Common Health Issues

Home Accidents Prevention

• By Rich Health Editorial Team
• February 01, 2025

The size and condition of your house or apartment are extremely important to the general health and safety of you and your family. Adequate space and good sanitary conditions hinder the spread of infectious disease. Elimination of safety hazards around the home make serious accidents far less likely.

 

There are more dangers in your home than you realize. According to the National Safety Council, more than 4 million Americans are victims of home accidents annually and over 20,000 of these are fatal.

 

Minimum Requirements of Good Housing

When looking for a house or an apartment, or in evaluating the housing you now occupy, several important points should be kept in mind:

1. Every home should contain enough rooms to accommodate all the members of the family without discomfort or crowding. An adequate number of bedrooms is essential. Ideally, every child should have his or her own room. If this is not possible, no more than two children should be asked to share a room, and these two should be close in age and of the same sex. Under no circumstances should a child be required to sleep in the same room with adults

 

 

2. All rooms should be well ventilated and well heated, and should be kept free from dampness. Roofs, walls, and ceilings should be rainproof

 

3. All plumbing should be in good repair, as should stoves, refrigerators and furnaces.

 

4. The house should be free of pests. Because flies and mosquitoes can be disease-carriers as well as annoyances, window screens should be in good repair, and screen doors should close tightly. Because rats are a serious health hazard, all homes should be rat-proofed.

 

5. Children need fresh air, sunshine, and outdoor space to play in. A backyard or a nearby park or playground will contribute to maintaining your children’s health.

 

PREVENTION OF HOME ACCIDENTS

 

Falls

More than half the deaths from home accidents are the results of falls. There is a direct relationship between the state of repair of stairs and railings in a house and the number of sprains and broken bones suffered by the people who live there.

Stairs and railings, both inside and outside, should be kept in good condition, and any defects should be corrected immediately. In cold weather, icy or slippery steps should be scraped and protected, if necessary, by sprinkling with ashes, sand, or rock salt. 

 

Cellar stairs should be sturdy and kept in good condition; they should have at least one good steady handrail.

 

Stairs are not the only hazard. Tools, toys, and other objects left lying on lawns, driveways and floors are invitations to a fall, as are loose rugs and slippery floors.

 

Spills on exposed flooring should be wiped up immediately. Slippery floors should be carpeted, and small rugs should be anchored so that they do not slide around. Tears in carpeting and on stair runners should be repaired as soon as they are discovered; heels and toes can catch in them and lead to a tumble.

Electric light switches should be so positioned that members of the household can light their way from one room to another. Keep a light burning all night near the bathroom.

 

Windows in upper-floor rooms used by children and elderly people should be protected by heavy screen guards. If they are not, they should never be opened from the bottom.

 

Fire Hazards

Matches and Smoking

Keep matches and lighters out of the reach of small children. If you or any other member of your family smokes, be sure there is an ashtray near at hand. And never smoke in bed or when lying on a sofa or reclining in a chair that invites you to go to sleep

Electricity

If you do not have circuit breakers in your home, make certain that all fuses are of the correct wattage for the lines. If a fuse blows, it should never be replaced with one of greater wattage. And never use a penny as a temporary substitute for a blown fuse; you are asking for a fire.

 

Wall outlets should not be overloaded with lines to too many appliances. If you do not have enough outlets, have an electrician install additional ones. Unused outlets should be protected with dummy plugs to make it impossible for children to harm themselves by pushing metal objects into the sockets.

 

Frayed wiring or damaged plugs should be replaced immediately.

 

Keep an air space behind and around your television set, because it can build up heat and pose a fire hazard. Unless you are an expert, do not attempt to repair the TV set yourself.

 

Flammable Liquids

All flammable liquids should be stored in tightly closed, clearly labeled metal containers and should be kept in a cool, well-ventilated place away from anything that might catch fire.

 

Cleaning fluids should be used only in a well-ventilated area, far away from any flame, lighted cigarette, or electric spark. Aerosol containers should also be stored away from heat, and when they are empty they should not be thrown into an incinerator or fire of any kind.

Never use kerosene or any other cleaning fluid to start a fire in the furnace, wood stove, fireplace, or outdoor grill

 

ROOMS WITH SPECIAL HAZARDS

The hazards that lead to falls can be found in virtually every room in the house. Similarly, bad lighting, which can lead to all kinds of accidents, is a safety hazard that can occur anywhere, as is loose electrical wiring along the floor.

 

All radiators should be covered; when exposed, they can cause burns. Young children who are just learning to walk can hurt themselves on sharp-edged furniture, which should be padded or removed from the places where children are likely to be.

 

Because it is easy to walk into a clear glass door or wall, those in your home should be made of safety glass, with an eye-level decal on each pane.

 

Kitchen

Kitchens with gas or coal stoves should be equipped with vents or flues to take away the gases, or they should have windows that can be kept partly open when the stoves are in use. Never light a gas stove if there is an odor of gas in the air; if the odor persists, call a repairman.

 

Asbestos pads, tongs, and pot holders are needed to prevent burns and scalds when you are cooking. Turn all pot handles towards the back of the stove; if they face front, you could get a serious burn by brushing against a handle and overturning the utensil.

 

Hot fat and grease require special precautions. Never pour water or flour on grease that has caught fire, because these substances will only spatter the flame. Such small fires can be extinguished by pouring salt, sand, dirt, or ashes on them, or they can be smothered with heavy wet cloth or asbestos pads.

 

A home fire extinguisher, which can be purchased at a reasonable cost, is a worthwhile investment.

Be sure to disconnect your toaster before cleaning out crumbs or dislodging a piece of bread that has become stuck. 

 

Kitchens are a special hazard to children. Teach them to stay away from the stove at all times, even when it is not in use. Remember that it takes a long time for the heat from any stove—coal, gas or electric—to dissipate.

 

Knives, forks, and all other sharp implements should be kept locked up, or out of the reach of children. This same advice applies to all harmful substances frequently found in the kitchen—lye, ammonia, acids, insect and rodent poisons, and cleaning solutions.

 

Bathroom

Some electrical equipment used in the bathroom—an electric toothbrush, for example—is meant to be used in conjunction with water; and such equipment, if it is in good repair, is perfectly safe. But because tap water is an excellent conductor of electricity, such electrical appliances as heaters, hair dryers, razors, and hair curlers should not come in contact with moisture.

You should never use these appliances, or touch an electric socket or switch, while you are taking a bath or when your hands are wet.

 

Grab rails are available for bathtubs and toilets to minimize the danger of falls, especially for older people.  A rubber mat in the bathtub will also prevent falls and slips. Make certain that the thermostat on the water heater is not set too high.

 

An unexpected stream of scalding water from the shower can give a serious burn and cause a fall as the victim tries to escape the spray.

 

Many medicines now come in child-proof containers. Even so, all medicines should be kept locked up or at least out of the reach of children, as should razor blades, aerosol containers, and other contents of the medicine chest.

 

Cellar

Whether you heat your home and your water by oil, gas, coal or electricity, have the entire system checked by a repairman each year before the cold weather sets in. Flues and chimneys should be examined. The central air-conditioning unit should be checked annually.

Because the ashes from a coal furnace retain heat for a considerable period, they should be kept in metal containers.

 

If you chop wood for your furnace or your fireplace, be sure the axe is adequate and that you know how to use it. When not in use, the axe should be kept under lock and key. The same is true for all household tools and equipment with which children might hurt themselves.

 

An ill-lit or cluttered cellar is a danger. Every part of the cellar should be well lighted, and clearly defined areas should be set aside for tools, equipment, screens, and other household paraphernalia.

 

If your children use the cellar as a playroom, these storage areas should be separated by walls from the space used by the youngsters. A few two-by-four wood stud and some inexpensive pressed-board partitions will make a perfectly adequate wall.

 

Do not, however, let your children go into the cellar by themselves for any reasons until they are old enough to be trusted alone for an hour or more.

 

SAFETY TIPS ON YOUR YARDS AND GARDENS

Keep children away from outdoor cooking equipment. Remember that it is as easy for them to burn themselves in the yard as in the house.

 

Power lawn mowers can be dangerous, especially those with rotary blades that can send loose rock flying. If you use this type of mower, be sure to rake up all rocks in the yard before starting to mow. Gasoline-powered mowers can easily get out of control and must be guided by a firm hand.

Garden tools—especially rakes—should never be left lying on the lawn. Anyone who accidentally steps on them is likely to suffer serious injuries.

 

Do not let children play in the yard immediately after you have used an insecticide or a weed killer on the lawn, because these contain toxic substances particularly dangerous to children.