Spring has Sprung – Ice is Melting!

This blog was researched and developed by third year Ryerson Nursing student Enna Kadoch.

Reading the story of dramatic rescue of ice fishermen on Lake Simcoe this past weekend was an early wake-up call to the increased need for precaution around frozen water this time of year. With temperatures reaching the low teens ice over the weekend ice thickness on ponds, lakes, and backyard pools were greatly reduced and continue to melt at an increased rate. As we move into Spring, fluctuating temperatures will compromise the quality of ice and anything at this point should be considered off-limits.

Should we move back into a deep-freeze and you are looking to recreate on the ice again, make sure you check with local authorities to ensure the ice is safe. Make sure you have the necessary tools to get out of trouble like the 27 fishermen this weekend. A cell phone helped them make a call for rescue.



Photo courtesy of the Woolf Family

Parents should be particularly cautious with young, often curious, children that will try to get close to any body of water.

Winter sports and activities make living in a country like Canada fun and amazing. but with these fluctuating temperatures safety needs to come first .

Links related to this topic:

OPP Snowmobile Safety Tips

Backyard Rink Tips

Banff National Park - Skating on Ponds, Lakes and Rivers

Headlines that Kill...

The headline yesterday bore a frightening revelation: "Headphones kill: Pedestrian deaths, injuries tripled in seven years". Killer headphones?! How is it that the little ear buds that deliver the sweet sounds of my "Just Neil Diamond" play list from my phone or other device will factor in my inevitable doom? Continuing to read, the article began to clarify rather than simply scare. According to a recent study of pedestrian deaths and injuries in the US, a growing number can be attributed to the use of headphones. Hmmm, the use of headphones you say? Now we are getting somewhere. While the headline points to the murderous nature of headphones, the content of the story, on the other hand, illustrates the more realistic concern: the increased distraction of the user of the headphones and the devices they are connected to. When we get down to it we can't really lay the blame of the deaths and injuries on our shiny gadgets, can we? Did I miss the part where Stephen King’s “Christine” became non-fiction? No, we live in a world full of interfaces with the environment, each other, and the rules we have created. Distractions abound and we see this everyday in pedestrian and driver behaviour. Every person walking and driving has a role to play in reducing their own distractions in order to make good and healthy decisions for themselves and those around them. While we are at it, maybe we could reduce the distracting headlines as well...

Roasting chestnuts over an open fire? Exercise caution

Guest author: This entry was written by Charles Opuch, a fourth year York University nursing student placed with the RBC First Office for Injury Prevention

Just as we gear up for the holiday season it is important to remember that each year, many tragic residential fires happen during the season. Most fire tragedies are preventable. According to statistics from the Ontario Fire Marshall's Office, since 1980 fire death rates in Ontario have dropped by more than 60%. However, reports indicate that there was an increase in the number of fatalities last December compared to December 2009. http://www.ofm.gov.on.ca/

The following are some safety tips to ensure that your holiday doesn't turn into a disaster.

• Cooking: Look while you cook. Unattended cooking is the leading cause of kitchen fires. Wear tight fitting clothes or rolled up sleeves when cooking and keep all combustible materials a safe distance from the stove.
• Alcohol: Cooking or smoking while under the influence of alcohol can be deadly. Keep a close eye on any drinkers in your household and make sure all cigarettes are properly extinguished and the stove is off before going to bed.
• Candles: Keep candles in a sturdy holder away from children, pets and combustible material. Snuff them out before leaving the room
• Space heaters: Keep portable heaters at least one metre away from anything that can burn - including you. Don't use your heaters to dry shoes or clothes.
• Heating appliances: Remember to have your furnace inspected each year by a licensed technician. Your chimney should always be cleaned and inspected annually to prevent problems that may cause a build up of carbon monoxide. A carbon monoxide alarm will alert you to the presence of this deadly gas.
• Smoke alarms: It is the law in Ontario to have working smoke alarms. The fire service recommends you install one on every level of your home and outside all sleeping areas. Test your alarm regularly and change your batteries at least once a year.
• Formulate and practise a home escape plan: If a fire does occur in your home, everyone must get out as quickly as possible. Develop a fire escape plan and practise it with your entire family.

For more tips and resources visit:

• www.toronto.ca/fire/prevention
• http://www.firesafetycouncil.com/
  
• http://www.sparky.org/

That “A” word

Guest Author: This entry was written by Cassandra Mitchell, a third year Ryerson Nursing student placed with the RBC First Office for Injury Prevention.

I always hear that unfortunate word associated with car crashes. And that word is...“accidents”; it is an inappropriate term to use to describe collisions, because it implies that something is unexpected/ unavoidable essentially there was no way to prevent it. Furthermore, it is used to describe something that is preventable as an “act of god”. This is inappropriate because usually the situations leading to a collision are predictable (such as speeding), though the exact circumstances are not. The same could be said about a majority of all injuries, such as a slipping on the street or falling down the stairs.

There is always something that can be addressed to prevent the initial occurrence. When “accident” is used to describe a collision, it ignores the true cause of the destructive damage and the consequences. The damage sustained during a collision is caused by the transfer of energy from one vehicle to another whether that be the human body (inside or out) or another object. The transfer of energy is especially damaging to the human body. Therefore, engineers have gone to great lengths to minimize the effect of collisions with many safety measures such as seat belts and airbags.

“Accident” is an old word, it was used to describe superfluous aspects by Aristotle. More recently, it evolved to a more modern definition in the 14th century from the latin verb accidere “to fall”, and in the medical practice of physicians in the 16-19th centuries to describe adverse symptoms. The industrial revolution led to an increase of injuries from work related injuries, and with the rise of medical science reducing the number of premature deaths from infectious diseases, “accidents” became more noteworthy. For example, motor vehicle collisions are now the number 1 cause of injury and death for youth.

There are many factors that come into play in the circumstances leading to a collision. We need to examine these factors to address, prevent or minimize any impacts caused by them.

For example, prior to collisions drivers can be affected by: 

• distractions (cell phones, GPS devices)
• intoxication (alcohol or drug use)
• poor weather conditions (rain, snow, fog)
• risky behaviour (speeding)
• condition of vehicle (brakes, tires, malfunctioned headlights)
• proper road conduct (checking blind spots, signaling, watching for pedestrians)

These factors affect visibility, reaction time and judgment. Drivers who avoid distractions can keep their eyes on the road for longer periods of time. Speeding affects the reaction time, increases stopping distance and the amount of energy transferred during the collision. All these factors are predictable and preventable by simply taking more precautions. Injuries caused by a collision can be minimized by wearing a seat belt (that is properly functioning) or ensuring working airbags.

The word gets in the way of the real causes of collisions by simply dismissing it as an unpreventable, and unexpected event. There can be many factors that cause a collision, but dismissing it away prevents further discussion.

It would be better to use other terms to describe an “accident” such as:

• Collision

• Crash• Mishap
• Impact

• Occurrence

• Incidence

This video from the WSIB display how easy it for an injury to occur:

Please leave other appropriate words or thoughts in the comments below...

About the author: This entry was written by Cassandra Mitchell, a third year Ryerson Nursing student placed with the RBC First Office for Injury Prevention.

References

Loimer, H., & Guarnieri, M. (1996). Accidents and Acts of God: A History of the Terms. American Journal of Public Health, 86(1), 101. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Stewart, A. (2002). Motor Vehicle Crash versus Accident : A Change in Terminology Is Necessary. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 15(4), 333. Retrieved from EBSCOho

Lessons from the Eastland

The S.S. Eastland docked

Edward Tenner recently spoke about "Unintended Consequences" and in his presentation he highlighted an obscure but fascinating story of the S.S. Eastland, a passenger ship in Chicago. It's a story of trying to resolve one risk but unintentionally creating others.

The ship was commissioned in 1902 by the Michigan Steamship Company and built by the Jenks Ship Building Company. It made its home in the Chicago harbour and travelled the Great Lakes. The ship was top-heavy - no doubt a flawed design - and had on a number of occasions experienced problems with listing.

Safety was top of mind in 1915 and following the well-known disaster of the RMS Titanic. The new federal Seaman's Act had been passed and required retrofitting of a complete set of lifeboats on the Eastland and other passenger ships. Who among us wasn't appalled to learn that there weren't enough lifeboats to ferry the passengers and crew to safety that fateful night in 1912? Yes, legislating lifeboats would seem the logical step to rectify this grievous error in judgment.

Sometimes though, and as Mr. Tenner presented, injury prevention efforts that aim to protect against a specific injury risk can sometimes create a new and unexpected one. So it seems to have been the case with the Eastland because the additional weight of the new lifeboats, ironically, made the doomed vessel more dangerous and it worsened the already severe problem of being top heavy.

It was the morning of July 24, 1915 as passengers were boarding for a day of cruising to a company picnic that the boat began to list while tied to a dock in the Chicago River. The crew tried to compensate by adjusting the ballasts but were not successful and at 7:28am as some passengers moved from one side of the ship to the other with a sudden lurch the ship completely rolled over trapping its occupants below. A total of 844 passengers and crew were killed in what was to become the largest loss of life disaster from a single shipwreck on the Great Lakes.

It’s absurd to think that lifeboats would be the cause of such a catastrophic loss of life on the water and yet their position and weight were factors in the disaster. Not to be ignored is the fact that the ship's flawed design and top-heavy nature made it susceptible to capsizing.

The story of the SS Eastland offers a number of lessons for us all. Primarily, we take from this story the lesson that we should never expect a one-size-fits-all solution to work in every instance in which it is applied.

We are curious to know if you have encountered instances where the solution to one injury risk has inadvertently created another risk or possibly even an unexpected benefit? Here are a couple of others we have come up with:

• Hard shelled elbow pads used in ice hockey to protect elbows but in addition to protecting elbows increased the number of concussions
• Helmets used for skiing and snowboarding do a great job of keeping heads safer, and as a real benefit they keep your ears warm

Please provide your examples in the comments below...

Walking to School Safety Tips

Walking to school is an excellent way to add regular daily physical activity, and report after report shows that today’s children are not nearly as active as they need to be in order meet healthy outcomes. In fact, “93% of Toronto youth are not meeting recommended daily requirements needed to derive health benefits from physical activity” (Get Active Toronto, 2011). A brisk walk to and from school each day will help improve overall fitness but requires a number of good decisions every step of the way to ensure safety.

Aside from crossing the street and walking alone, children need basic instruction on sidewalk safety and how to recognize cars in reverse from their driveways (a task made more difficult with an MP3 and earbuds).

If the route from your home to the school includes a street crossing then consider the safest option under these conditions:

• At a location where there are stop signs
• At a location with traffic signals
• At a location with a school crossing guard
• At any location with moving traffic

Never assume that children know what to do in order to cross safely – it is a skill that must be taught. Parents may remind children to stop and look both ways or preferably left-right-left, but do children know what to look for or are they just turning their heads to please their parents?

Children typically have developed the cognitive skills to safely cross the street independently by 10 years of age according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. It is important for parents to use this age as a guideline, but not as a rule. Based on the child’s readiness and the environment between home and school, parents can delay this expectation and continue to provide the necessary protection.

The following safety tips are provided to parents and caregivers to help young pedestrians navigate their way to and from school, work and play.

 Parents & Caregivers:

• Begin to teach your children pedestrian safety as soon as they start walking
• Remind children to look left, right and left again before crossing the street
• Encourage children to cross at cross-overs, with crossing guards or at signaled intersections
• Plan a route for getting to and from school
• Ensure that backpacks and lunch bags are not overly cumbersome for young children
• Do not use MP3 while walking in order to hear the traffic
• Use reflective materials on jackets, hats, shoes and bags
• Role model good pedestrian safety skills
• Don't walk and text

Other interesting links:

When are children old enough to cross on their own? Click here to read article
What if my child has ADHD? Click here to read article

When can my child walk to school alone? Click here to read the article

 Our friends from Toy Story show us how not to cross the street...

Distracted Driving

We are a bit late in posting this...but the message is relevant all year round!

As we drift into the summer months and take to the open road let’s remember iconic Doors frontman Jim Morrison who was not only a legendary lyricist but an injury prevention visionary when he penned the words: “keep yours eyes on the road your hands upon the wheel”. Ontario's ban on the use of hand-held devices while driving took effect on October 26, 2009, yet we all continue to see drivers using mobile devices to talk, text or email.

Motor vehicle collisions account for a majority of patients who are brought to the Tory Regional Trauma Centre at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre each year and contribute significantly to the economic burden of injury. Driving is a complex task that requires the driver’s full attention every time they get behind the wheel no matter how long they have been driving or how familiar they are with their surroundings. The evidence speaks for itself: drivers who use cell phones are four times more likely to be in a collision than a driver who is focused on the road. Injuries are preventable and predictable so let’s do our part to reduce injury and model healthy choices for our friends, family and colleagues.



For more safety tips please visit:

http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/safety/distracted-driving/index.shtml

Visit sunnybrook.ca/labourday and tweet your own tips with the hashtag #SafeLabourDayChoices to spread awareness about injury prevention this weekend.