Hawaii Violence Prevention

Home accidents account for over thirty percent of cases seen in most emergency rooms. Most home accidents involve falling down stairs or incidences with furniture. One of the most frequently occurring household accidents are situations that happen in the kitchen including grease fires, knife cuts, spills and falls on liquids in the floor and stove or ovens that are left on absentmindedly.

To decrease the likelihood of kitchen accidents, there are several things you can do to avoid problems in the kitchen and to practice kitchen safety:

1. Always monitor items that are on the stove. Never leave items cooking unattended, not even in the microwave. Set a timer to help you remember how long something has been cooking and check the temperature on the item as often as possible. It only takes a few seconds for a fire to blaze and get out of control.

2. Clean and store knives and sharp objects immediately after using them. This reduces chances of accidental cuts and the sharp objects falling onto the floor.

3. Never pour hot liquids, including oil, down the kitchen drain. Wait for the liquids to cool first before discarding them. The steam from hot water and hot oils can cause second degree burns on the body.

4. Keep a fire extinguisher and a first aid kit in the kitchen for emergency use. Make sure the fire extinguisher is within reach of but not too close to the stove area. The first aid kit should contain everything needed to take care of minor scrapes and burns like small cuts and bruises. Stock the kit with gauze, band-aids, anti-bacterial ointment and alcohol swabs. Go to the emergency room for any accidents that cannot be controlled using items in the first aid kit.

5. Taking items out of a hot stove should be done slowly and carefully. Decrease burns by using oven mitts and pot-holders to handle hot items. Make sure the material is thick and made for kitchen use.

It is also helpful to keep a short list of these safety tips in your kitchen to refer to on occasion. These tips can help you eliminate kitchen accidents and reduce hospital emergency visits.

During the blazing heat of summer months in most areas of the country, it’s very common to be faced with varying temperatures anywhere from the mid-80′s to temperatures that hover in the low 100′s. Because of this, there are many heat-related illnesses that are a result of these high numbers. Implementing a few precautionary rules during periods of high heat can help a person avoid heatstroke and other accompanying illnesses. They include:

1.) Avoiding any activities that are done in the heat of the day or at high noon. This is when the sun is at the hottest that it will be during the course of the day. This is also the most common time when dehydration can occur, so it is wise to avoid fluid-depleting activities and outdoor sports, if possible.

2.) Drink plenty of fluids. Like mentioned in the prior tip, dehydration can occur at anytime and can happen rather quickly. To help avoid this, keep your body constantly hydrated by drinking adequate fluids, including water and sports drinks that contain sufficient sodium that will keep your body adequately supplied with the fluids that are lost during sweating.

3) Avoid diuretics. A diuretic is any drink that causes the body to retain salts and dries out the body. This includes beverages like coffees, teas, alcoholic beverages, sodas and even some milk-based products like coffee blended beverages.

4.) Wear protective clothing. This applies to anyone who is outside for any reason and they are going to be out in the sun for any period of time. Protective clothing includes hats, sunglasses with ultraviolet ray protection, light, cool-colored clothing and protective sunscreen for the body.

In cases of heatstroke, it is advisable to seek emergency care at a medical facility and to quickly begin re-hydrating the body through fluid intake as soon as possible. Heat-related illnesses don’t have to happen and using these few general tips can help ensure that they won’t.