Health Education Ministry

June is National Safety Month

Make your home safer with these cheep/free tips 

Home sweet home. Whether a big mansion or a studio apartment, there is no place like home. It provides us with comfort and relaxation. Home is where we feel safe. But have you really checked how safe your home is, in terms of injury prevention? June is national safety month, so lets talk home safety tips today!

A lot of us talk about safety precautions and emergency preparedness, but very few do something about it. June is Home Safety Month – a perfect time to refresh our memories on basic safety precautions and put our ideas about safety into action.

The leading causes of Home Injury include falls, poisonings, fires/burns, choking/suffocation and drowning/submersion. Injury-proofing your home need not be expensive. Here are some free/cheap home safety tips to protect you and your loved ones from injuries and make your home a safe haven.

Home safety tips to prevent falls

Falling-related injuries are the overall leading cause of non-fatal, unintentional injuries for people of all ages. An average of 3.8 million residential fall injuries resulting in an emergency room visit occur every year.

Ways to reduce your risk :

1. Use a double sided carpet tape to fix the area rugs in place. Better, don’t use area rugs at all.
2. Place rubber suction bathmat or no slip floor strips in the bath tub and use the grab bar to get in and out of the bath tub/shower.
3. Have a bathmat with non skid bottom outside the shower to avoid getting the floor wet.
4. Use all the lights available when using the stairs. If there is not enough lighting, get those LED lights that can attach anywhere. Like these - Self-Adhesive LED Light.
5. Place all the exposed cables/wires/cords along the wall and cover them if possible using a Cable/Cord Concealer to prevent tripping.
6. Secure heavy book-shelves and the entertainment center to the wall. You can get inexpensive L-brackets at your local hardware store or, if you bought your furniture from Ikea, you can get them for free at their customer service desk.
7. Use toddler gates at the top and bottom of the stairs if there are small children in the house.

Poisonings

Poisoning is the second leading cause of home injury. In 2008, U.S. poison centers received nearly 2.5 million human poison exposure calls, 1.7 million poison information calls, and over 130,000 non-human exposure calls.

Ways to reduce your risk :

1. Keep all chemicals (including medicines, cosmetics and cleaners) away from a child’s reach.
2. Keep all the household cleaning supplies and medicines in their original packages. Read the labels and know the toxic levels.
3. Add the National poison center number to your cell phone address book (1-800-222-1222) and keep them near your home phone. For unconscious patients, convolutions, or any difficulty in breathing, call 9-1-1..
4. Schedule a home safety inspection to check your appliances are operating safely and efficiently. This will also save money on your gas bill. Most gas companies do this for free or for a very low price.. Call your local gas company for more information.
5. Install a carbon monoxide detector. If you cannot afford one, please contact your local fire department using the NON-emergency number. Some of them may provide it for free. This would be a great time to call your fire department to check out their programs.
6. Don’t save medicine. Discard all leftover medications by flushing them down the toilet.

Residential Fires/Burns

Residential fires and burns are the third leading cause of unintentional home injury deaths and the ninth leading cause of home injuries resulting in an emergency room visit.

Ways to reduce your risk :

1. Install smoke detectors on every level of your house. Replace the smoke alarm every 10 yrs. Test them frequently, and replace their batteries once a year. If you cannot afford one, contact your local fire department..
2. Buy fire extinguishers that will work on all types of fires, these are called A-B-C type extinguishers. Mount the extinguisher near an exit door, easily accessible but out of reach of children.
3. Know how to use the fire extinguisher. Check with your local fire department to see if they will offer training.
4. Don’t keep flammable things near your fireplace or space heaters.
5. Try to use battery operated candles instead of the real ones.
6. Set the hot water heater to 120 degrees to reduce energy costs and prevent scalding while bathing.
7. Have your own fire escape plan and practice it with the kids.

Choking/Suffocation

In the blink of an eye, a child can swallow something small and choke. But you can prevent it with a few simple precautions.

Ways to reduce your risk :

1. Check your crib and make sure its a good one; www.recall.gov. Remove any pillows, toys or sheets from the crib.
2. If an object can fit in through a toilet paper tube, its a chocking hazard. Keep these in a place where a child can’t reach.
3. Watch children when they are eating. Cut the food into small pieces.
4. Check if your child’s toys are age appropriate. If your child is younger than the recommended age mentioned on the toy label, it should be removed.
5. Tie up the window blind cords out of a child’s reach. Or if you have roman-style shades and roll-up blinds you can get free retrofit kits from the Window Covering Safety Council.

Home safety tips to prevent Drowning

Of the drownings that occur in the home environment, 80% of those affected are of children ages 4 and under, and most of these occur in home swimming pools and bathtubs.

Ways to reduce your risk :

1. If you have a pool or a spa, install a fence that goes all the way around.
2. Never let a child swim alone, or let him/her play in the bath tub or even a big bucket of water. Always stay close to the child.
3. Always keep the gate to the pool locked.
4. Drain the bath tub and empty water buckets as soon as you are done using them. Store the buckets upside down.
5. Use toilet seat locks to keep them shut.
6. Use an outside lock to the bathroom to keep young children out of the bathroom.

This could also be a good time to learn CPR and put together a first aid kit. Check if your local community organizations are offering free CPR training. You can find more tips at the Home Safety Council. And don’t forget to compile a list of emergency and important telephone numbers to keep handy. Use the attached PDF file to help you start with the emergency contact list. Now is a good time to get everything in order and enjoy your sweet and safe home!