In a week, the Fourth of July will be here. And for many kids, that means fireworks.
Fireworks were special for me and my friends growing up. Now, as I watch kids at fireworks displays, from small community gatherings to those at the Washington Monument, the looks of awe and wonderment remind me of many years in my past.
But as wonderful as the experience can be, especially with the great improvement of professional fireworks, it can be equally tragic when fireworks critically injure someone. In the month around the Fourth of July, more than 5,000 people are injured severely enough by fireworks to be taken to an emergency room. As many as 10 times that number may go to a doctor’s office or use home treatment.
Not surprisingly, bottle rockets cause the most injuries. Because they are often erratic in their course and too often explode in the air, bottle rockets can injure bystanders as well as hurt the person lighting them.
The seemingly harmless sparkler is the second most common cause of injuries. That’s because sparklers can heat up to 1,500 degrees. When pieces of sparkler come in contact with the skin, they can often stick to the skin and continue to burn for a long time.
Also, not surprisingly, twice as many males are injured as females. And although the injury rate is much higher for preteens and younger, all ages, including elderly bystanders are subject to injury. Eye injuries, which can be caused by bottle rockets, sparklers and most other fireworks, are about one-fourth of fireworks-related injuries treated in an emergency room.
In case of injury, know what to do if you need emergency help. Know the location of the nearest emergency room and know how to get there fast – either by calling a rescue squad or driving yourself.
For less severe injuries, it may be better (and less expensive) to see your family doctor or to go to an urgent care center other than an emergency room. So before an injury occurs, please write down – near your telephone – your doctor’s office hours and the location and hours of the nearest urgent care center.
Learn what home treatment to apply (and not to apply) in case of injury. Buy a book and review what emergency medical steps you can take for each type of injury. And attend a local first aid course, if you can.
Because eye injuries are the most severe type of injury caused by fireworks, it’s critically important to know what to do.
John Jeffers, M.D., an ophthalmologist and member of the advisory board of Prevent Blindness America, recommends the following seven actions following an eye injury:
Don’t delay medical attention.
Stay calm, don’t panic, keep the child as calm as possible.
Do not rub the eye.
Do not attempt to rinse out the eye.
Shield the eye from pressure.
Avoid giving aspirin or ibuprofen for pain.
Don’t apply an ointment or any medication.
As with many other public health hazards, the safest way to prevent injury from fireworks is not to play with them at all. Go to community or regional fireworks displays where you can let fireworks professionals handle the job.
But even if you wanted to give up your enjoyment of having family fireworks, it’s difficult to get kids to play it safe at times of such energy and good fun. It’s especially hard when a parent or guardian is also distracted by all that’s going on.
Please take the time before the celebrating begins, and prior to buying any fireworks, to teach children about fireworks safety. Consider letting the ones who are most likely to be using the fireworks to be the teachers.
Use some of the information contained in this column to come up with a small quiz to give to children. Make passing the quiz a prerequisite to buying fireworks. Then have them be the teacher for all the other (probably younger) children.
Also, during fireworks, give your older children the responsibility of helping you look after younger siblings or other relatives. My experience is that it’s often easier to teach a 10-year-old, for example, to protect a younger brother or sister from injury than to look out for his or her own safety.
For more information about preventing and treating eye injuries, you may want to contact Prevent Blindness America. Its toll-free number is (800) 331-2020.
Preventing injuries, and even treating them rapidly, can be fairly simple and straightforward – not unlike the basic principles on which the United States and Canada are founded. But in both cases, unless we take them to heart and practice what we know, a tragedy may be the result.
