Avoiding/Treating Common Injuries

Dog Bites

CDC Recommendations:

-Do not approach an unfamiliar dog.

-Immediately report stray dogs or dogs displaying unusual behavior to an adult.–

-Do not disturb a dog who is sleeping, eating, or caring for puppies.

-Do not run from a dog and scream.

-Do not pet a dog without allowing it to see and sniff you first.

-If bitten, immediately report the bite to an adult

via CDC

Falls

CDC Recommendations:

Children:

-On public playgrounds, more injuries occur on climbers than on any other equipment.
-On home playgrounds, swings are responsible for most injuries.
-Children ages 5 to 9 have higher rates of emergency department visits for playground injuries than any other age group.

via CDC

Older Adults:

-How to avoid falls? Exercise regularly. It is important that the exercises focus on increasing leg strength and improving balance.-
-Make homes safer by reducing tripping hazards, adding grab bars inside and outside the tub or shower and next to the toilet, adding railings on both sides of stairways and improving the lighting in their homes.

via CDC

Fires

Preventing Burns & Common Injuries

-Be alarmed. Install and maintain smoke alarms in your home—on every floor and near all rooms family members sleep in. Test your smoke alarms once a month to make sure they are working properly.
-Have an escape plan. Create and practice a family fire escape plan, and involve kids in the planning. Make sure everyone knows at least two ways out of every room and identify a central meeting place outside.
-Cook with care. Use safe cooking practices, such as never leaving food unattended on the stove. Also, supervise or restrict children’s use of stoves, ovens, or microwaves.
-Check water heater temperature. Set your water heater’s thermostat to 120 degrees Fahrenheit or lower. Infants who aren’t walking yet can’t get out of water that may be too hot, and maintaining a constant thermostat setting can help control the water temperature throughout your home—preventing it from getting too high.

via CDC

Water

-Designate a responsible adult to watch young children while in the bath and all children swimming or playing in or around water. Supervisors of preschool children should provide “touch supervision”, be close enough to reach the child at all times.
-Always swim with a buddy.
-Formal swimming lessons can protect young children from drowning. However, even when children have had formal swimming lessons, constant, careful supervision when children are in the water, and barriers, such as pool fencing to prevent unsupervised access, are still important.
-Remove floats, balls and other toys from the pool and surrounding area immediately after use so children are not tempted to enter the pool area unsupervised.
-Use U.S. Coast Guard approved life jackets.
Learn Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)

via CDC