OCCIDENTS TO CHILDREN

Evening Post, Volume CXIV, Issue 119, 16 November 1932, Page 16

OCCIDENTS TO CHILDREN

PREVENTION IN THE HOME

SUGGESTIONS TO PARENTS

'^Contributed by the Department of

Health.)

Among tho causes of death, suffering, and decreased efficiency in modern days, ■we must include many preventible accidents. The growth of cities ana tho development of motor transport have made the streets perilous and entail great wastage of life and health. Street accidents "bulk more largely among tho causes of disablement and death.

We are apt to forget, however, the large number of preventible accidents that happen in the home. In Great Britain, for instance, states an overseas journal, of four thousand fatal accidents which happened to children in a year, practically two thousand occurred in the home. Of 677 accidental deaths in New Zealand last year, not including those arising from earthquakes, sixty-five occurred among children, under five years of age, and no doubt a great number of these took place in the home.

There were actually 127 deaths from accidents to children under fifteen years of age. However, we will confine our attention to tho sixty-five accidental deaths under five. Of these there were ! sixteen deaths from accidental burns j and scalds, four from falls, eight from suffocation, thirteen from drowning, and five from poisoning, two of which were from toxic gas. BURNS AND SCALDS. The total number of deaths from burns and scalds was thirty-four, and, as stated, sixteen, that is, forty-seven per cent., occurred , , among children under'five yeaTs of age. The actual number of persons admitted to our public hospitals 'suffering from burns ana scalds was four hundred and fifty-four, and thirty of tho deaths recorded took place in hospital. Fire has a fascination for children which increases its danger. It is- obvious, therefore, that no child of tender years should be left alone in a room with an exposed fire. All open fires in rooms used by children should be surrounded by a fireguard firmly attached to the wall and high enough to prevent a small child from reaching over the top of the guard. On no account should one put clothes round a fireguard to air. This is a great temptation to many mothers,, but it cannot be too strongly condemned if there is a small child in the house. Neglect of this rule has caused accidents—the child knocks against the guard, the clothes fall into the grate, and before anyone'in another room is aware of it, an accident has occurred. In preparing a bath for a child it is advisable to run in cold water first and run in the hot water subsequently until the right temperature is reached. This lessens the danger of placing a child in water hot enough to cause injury from scalding and shock. Receptacles containing hot liquid, such as boiling water or fat, hot tea, . etc., should be placed well out of the reach of children. A child has been known to place his mouth over the spont of a steaming kettle or teapot out of curiosity, 'with disastrous consequences. . Care is necessary to keep well out of rea-ch of little hands such dangerous articles as naked lights, oil lamps, matches, and all readily, inflammable substances as petrol, kerosene, etc. It should be known that flannelette garments catch fire and burn more readily than do substances of a firmer texture. Adequate are essential for the protection of; young children. Crackers and other fireworks are not unattended by danger, and should be let off under adult supervision. It must be remembered that the danger to a child through burns and scalds is not only from destruction of tissues involving pain and suffering, but from serious shock to the nervous system. All cases of burns and scalds require careful treatment, and medical advice should be immediately obtained. A superficial burn covering a large area of the skin may be more dangerous than a deeper burn confined to a small area. . - FALLS. As stated above, four children in. New Zealand were killed by falls last year. In Great Britain 169 deaths among children were recorded resulting from falls from windows, beds, tables, ladders, downstairs, etca Many of these could have been prevented. A simple safeguard for stairs is a wooden: gateway at the top. Safety rails should be fixed across open windows with rails close enough to prevent the child pushing its head throngh. Bars are safer than a;"bed, over the edge of which! an active youngster may wriggle, with consequent serious injury. Highly polished floors, loose stair l'ods, loose iugs, or frayed" carpets are common causes of both minor and serious injury from falls. Accidents arise through, bad. lighting and unnecessary sharp edges on staircases and furniture. SUFFOCATION. ■ It is interesting to note that six of the eight deaths from, suffocation mentioned, above took place in infants under one year of age, and two from one year and under two. It is unsafe for infants or very young children to sleep with older people because of the danger of overlying. The wise mother gives her baby a separate bed. There is also a risk of weakly babies in their sleep rolling over on to their faces, and not: having strength to roll backwards, being in danger of suffocation. This may sometimes happen in a pram. It is never really safe to leave a weakly baby asleep for any length of time without taking a peep at him every now and then. A sturdy toddler may be safe, but a weakly infant may not. Children should be protected from cats and other domestic pota which may cause suffocation by lying on top of them during sleep, or may even: attack them directly. . Young children should not be allowed to paddle or bathe except in the' charge of a responsible person, and oven in an. ordinary household bath a little child should not be left alone. Uncovered wells and deep drains, are, of course, dangerous. I .;;,-.:•■:■ . POISONS. j All bp,ttles containing poison or any substance that may be harmful should be well labelled and kept far beyond reach 6JE _ children. There is a risk of young children being poisoned by carbon' monoxide gas if they are left to eleep on the floor of a motor-ear with a running engine. Gas taps if not beyond the reach of the toddler should be so tight that childish hands cannot turn. them. ; ■•:■':. CUTS AND SCRATCHES. Knives and all sharp instruments, sharp-edged tin cans and so forth should not be left within tho grasp of little hands. Accidents have arisen through unnecessary sharp edges and corners on staircases and furniture. Despite precautions every small child grazes his knees or cuts his hands. These abrasions should be kept scrupulously clean, as cases of blood poisoning have before now a^'sen from neglect of this precaution. Thero wero seven deaths of young children last year from tetanus, which is often caused through neglect to properly clean cuts and wounds.

Careful supervision may not lie entirely successful in preventing accidents, but it will certainly reduce both •their frequency and severity. It is donbtless unwise to restrict or terrify a. child with ceaseless warnings, but the possibility of accident may be greatly diminished by such simple precautions as above suggested.