What We Should Know About Accidents

Accidents may happen anywhere. At home, on the way to work, in the toilet, basically just about anywhere when we are not being careful. Accidents account for injury to more than 10 million Americans a year. In the US alone it had been estimated that 15,000 deaths per year are caused by accidents to children under the age of 15.

Accidents prone periods

Research by the Boston Children's Hospital Medical Center has shown that accidents tend to happen more on Saturdays and between 3.00 to 6.00 pm. Most of the findings apply equally well to adults even though the hospital's study dealt with children.

In general, we should take extra caution when the family had departed in some degree from its usual routine.

Below is a list of situations where we should be on the alert for potential accidents:

• The child is under the care of another person.
• The family is taking a trip or traveling to a destination.
• Family members are hungry or tired.
• The mother had fallen ill, about to menstruate or is pregnant.
• The mother is rushed.
• The mother is taking care of an ill family member.
• The parents are under emotional stress.
• The parents overestimate or underestimate a child's capability. A simple warning like 'Do not play with matches' is usually incomprehensible to children under 5 years of age. Also, a child by some way may actually be capable of reaching a high shelf containing poisons.

We must try to avoid accidents from happening during the above situations. Think of what we can do to minimize the risk of accidents. As an example, we should place our children at professional day cay centers while we are working, simplify our schedule during periods of stress, & fix a quick snack or order pizza delivery when our family members are hungry.

Major causes of accidents

The most notorious cause of accidents is in the form of cars & other motor vehicles. They account for almost half of all recorded accidental deaths. Motorcycles in particular are the most hazardous vehicle as it has the greatest death per number of machine ratio. Think twice before purchasing minibikes for our children as it can lead them into a death trap should they want to upgrade to a proper road legal motorcycle.

The second most common cause of accidental deaths is by falling. It poses more of a threat to the elderly as loss of composure, strength, sight, balance & etc may contribute to an accident. The elderly should be supervised to avoid accidents because they may no longer be able to do many things by themselves.

Water is important in our lives. Without it we will perish. However, water can be life threatening as well. It is the third greatest cause of accidental deaths. Be careful for ourselves & our children when around relatively large bodies of water as a basin of water is sufficient to drown a baby. Drowning accidents not only happen while swimming in pools, oceans, lakes but also during fishing, scuba diving & boating. Make sure the proper safety precautions are met to prevent drowning e.g. wearing life jackets on boats, arm floaters for the young children and learn swimming & water survival lessons which can be a life saver.

Other profound causes of accidents in order of frequency are burns, choking, poisons, & gunshot wounds.

Below are some basic first aid tips when helping an accident victim:

• Clear the victim's air passages. Remove debris, mucus, blood from the mouth & throat.
• Try to restore breathing & heart beat preferably using mouth to mouth resuscitation.
• Consequently use closed chest massage in the event that there is no heartbeat.
• Stop the bleeding with direct pressure. Use a tourniquet only when an emergency justifies sacrificing a limb.

Fatal situations can be avoided by helping an accident victim as soon as possible. We can learn to treat the victim properly no matter what is the cause of the accident. Knowledge of first aid will be beneficial & probably even save a life in the event of an accident.

Abas Kamal bin Sulaiman is a homemaking enthusiast minus the urge to spend too much money on interior decorating. He writes on a variety of homemaking based topics. Visit http://abassterhomemaking.blogspot.com