The Most Dangerous Injuries Seen at Cook Children’s During Fourth of July
And Fireworks Didn’t Even Make The List
This week you will hear a lot about fireworks safety, but that’s not the only danger children face over the Fourth of July holiday.
As we have reported throughout multiple summers, drowning remains a leading threat to children during the holiday. Last year, two children were rushed to Cook Children’s after being pulled from that water at pool parties on the Fourth of July. One of those children died from their injuries. For the entire month of July in 2017 there were 27 drownings, with two deaths.
Cook Children’s safety experts remind parents and adults to watch children near water with the mindset of a lifeguard.
Sharon Evans, Trauma Injury Prevention coordinator at Cook Children’s, says adults should be within arms reach of child swimmers.
“Don’t let your child out of your sight and be there to grab children out of the water at any sign of trouble,” Evans said.
Drowning prevention around the pool begins with adult supervision, but there are other steps parents can take at home to help protect their children from drowning.
Use these safety techniques and layers of protection whenever children are around the pool:
- Require adult Water Watchers to stay close and actively watch children in water. Water Watchers must be sober, stay off cell phones and not talk to other guests during their 15 minutes shift.
- If you are alone with your child, stay with your child. Get in the water with your child and be in arm's reach. If you have to get out of the water for any reason or leave the pool, take your child or children with you.
- Swim with U.S. Coast Guard-approved life vests. Don't use floaties filled with air.
- Learn to swim at any age.
- Learn CPR.
- Install a fence on all sides of a backyard pool or spa. Secure the fence with a self-latching gate.
- Use alarms that can be put on children's wrists. Also, install alarms in pools and on doors that lead to pools.
- Update pool/spa drain covers.
- Follow pool rules and signs.
- A fence with a locking gate should surround the pool.
Although drowning remains at the top of our mind throughout the summer, our Trauma department saw falls, car crashes, dog bites and snake bites from July 2 through July 8 2017.
The Trauma registry reports during that time frame:
- 19 Falls
- 7 Car Crashes
- 4 Blunt Mechanism Injuries (Finger smashed in the door type injuries)
- 3 Dog Bites
- 3 Snake Bites
- 2 Motorcyles or Dirt Bike Crashes
Rounding out the injury lists were ATV crashes, bike crashes and trampoline injuries with one each during the holiday week.
The safety experts at Cook Children’s remind parents to take the extra time to make sure their kids are safe during the holidays. History shows the most severe injuries seen during Fourth of July remain ATV/4Wheeler accidents and motor vehicle crashes. For the entire month of July last year, there were 27 motor vehicle crashes and 12 ATV accidents.
"If it can accelerate your body, it can injure you," said Corwin Warmink, M.D., medical director of Emergency Services at Cook Children's. "Vehicular accidents, including boats, ATVs, cars, scooters and bikes are all too common on holiday weekends during the summer."
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