Accidents & Injuries Related Articles & Blog Posts

For years doctors have encouraged parents to store toxic household cleaning products in locked cabinets, out of sight and reach of children. While this advice may have helped considerably, with injury from cleaning products in children declining 46 percent since 1990, a new study demonstrates that children under age 6 years are still at high [...]

For the population as a whole, falls are the most common cause of unintentional injuries requiring medical care, the leading cause of hospital admissions for trauma, and the second leading cause (after motor vehicle collisions) of unintentional-injury-related deaths.

Falling Down: Infants and Small Children Most parents are surprised at the ease with which small children can fall from beds, changing tables, and high chairs.  Even before they can roll over, they have a remarkable knack for propelling themselves off an elevated surface to land, thud, on the floor.  Cats land on their feet.  [...]

I wept again this morning when I stood with my family at the spot in our neighborhood where 7-year-old Alana Pack and her 10 year-old brother Troy were killed. This was an entirely preventable tragedy, but I can’t think of a single thing the parents or the children could have done to prevent it.

A young doctor named Hitoshi Nikaidoh graduated from the University of Texas-Houston Medical School in June 2003. He began work as a surgical intern in July. In August he stepped into a second-floor elevator in his hospital just as the doors were closing. We all expect that the doors will bounce back open if we [...]

…to pursue CPR training. I salute you in your efforts to be trained to help save lives. In the United States, you can find a CPR event near you by just entering your zip code here. In any country you might be able to locate a class through the International Federation of Red Cross and [...]

On August 3, 2003 James Safar, a man whose work saved many, many lives, died quietly at his home in Pennsylvania. He was 79 years old. He started the nation’s first physician – staffed ICU, but it was another innovation that was his biggest legacy. Dr. Safar pioneered a life-saving technique that can be used [...]

A major change in lifesaving recommendations was made in July 2003. Amazing machines called automated external defibrillators or AEDs can be found in an increasing number of public places. These machines have pads or paddles that can be placed on the chest during a life threatening emergency. They use sophisticated computer algorithms to automatically determine [...]

Related concepts: Head injury Introduction to concussion: Children’s energetic exploration of life often results in head “bonks.” Fortunately, most of them are not serious. Nevertheless, when we hear the awful thud of a child’s head, our breath catches for a moment… What is concussion? A brief, temporary loss of consciousness following a blow to the [...]

Roller coasters are fun! Nevertheless, a study in the January 2002 issue of the Annals of Emergency Medicine reported a disturbing trend in the rate of thrill ride injuries.