When Fireworks Injure, It's Kids Who Pay the Price
2006-Jul-03
By
-- Diana Kohnle
MONDAY, July 3 (HealthDay News) -- Children are at risk of
getting seriously hurt by fireworks even if they aren't the ones
setting them off, according to new research released on the eve of
the Independence Day holiday.
And parental supervision is no guarantee against injury, the
researchers added.
Between 1990 and 2003, approximately 85,800 cases of
fireworks-related injuries in children were reported, and in 54
percent of the cases, the parents were right there, according to
the study done by the Center for Injury Research and Policy at
Columbus Children's Hospital in Ohio.
The average age of the injured children was 11, and the majority
-- 80 percent -- were male. Burns were the most common injury in 60
percent of the cases, and the most commonly injured body sites were
the eyeball, face and hands.
Firecrackers caused almost 30 percent of accidents, sparklers
about 20 percent, and aerial fireworks around 17 percent.
"Children who were injured while playing with fireworks
themselves accounted for approximately half of the injuries," said
study co-author Rachel Witsaman, a CIRP staff member, in a prepared
statement. "Even more concerning was that one-fourth of injuries
occurred to bystanders. This means that a child is at risk of
injury simply by being near where fireworks are being used."
The study, based on data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety
Commission's National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, showed
that approximately 92 percent of all injured children were treated
and released from hospital emergency departments, 5.3 percent were
admitted, and 2.3 percent were transferred to another
institution.
"Parents should be advised to take their children to safer
public fireworks displays, rather than allowing consumer fireworks
to be used by or near their children," said study author Dr. Gary
Smith, director of CIRP.
"Every type of legally available consumer firework has been
associated with serious injury or death," he added. "A national ban
of the sale and use of consumer fireworks, in accordance with the
policy recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics,
should be implemented in order to reduce the burden of
fireworks-related injuries among children."
Another study author and CIRP staff member, Dawn Comstock, noted
that the research "was limited to fireworks injuries treated in
hospital emergency departments. The actual number is certainly
higher when considering those who did not seek medical treatment or
were cared for by other health-care providers."
The study findings are published in the July issue of the
journal
Pediatrics.
More information
For more information on the hazards of fireworks, visit the
American Academy of Pediatrics.
HealthDay News
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