Summer means barbecues, parades and fireworks displays, especially around the 4th of July.
During this summer holiday season, there can be an increase in injuries from fireworks. Don’t let an accident spoil your celebration this 4th of July.
“This year, I have not seen too many injuries,” Dr. Doug Schuerer of the department of surgery at the Washington University School of Medicine, said.
“Not all firework-related injuries require emergency surgery because emergency room staff are able to treat minor wounds.”
Each year, thousands of people are injured by fireworks and almost half of those injured are children and teenagers. Many of those injuries were from small firecrackers, bottle rockets and sparklers.
“The big problem is that people do not know how to correctly use legal fireworks,” Schuerer said. “Let’s take something simple like sparklers. Children who are not old enough cannot hold them far enough away from their eyes or don’t know not to touch other children with them because they’re really hot.”
Over a thousand of those are eye, head and hand injuries. Fireworks can cause devastating and life-changing injuries that range from skin burns and thermal burns of the eye to loss of fingers, facial damage, bleeding in the eye, retinal detachment, and even a ruptured globe and blindness.
Stacy Baker, occupational therapist at the Washington University School of Medicine, treats people for fractures and nerve damage. The firework injuries she has seen over the years compels her to talk about its long-term effects and repercussions.
“We see a lot of firework injuries, especially during the summertime,” Baker said. “We see a lot of patients who have lost fingers, hands and other limbs from firework incidents. It impairs their ability down the road to do a lot of things that want to in life, such as tying shoes or hammering a nail into a wall, although they can learn to complete these tasks again through therapy.”
Simple ways to protect yourself and your children include staying at least 500 feet away from fireworks.
According to Schuerer, “Allow trained professionals to light fireworks and not for children to handle any fireworks by themselves, even sparklers.”
If you suffer an injury due to fireworks, especially to your eyes and face, seek help immediately. Most importantly, do not delay treatment. The COVID-19 pandemic should not hinder you from getting necessary treatment.
