Making Your Home a Safer Place to Be: Prevent Accidents

You may have heard the old saying that, statistically speaking, lying in bed is the most dangerous activity in the world. If you just look at the numbers, it’s more dangerous than flying, driving a car, or wrestling with an alligator. It may not be such a great idea to get out of bed and move around the house either. Here are some of the facts:

About 1 out of 17 people will experience an unintentional injury each year.

A fatal injury occurs in the home about every 14 minutes and a disabling injury about every 4 seconds.

The Home Safety Council estimates that accidents that happen in the home costs the economy some $380 billion each year.

So before you decide to get the bungee cord or skis out of the closet and head out into the wild blue yonder just to avoid injury, here are a few things that you can do to make home sweet home a little safer this year:

Falls are the number 1 cause of death and injury in the home. This number is probably going to increase in the coming years because most of these falls happen to people who are over the age of 65 and a large percentage of baby boomers are now in their fifties. It sort of gives a serious tinge to that humorous commercial; “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.” Stairs are the worst as far as falls are concerned. You don’t want to be part of that skit where dad falls down the stairs after junior has left one of his toys there. Loose rugs and extension cords are the next worst. That new Oriental rug may perfectly match your living room décor, but it’s no good if grandma slips and falls on it. It’s a good idea to take care of slick areas in the kitchen and bathroom too. Use non-skid mats on the stairs and on bare floors and make sure these areas are well lit. At the other end of the spectrum, children aren’t immune to falls either. Use baby gates at the tops of the stairs and try to buy furniture with rounded edges. It’s a little easier on junior if he does happen to fall against them.