Accidents & Injuries Related Articles & Blog Posts

When we want to emphasize something in writing, we use bold, italics, underline, or end the sentence with an !  When the US Food and Drug Administration wants to emphasize something, they issue a second alert. On August 17, 2001, the FDA issued a warning about particular gel candies after they had caused the deaths [...]

Automobile collisions remain the leading cause of death among US teens. The youngest drivers are the most likely to crash, so a number of states have experimented with graduated driver licensing (GDL). Here, teens graduate to full licenses after demonstrating safe driving over time in restricted conditions. Does this system make a real difference? The [...]

Motor vehicle collisions kill more children in the United States than any illness. The August 2001 issue of Pediatrics reports that injuries that occur in and around driveways are a common, overlooked problem. There are 3 types of problems: children struck by motor vehicles, children falling from motor vehicles, and children setting motor vehicles in [...]

…but the normal rough-and-tumble play of childhood shouldn’t! If a child falls from atop a climbing structure and breaks a bone, then it may be a normal fracture of a normal bone. But if a child trips on a single step and breaks a bone, then the bone should be checked to be sure that [...]

In a recent chat, we were discussing the queasy feeling we parents get as our children learn how to drive. The conversation thread turned to the suddenness with which a collision can shatter our lives at any age – in an instant, with no warning.

Motor vehicle crashes are the most common cause of untimely funerals for 15 to 20 year olds. Almost 30% of the teen drivers killed had been drinking. Can anything really change these statistics?

Getting stitches on the face is no fun for anyone, but it is especially frightening to young children. A study published in the January 2001 issue of Annals of Emergency Medicine evaluated different ways to reduce distress in children needing facial laceration repair. Some of the children received a topical anesthetic alone, some received an [...]

Scooter injuries have skyrocketed since May, sending a total of 27,600 people to emergency rooms (including over 23,000 children), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report in the December 15th, 2000 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. On the other hand, scooter use has skyrocketed even more — from virtually zero this [...]

The August 2000 electronic issue of Pediatrics contains a study that looked at how many kids age 4 to 9 years use booster seats in cars (only 27.7% — only 10% by age 6). The authors asked the parents about their reasons for not using booster seats, and the number one answer was that they [...]

Parents and children alike look forward to four years and forty pounds when they no longer have to hassle with car seats. Even though experts (including me) recommend not using regular seat belts until about age nine, the overwhelming majority of pre-school and school-age kids ride in restraints designed for adults.