Reducing Home Health Hazards

Spring is here and summer is just around the corner. Hardware stores, nurseries and lumber yards bustle with homeowners setting up for home improvement projects. Working around the home can be fun and rewarding, but a fall from a ladder or a partially amputated foot followed by a trip to the emergency room and six weeks flat on your back can certainly put a damper on things.

The numbers are frightening. From 1992 to 1999 over 18,000 people were killed each year in home accidents, and millions more injured from falls, burns, cuts and falls. Home is definitely where the danger is. Groups at highest risks from accidents at home are children and the elderly, in part because they spend so much time at home. Children are particularly vulnerable because they are so active, and inquisitive, they have to know what's going on everywhere, all the time. Also, small bodies may be seriously injured by falls, etc. that would not harm an adult. Seniors may not be steady on their feet, or they may not see very well. Household dangers are legion, but injuries can be reduced with a few changes in environment and behavior:

LADDERS

> Ladders come in various sizes and often they have stickers or tags with instructions for their use. Read these carefully, and make sure you have the proper ladder for the job.
> Inspect the ladder carefully before you set foot on it. Make sure the rungs are clean and dry. If the ladder is shaky, set it aside.
> If your project involves electricity, use a fiberglass ladder.
> A rule of thumb: For every four feet of ladder length, set the bottom one foot away from the support surface (wall or roofline) - ("4 to 1" rule).
> Before climbing a stepladder make sure the spreaders - braces that hold the front and back open - are open and locked. Don't stand on the top (bucket) shelf.
> With an extension ladder, make sure the top extends three feet over the top of the support surface.
> Don't strain to reach. Move the ladder or have someone help you.
> Only one person on the ladder at a time.
> Don't carry tools in your hands. Have someone hand them up to you.

FIRE

Your home is full of hazards that may lead to an emergency.

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