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.

Speaking of junior, the biggest danger for children in the home is accidental poisoning. Put locks on medicine cabinets and store household chemicals out of reach. Never tell children that their good tasting sweet grape flavored medicine is candy.

In 2003, someone died in a house fire every two hours and someone was injured every 29 minutes. Those little white plastic things stuck to the ceiling that you have to change the batteries in every year are vital to your family’s safety. More than half the deaths from fires each year are in homes that don’t have a smoke detector. Check them, maintain them, and upgrade them. It’s a good idea to get smoke detectors that are connected so they all go off at once. Invest a few bucks for a few fire extinguishers and keep them strategically placed throughout your home, especially in the kitchen.

Two other concerns for children in the home that account for 5,000 deaths and 3,000 deaths per year respectively, is choking and drowning. Supervise very young children while they are eating, make sure that they are placed properly in bed, and check toys for small pieces that can break off and get lodged in small throats. Children drown in the bathtub, in inflatable swimming pools, and even in the toilet. Never leave children unattended in these areas, not even for a minute.

I haven’t read any statistics on having accidents in other people’s homes, but I recently spent three months hobbling around on a broken leg that I got from falling while helping a friend work in their yard. Things can happen.