|
Surviving and Enjoying a Texas Summer
Warm weather and outdoor activities go hand-in-hand. Unfortunately, summer also yields an increase in preventable injuries. Remember these safety tips:
- Wear an ANSI- or Snell-approved safety helmet when riding a bicycle or skating. Helmets reduce the risk of head injury by 85 percent.
- Leave the fireworks to the professionals, and plan to attend one of the many shows around the Houston area this Fourth of July. Fireworks are one of the leading causes of eye injuries.
- Keep infants out of the sun, especially babies less than 6 months of age.
- Beware of reflected light and cloudy days. Sitting in the shade is no guarantee of protection, especially around water.
- Always enter unfamiliar water feet first. Ninety percent of the 500-700 people who are hurt each year by diving into unfamiliar water head first will spend the rest of their lives in wheelchairs due to head injuries.
- Always wear a Coast Guard-approved life jacket or vest while you are in a boat, even if you are a good swimmer.
- Never leave infants or small children alone in the bath tub or near any kind of water. A child can drown in as little as two inches of water in just seconds. Make sure supervising adults can swim and know CPR.
- When cooking on a barbecue grill, remember never squirt lighter fluid on an open flame. Do not use gasoline to ignite a fire. Keep children away from the grill.
- Wear hard shoes and never go barefoot while mowing grass. Small children should be kept far away from mowers.
- From the Harris County Medical Society
Courtesy of
Texas Medical Center News
©2006 Texas Medical Center
E-Mail: tmcinfo@texmedctr.tmc.edu
URL: http://www.tmc.edu/health_briefs/06_15_99-enjoying.html
|
