was how to cope with something called ocean itch [6]. To my surprise, this has nothing to do with an urge to visit the ocean.

Ocean itch—also known as "sea bather's eruption"—is a bumpy, itchy rash that creeps up around the swimsuit line a few days after swimming in the ocean. The problem, it seems, are tiny jellyfish [7] larvae (!) that stick to your swimsuit.

Prevention involves taking off your swimsuit and showering immediately after swimming in the ocean. Treatment involves rinsing off with vinegar. This is the cure for nearly all jellyfish stings [8] (except Man O'Wars).

Meanwhile, the remedy made famous on a Friends episode [9] is not listed as a legitamite treatment for a jellyfish sting. In other words, doctors don't recommend urinating on a pal. Good to know.