PERILS OF HOME LIFE

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 92, 12 January 1935, Page 8

PERILS OF HOME LIFE

Matrimony Not the Only Danger

CARELESSNESS CAUSES MANY ACCIDENTS

The fact that building accidents were the most prolific in all industry, having an average, greater than twice that of accidents in all other industries, was the subject of a recent news article in “The Dominion,” and International Labour Office statistics were quoted to bear this out. A contributor interested by this article has sent an entertaining and sensible account of home perils, and how they may be avoided. The article originally appeared in the “Ladies Home Journal.” in March, 1934, from the pen of P. \V. Kearney, and is given in condensed form. The old sentiment, “Home is where the heart is,” is being amended these days to read. “Home is where you trip over a rug and fracture your collarbone.” For it is the brutal fact that one of the most, dangerous spots on earth is home, sweet home, writes Mr. Kearney. Recently a large life insurance company concluded a study of 117,000 accidents with the opinion that the risk from injury at home is "almost seven times as great as when riding on buses, taxicabs, boats, aeroplanes, trains, and other public conveyances.” The National Safety Council reports that America’s annual automobile slaughter kills only 5 per cent, more people than home accidents about which we hear next to nothing. Indeed, in some cities the motor-car runs second to the domestic accident as an undertaker’s leader. Considering the occupational hazards of industry, it is interesting to note that while 15,000 people were accidentally killed in the entire industrial field in 1932, 28,000 were killed at home, almost twice as many. Not long ago a safety survey of 50 different cities resulted in the coldblooded actuarial forecast that next year one home in every seven will have to lay out an average of 148 dollars in medical care, lost wages and related expenses for some kind of silly mishap—and in nearly 30.000 homes that outlay |is going to include funeral expenses. Where Danger Lies. What is to be done about it? Well, 44 per cent, of all important domestic injuries come from falls. The chief offenders can be listed briefly.— Rugs.— Rugs kill approximately 17 times as many householders as electricity does. Worn spots and curling edges that catch the heels should be fixed; rugs on slippery floors should be equipped with anchors to keep them tight.

Misplaced Objects.— This covers a wide field: playthings left around the floor; tools or household utensils left where they don’t belong; articles left at the head or foot of stairs to be carried down or up later. Poor Light.-— lnadequate illumination is a prolific cause of stair timbales, especially on cellar and porch steps. And since the average stair fall costs 132 dollars for doctors’ bills, it is obviously cheaper to have a light in those dark places. Bathtubs.— About 120,000 people are injured every year from slipping in the bath, and the bulk of those accidents could be prevented by the simple use of a firm handrail at the side of the tub, and the use of a vacuum mat to stand on.

Slippery Steps.— Every house should have a box of sand near the porch for liberal use on icy steps and waiks. In a general way, these items cover the majority of serious falls. Other falls must be treated under the heading of “safety conduct.” The principal one here is the horrible habit of climbing up on teetery chairs or tables in order to reaqh something at an elevation. The housekeeper must learn that there is no substitute for a good stopladder. 'This type of fall nets the doctors and druggists an average of 303 dollars per tumble Precaution Necessary. Continuing in the category of safety conduct brings a number of other points under consideration. ° • Always strike matches away from you, not toward you. Always wield a knife away from yon. Keep all scissors in sheaths when not in use. Keep kitchen knives in a rack, not in a jumble in the tabic drawer. Always put broken glass in a box—don't throw it in a trash basket loose. Is there a gnu iu the house? Rememlier that it is always loaded until proved innocent. Put small bells on ail poison bottles —or shove three k>r four pins into the cork (heads up) Ito warn the groper in the dark.

Mop'up spilled grease now —not “in a minute.”

Keep all pot handles turned away from the front and edges of the stove. Never burn a gas or oil stove in a closed room. Always have at least one door open to guard against carbon monoxide poisoning.

Don’t put pins In your mouth. Don’t handle electric fixtures with wet bands.

Don’t leave a chair in the normal path of travel through a room, path of travel through a room. Somebody mav kill himself upon it in tlie dark.

Open all doors of fhe oven (to ventilate it) before lighting it.

Don’t use gasolene in the home for cleaning—it is never safe. Throw out electric cords when they become frayed—don't try to patch them. Accidents don't happen—they are committed. ’That is why they can be stopped. In the old days one railroad used to have 8.13 accidents for every 100 employees; they cut that ratio to 0.84. if a railroad can do that a home can do better. Tlie price is the expenditure of a little energy, but the rewards are enormous.