Summertime Safety – The summer season traditionally is a time of increased unintentional injuries and fatalities.
Food Safety – Use a meat thermometer to ensure that you cook meat and poultry thoroughly.
Keep cold foods cold and hot foods hot.
Refrigerate leftovers promptly.
Avoid cross-contamination.
Beware of Bugs – Use an appropriate insect and tick repellent and apply it properly.
After coming indoors, shower as soon as possible and check your body for ticks.
Eliminate or seal rodent food sources such as pet food, bird feeders, and garbage cans.
Remove any items that may collect standing water, such as buckets, old tires, and toys.
Replace or repair torn window screens to keep bugs out of the house.
Around the Yard – As you’re clearing out clutter, fill any gaps or holes inside and outside your home.
Prime mosquito-biting hours are usually dusk to dawn, but ticks are out at all times. Use repellent containing 20% DEET. You can also treat clothing with the repellent.
Reduce the number of ticks around your home by removing leaf litter and brush- and woodpiles around your house and at the edge of your yard. By clearing trees and brush in your yard, you can reduce the likelihood that deer, rodents, and ticks will live there.
Elevate hay, woodpiles, and garbage cans at least 1 foot off the ground, and trim grass and shrubbery within 100 feet of your home.
Learn CPR—CardioPulmonary Resuscitation—especially if you’ll be supervising others.
Push hard and fast in the center of the chest.
When a teen or adult suddenly collapses with cardiac arrest, his or her lungs and blood contain enough oxygen to keep vital organs healthy for the first few minutes, as long as someone provides high-quality chest compressions with minimal interruption to pump blood to the heart and brain.
Call 9-1-1 (or send someone to do that).
Prevent water-related injuries
• Swim in designated areas supervised by lifeguards.
• Ensure that everyone in the family learns to swim well. Enroll in age-appropriate Red Cross water orientation and Learn-to-Swim courses.
• Always swim with a buddy; do not allow anyone to swim alone.
Not including boating incidents, on average about nine people die from drowning every day. The younger the child, the greater the risk.
Never leave a young child unattended near water and do not trust a child’s life to another child; teach children to always ask permission to go near water.
• If you have a pool, secure it with appropriate barriers—many children who drown in home pools were out of sight for less than 5 minutes and in the care of one or both parents at the time. Always stay within arm’s reach of young children.
• Avoid distractions when supervising children around water.
• Actively supervise children whenever around water—even if lifeguards are present.
• Have young children or inexperienced swimmers wear U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets around water, but do not rely on life jackets alone.
Prevent skin cancer
•Wear clothing to protect exposed skin.•Wear sunglasses that wrap around and block as close to 100% of both UVA and UVB rays as possible.
•Avoid indoor tanning.
•Use sunscreen with sun protective factor (SPF) 15 or higher, and both UVA and UVB protection.
•Wear a hat with a wide brim to shade the face, head, ears, and neck.
•Seek shade, especially during midday hours.
Prevent Overexertion
Overexertion is the third-leading cause of unintentional injuries treated in emergency departments. The most common injuries are strains and sprains, especially of the lower back.
Start off easy
Pace yourself
Know your limits
Drink plenty of water before, during and after any period of strenuous activity.
Driving Safety
Distracted Driving– cell phone talking & texting
Talking on a cell phone while driving makes you four times more likely to crash, and texting while driving increases your chance of crashing by up to 8 to 23 times.
Impaired Driving – In 2009, 10,839 people were killed in the United States in motor vehicle crashes where a driver was under the influence of alcohol, accounting for 32 percent of all fatalities in motor vehicle traffic crashes.
Motor vehicle crashes remain the nation’s leading cause of unintentional death. A major contributing factor is distracted driving. NSC estimates 23% of all motor vehicle crashes involve cell phone use behind the wheel.
Aggressive Driving – Aggressive or improper driving is a factor in nearly 60 percent of all fatal accidents, and includes behaviors such as speeding, frequent and unnecessary lane changes, tailgating and running red or yellow lights.
Children In & Around Vehicles – Driveway backovers and hot car deaths can easily be prevented by never leaving a child in or around a vehicle unattended.
Child Passenger Safety – Placing children in age- and size-appropriate car seats and booster seats reduces serious and fatal injuries by more than half, but 3 out of 4 parents do not properly use child restraints.
Keep your child in the car seat for as long as possible, as long as the child fits within the manufacturer’s height and weight requirements.
Select a car seat based on your child’s age and size and use it every time.
Safety Belts – In 2009, 67 percent of the passenger vehicle occupants ages 13 to 15 killed in motor vehicle crashes were not using restraints – the highest percentage out of all age groups.
Keep your family safe by always buckling up and setting an example that will have a lasting impact on your children.
Each year, more than 5,500 people are killed in crashes involving teen drivers. Victims include teen drivers, their passengers, occupants in other vehicles, motorcyclists, bicyclists and pedestrians, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Avoid Binge Drinking
More than 15% of US adults report binge drinking. It is most common in men, adults in the 18-34 age range, and people with household incomes of $75,000 or more. Most people who binge drink are not alcohol-dependent or alcoholics.
Associated with:
•Motor vehicle crashes.
•Interpersonal violence.
•High blood pressure, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases.
•Poor control of diabetes.
•Unintended pregnancy.
•Drowning
Binge drinking, defined as 5 or more drinks on a single occasion for men or 4 or more drinks on a single occasion for women, generally within about 2 hours, is a dangerous pattern of alcohol consumption.
Preventing Slips, Trips and Falls
Falls are one of the nation’s leading causes of unintentional injuries treated in emergency departments. Adults 55 and older are more prone to becoming victims of falls.
Exercise, such as brisk walking, tai chi and yoga, helps reduce falls by improving strength and balance. Stay hydrated while exercising and consult with your physician before starting an exercise program.
Have a doctor or pharmacist review all of your medications. Some medicines, combination of medicines or other combinations (sun, alcohol, etc.) can make you drowsy or light-headed, which can lead to a fall.
Have your vision checked regularly by an eye doctor. Poor vision can greatly increase your chance of falling.
Pay attention when you walk or use stairs.
Avoid distractions, such as texting or reading while walking, that can lead to a slip, trip or fall due to a step, crack or hole in the ground.
Be aware of your surroundings at all times. Falls can happen in any location, even in familiar areas.
http://www.nsc.org/pages/home.aspx
National Safety Council