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Below we explore the most common accidents that happen at home. Home should be a safe place, but millions of people are seriously injured at home each year. During the COVID-19 pandemic with people spending more time than ever at home, emergency departments have seen more of certain types of injuries than usual.
The dangerous falls usually occur in young children and the elderly, and at home there are plenty of things to strike your head against on the way down. Arts and crafts and school supply cabinets, which often store scissors, sewing needles, protractors, etc. should be kept out of reach of children. Alternatively, they should be separated so that the sharper objects cannot be accessed without adult supervision.
Fires
Tie-up all the power cords and other cables away from your reach. You can avoid accidental shocks and trip and fall incidents. You have to be conscious about every activity, object, and the place in your home, from the moment you wake up to the time you go to sleep.
Don't let a toddler hold anything made of glass or anything sharp - such as scissors and sharp pencils. Make existing glass safe by applying a shatter-resistant film. The points below will help prevent your child being poisoned. Don't drink anything hot with a child on your lap or in your arms. At night, switch off electrical items before you go to bed and close all doors to contain a potential fire.
Poisoning is among the top 5 fatal household injuries
In kitchen accidents, avocado hand injury sends 24 people to the ER every day, more than 8,7000 ER visits each year. The estimated annual number of ER visits for knife-related injury is 322,562, and cooking causes more than 172,000 household fires. Finally, unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning causes more than 20,000 ER visits each year, where 4,000 people remain hospitalized. Unfortunately, 160,000 Americans die due to accidents every year, and 75% of these deaths are because of household injuries. In addition, 53.6% of accidents happen in the household, including inside and outside accidents within real estate lines. Poisoning, falling, choking, drowning, and fires are the most common accidents.
For most of our lives, the place we live in and call home becomes our safe haven. But no matter how hard you try to make your home a safe place, minor accidents can happen. For homes with tiny children or with elderly members, it is vital to know what kind of accidents may occur at home. Hot beverages are responsible for most burns and scalds in children under five years of age. Children should be kept a safe distance from campfires, stoves, irons, hair straighteners, and matches, as they can be dangerous too. The burn should be placed immediately under running cold water for ten minutes and then be checked.
77% of accidental gun deaths happen at home
If you have children running about the house, it is advisable to reconsider your glass doors, furniture, etc. Older family members are at risk of falling or tripping due to age-related issues. If the person becomes unconscious, starts to vomit, or complains of drowsiness, call for help immediately. If you have older family members living alone, make sure they are registered for the QRLifeCare kit. A good starting point is simply being aware of the most common accidents that can happen at home, so that you can start being more aware for your own and others’ safety. The most common accidents in neighborhoods are collisions into parked cars, backing out of the driveway and into an oncoming car, and hitting a car to avoid pedestrians on the road.
Attic and basement are the places where you dump all the debris and waste from your home. Forgetting to clean and maintain can result in fire accidents, trip and fall, and toxic fumes from the debris. Coronavirus forced people to clean vigilantly, which increased the exposure to harmful chemicals. This increase was noted across all age groups; however, the number of exposed children under 5 was the highest. Bleaches also accounted for the largest percentage of the increase.
Injuries from domestic abuse
Choking is a leading factor in household injuries and fatalities, with children and the elderly most at risk. That said, it can affect anyone, with especially dire consequences for those who live alone. When mounted TVs became a common household feature, reports started coming out about children being struck by unstable or inadequately mounted screens.
Don’t let the children operate the garage door switches, equipment, and remote control. Trip and fall can happen when you forget to close the bathroom cabinet and shelf door after opening. They can also occur due to other unattended bathroom furniture and unclean surfaces. Slippery Floors can be caused by overflowing sink or toilet, leaks from faucets and pipes, damaged floors, spilt shampoo and liquid soaps, etc.
With a 38.4 fatality rate, West Virginia is the state with the most accidental deaths. New Mexico, Wisconsin, Rhode Island, and Vermont are behind, with rates of 38.2, 30.5, 30.4, and 29.6, respectively. Conversely, Maryland, California, New York, Texas, and Utah have the lowest household accidents per 100,000 people. When cooking, pay attention to what you’re doing, wear protective gear as needed and keep children and pets away.
Every year, nearly 20,000 people die and 21 million medical visits are needed due to home accidents in the United States, says the U.S. Many children end up in hospital every year because of injuries caused by glass around the home. Before bathing your baby or child, check the water is not too hot - a good test is to put your elbow in first.
You can help prevent trips and falls by making sure things get picked up off the floor, that cords are not running along the floor, and by making sure carpets are tacked down. While age is the biggest risk factor in household falls, it’s not the only one. Other factors that increase household falls include poverty, overcrowded housing, medical conditions such as neurological issues, and alcohol and substance abuse.
Having a clean plastic bag or cling film in your first aid kit can be an ideal way to cover burns to keep them clean and help them to heal. Cold water shock training could help you save a life one day. The effect on the body of entering water 15°C and below can be the precursor to drowning accidents. The term “cold water shock” was coined to describe a range of natural reactions that our bodies take to... A child’s skin is far more sensitive than an adult’s, and hot water can scald for up to 15 minutes after it has boiled.
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