Tag Archives: accident prevention

9 Household Hazard Prevention Tips

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Millions of Americans are injured or even killed by preventable household hazards annually. Sometimes it just takes a few safety tweaks to lower the danger level in your home. Some of those tweaks include:

  1. Go flameless – thousands of home fires are started each year by flames from candles that have tipped over or haven’t been properly extinguished. You may not like synthetic flames as much as the real thing, but such a small change could mean the safety of your family and home.
  2. Be step-safe – accidental falls affect over 1 million American adults annually. Many of these falls can be prevented by using extra caution when on the stairs or a ladder, as well as stepping on a dry mat when getting out of the bath or shower.
  3. Minimize the cargo – Falls also commonly happen when people carry too heavy a load of laundry or other items. Carrying lighter loads of laundry (especially when walking up or down stairs) can drastically reduce your chances of a nasty fall inside the home.
  4. Know the numbers – Does everyone in your family know the number for poison control? They should. How about the local fire station or health-line? Aside from 9-1-1, it is good to know (and teach your children) all the safety numbers that could help in a pinch. It is also a good idea to put these numbers in your child’s phone, if they have one.
  5. Childproof the kitchen – There are many measures you can undertake to ensure the safety of your children around the kitchen. Check them out in our post on Kitchen Safety!
  6. Have safety strategies in place – Your family should have emergency plans such as a household evacuation route in case of a fire or other emergency. You should practice these plans occasionally to ensure everyone knows exactly what to do.
  7. Watch the sockets – Unfortunately, around 2,400 children are shocked or burned by electrical outlets annually. So, if you have small children, you may want to invest in socket covers (spring-loaded electrical socket covers that help prevent tampering).
  8. Check water temp – According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 3,800 Americans are scalded by too-hot tap water each year, many of whom are children. It is always a good idea to test the water before jumping into the bath or washing your hands. It is particularly important to test the water before bathing your child. A step further in scald-prevention would be to ensure your water heater is set below 120°F.
  9. Check your alarms – Most people have plenty of functioning fire alarms, but do you also have a carbon monoxide detector? If not, you should invest in a quality one soon to ensure those levels don’t silently (and fatally!) creep too high. You should also periodically ensure you have new batteries in all your detectors and that they are functioning optimally.

That concludes our look at household safety! Keep an eye out for medication safety next! Thanks for visiting DocChat!

Summer Dangers to Dodge (Part 1)

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Summer is the most sought-after and enjoyable season for most, but as with any other time of year there are certain seasonal hazards to avoid in order to have a fun few months in the sun. Some of these include:

Grill Your Supper, Not Your Skin!

Skin cancer is one of the most widely recognized summer dangers, but unfortunately many people don’t know all the most pertinent facts of the matter. Most people think burns are the real culprit and tans are perfectly harmless, but even a tan damages your skin, leading to wrinkles, blemishes and if practiced in excess over time, could contribute to melanoma. So sunbathe wisely – with good quality, high SPF sunscreen. To read more about skin safety check out our post on summer skincare!

Compete With the Heat

Heatstroke is an under-hyped summer danger. People often associate too much sun with skin cancer and forget all about the hazards of overheating. Thousands of Americans become ill and hundreds die annually from heatstroke. The most vulnerable to extreme heat are the elderly and young children. Tragically, more than 30 children die in hot cars alone every summer. Never leave your child, pet or anyone in a hot car in the summer, it only takes 10 minutes for the temperature to rise 20 degrees Fahrenheit! To avoid heatstroke you should also be sure to hydrate frequently while outside (especially if you are exercising), take breaks from the hot sun, use high SPF sunscreen and don’t over exert yourself in hot weather.

Practice Ocean Safety

The ocean can be one of the highlights of summertime, but it can also be deadly. There are several dangers lurking in the waves to be careful of when you’re taking a dip. Some of those include:

  • Jellyfish – dodging the jellies (and all the creatures you may see) is a good idea if you’re playing in the waves. Some people can be allergic to their sting, creating a rare but real risk of anaphylaxis. Besides, even if you’re not allergic, who wants to ruin their beach day with an excruciating sting or bite from a sea creature?
  • The undertow – a force not to be reckoned with, the undertow is powerful and can easily drag anyone under the water and further out into the ocean posing a very real drowning risk.
  • Flesh-eating bacteria – as creepy is it sounds, it is important to pay attention to summer news to make sure there haven’t been recent outbreaks of flesh-eating bacteria in the area of ocean in which you are planning to swim. A particularly troubling strain to warm salt water swimmers is the vibrio vulnificus bacteria which has killed a few people in the Florida area alone already this year. So check the local news before you dip!
  • Salt water ingestion – this may seem inconsequential, but a mouthful or two of ocean water can make leave you feeling not-too-hot. There are billions of bacteria in the ocean, some of which may be harmful to ingest. Furthermore, the drastic change in sodium would upset the body’s regulatory mechanism which can be dangerous, even deadly in large amounts (not just an accidental mouthful).

Thanks for stopping by! Check out Summer Dangers to Dodge Part 2 next! We hope you’ll visit DocChat again soon!