We might associate summer with fun times and tanning in the sun, but for emergency rooms and urgent care facilities, summer also means trauma season. The more people move and get active, the more likely they are to put themselves in situations where they can become injured.
As US News points out, “there are distinct patterns to summer accidents, and many could be easily prevented.” Parents are often surprised and alarmed that their children managed to get into accidents within a few seconds of their backs being turned, but such is the nature of accidental injuries — they occur unexpectedly and very quickly in most cases.
How can you avoid ending up in an emergency room or urgent care facility this summer? Here are three common summer injuries and what you should know about them.
Injuries Sustained While Biking
- According to Chrissy Cianflone of Safe Kids USA, biking deaths are often the result of an improperly fitted helmet. “I can’t tell you how many times I see kids wearing helmets that are too big, too small, or too far back on their heads,” she says. Proper helmets help prevent traumatic brain injury.
- Not every kid bikes at a careful speed down the block. If kids are interested in doing tricks and turns on their bikes, reinforce the lessons about knee and wrist guards, at least while trying to do wheelies.
- An urgent care clinic can help stitch up cuts sustained while biking and falling on tough gravel. Remember also to teach kids how to ride safely around both vehicles and pedestrians.
Trampoline Injuries
- Who doesn’t remember someone from childhood breaking their arm thanks to a trampoline? Although these toys are fun, there is potential risk involved and steps should be taken to avoid those risks.
- Safety walls or in-ground trampolines are an absolute must for safer bounding. Many injuries occur when participants end up sailing off the trampoline to the ground many feet below.
- A study by the British Medical Journal found that the more bouncers there were, the more injuries that would occur. Establish a rule of no more than two people bouncing at any given time.
Fireworks and Fire
- The fourth of July is coming up, and urgent care facilities know what this means: burns on every body part. Both fireworks and fire pits can be sources of potential pain for an unwary child.
- Children don’t always get hurt by the fire itself — they often get injured when playing with lighter fluid or by stumbling into very hot ashes.
- Fireworks should never be handled by someone younger than 15. Injuries most commonly result when fireworks are lit incorrectly and people go to fiddle or re-light them. If the firework doesn’t go off, leave it be.
Are you going to avoid urgent care facilities this summer? Let us know how you stay safe in the comments. Read more blogs like this.
