20,000 deaths among children, the leading cause of death. Two million falls among the over 65s responsible for 10,000 deaths; practically all preventable …
A second of inattention and the consequences of what we call a domestic accident are dramatic: falls, shock, burns, poisoning, drowning, suffocation … Alarming figures for our children: In total: 20,000 deaths per year … five times more than road accidents. Of which 80% could be avoided. For example, avoiding putting household cleaning products such as bleach in empty soda bottles … We must add two great classics of these accidents: the bottle that is heated in the microwave including the glass is cold while the burning liquid inside which risks permanently destroying the esophagus … It is indeed always necessary to test the heat of the liquid on the skin of the mother’s arm … or of the dad if it is he who gives it .
There is also the handle of the saucepan that boils on the fire and protrudes from the stove. One of the major causes of the 400,000 domestic burns per year. It’s a bit like the horror catalog, but we must also add the 250 deaths per year by defenestration in children from 10 months to 7 years old who are not supervised. We will end with the peanuts for the aperitif, left within the reach of the little ones and which risks being swallowed in the wrong pipe, that of breathing.
Accidents that do not only concern children.
There are 2,000,000 falls each year in people over 65, which occurred at home in 70% of cases, which represents 10,000 deaths per year.
In question, a poorly adapted environment, poor vision, balance disorders which increase with age and finally an isolation among some seniors which delays or prevents the arrival of help.
If falls are the number one home accident, suffocation, drowning, carbon monoxide poisoning (poorly adjusted stoves) and fire accidents are also risks to watch out for. In 3 years, the number of suffocation deaths among people over 65 has tripled.
The last issue which alone is a huge debate: the overconsumption of drugs among our seniors; cases of drug poisoning in the elderly have doubled between in 10 years.
Prevention is a public health imperative
To avoid risky situations, the prevention of domestic accidents is essential. It involves dialogue, raising awareness among seniors, but also securing housing with the help of special equipment.
This prevention is difficult to carry out only through information campaigns carried out by the health authorities. It requires a family environment, but in practice it is very inconstant. This is an area where the family doctor has a key role.
Slight modifications to the living area may be enough to eliminate the danger: For example, by avoiding obstacles on the ground such as carpets or electric wires, the risk of falling is reduced. Non-slip coatings in the bathroom and in the kitchen, rooms where falls are the most frequent, as well as the installation of a stair railing also help to avoid the risk of accidents. Do not forget to have regular appointments with an ophthalmologist to keep as long as possible
It is also possible to secure the living environment by adapting the size of the furniture and equipment in the house (beds, armchairs, chairs, easy-access bathtub, shelves at moderate height), by installing guardrails on the windows by example and ensuring the optimal lighting of every room in the house.
A website to recommend: The excellent health insurance website:
http://www.accidents-domestiques.com/
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