Summer Safety
Vacation. Little league. Swimming lessons. Soccer. Football. No matter what the activity, warm weather and sunshine make it fun. Throw in a break from school, and kids and parents have a recipe for a great summer vacation.

According to Rick Cobb, summer is fun, but it's also important to play it safe. The month of May, which has been designated National Trauma Awareness Month, is the beginning of summer break and fun in the sun. "More and more people are on the go during the summer, and it's a prime time for injury and trauma situations," says Cobb. "We rarely think of the dangers that go along with a summer full of activities. The kids are out of school and are unoccupied for the majority of the day, a seemingly innocent activity can turn to tragedy quickly."
It did for Cobb's fellow colleague and Director of Whitfield Emergency Medical Services, John Hitchens. "The hardest emergencies to handle are those involving children," says Hitchens. "As a parent and a paramedic it tears your heart out to see a child suffering from a situation that you know could have been avoided."

Hitchens speaks from experience. Two years ago, the first summer trauma victim was his son, Jack. Suddenly, his role was reversed from emergency rescuer to concerned parent. "It was the first day of summer vacation, and I remember commenting to my staff that we would probably see our first 'summer trauma', a bicycle accident, a swimming incident, maybe a baseball related injury. I never thought it would be my son, Jack," says Hitchens.

Jack had fallen off a go-cart and the chain that drives the rear wheel cut through his arm like a chainsaw. "The injury looked like something I saw when I was a Medic in Vietnam, and not the 12-year-old who just days before was playing baseball," says Hitchens. Jack was taken to Hamilton Medical Center where doctors feared he might lose the use of his arm.

Cobb knows all too well what Hitchens was feeling. As chairman of the Dalton-Whitfield County Safe Kids Coalition, which is composed of a variety of citizens including: EMS personnel, and Dalton City and Whitfield County Police officers and Firemen, and nurses and other staff members at Hamilton Medical Center, Cobb works to educate parents and children on how to stay safe.

"Most unintentional injuries can be prevented. It's just a matter of knowing the dangers and being aware," says Cobb. "Kids don't really know the potential dangers they might encounter, so it's up to us, as parents, to educate them."

So, the question persists, how do we keep our children safe? "You can't prevent all accidents from happening," says Cobb. "But you can take some precautions and arm yourself with the basics."

Jennie Tarrer, RN, Clinical Manager of Hamilton's Emergency Care Department knows the importance of educating children with a basic understanding of the hazards of summer time activities. "Across the nation, injuries are the number one cause of death in children," says Tarrer. "Trauma accounts for 52% of the deaths in children ages 1-9, and 78% of the deaths in children ages 10-19."

The following is a list of common summer time emergencies and tips on how to prevent them from occurring.

Heat Emergencies-"Children are more vulnerable to heat emergencies because they often don't stop long enough to take water in," says Tarrer. "Also, when the humidity is 65 percent or higher, perspiration doesn't adequately cool your body because of the moisture in the air."


According to the Department of Commerce, a heat emergency occurs when heat gain exceeds the level the body can remove, or when the body cannot compensate for fluids and salt lost through perspiration, the temperature of the body's inner core begins to rise and heat-related illness may develop.
To help avoid heat emergencies, Tarrer offers these important safety tips:
* Time your children when playing outside, and make them come in often where it is cool. Also, limit the amount of heat strenuous activities to cooler times of the day.
* Avoid being outside from 10 am until 2 pm when it tends to be the hottest.
* Dress for summer. Light colored, lightweight clothing helps reflect heat and sunlight.
* Drink plenty of water or non-carbonated drinks. Drink even when you don't feel thirsty, and don't take salt tablets.

Drowning continues to be the second leading cause of unintentional injury/death in children 14 years old and under. "It only takes a second for a child to drown," says Tarrer. "A toddler can drown in as little as one inch of water." Everyday household items such as bathtubs, buckets, hot tubs or spas, toilets and wading pools become potential hazards.

"The best defense against drowning is to watch children closely when playing in or near water," says Tarrer. "Also, never rely solely on swimming lessons or personal floatation devices. Children still need to be supervised."

Tarrer has these helpful hints when securing your children from potential hazard. Make sure buckets and kiddie pools are turned, so that rainwater doesn't accumulate in them. Also, if you have a pool at your home, there should be a fence around the pool and it should be locked to keep toddlers out. In fact, Tarrer suggests using a self-closing, latch gate.

"If people properly fenced in their pools, the number of drownings would decrease by 50 - 90 percent," says Tarrer.

It's also important that adults know CPR and that rescue numbers be kept by the pool. Also, if your family enjoys boating, make sure there are a life jackets for every passenger in the boat, and that they are wearing them. Arm floaties aren't considered sufficient Personal Floatation Devices.

In 1993, 290 children were killed in bicycle related incidents. More than 400,000 were treated in Emergency Rooms across the country. Of those injured, 60% suffered head trauma from not wearing helmets. In 1993, Georgia passed a mandatory law that requires all children under the age of 16 to wear a helmet when riding a bicycle.

Each year, bicycle helmets prevent between 52 and 60 percent of all possible head injuries. Helmets should be bought to fit, not bought a size too big so that a child could grow into it. They should be approved by ANSI, Snell or ASTM (American Society of Testing and Materials), and they should fit snugly when the chinstrap is hooked. The helmet should also be level so that the front and back of the head are protected.
Helmets are important for your child's safety, but parents should also teach children the rules of the road. Cyclists should ride with the traffic on the right side of the road, instead of against it. They should also obey all traffic signals, and stop at all intersections marked and unmarked, looking both ways before entering a street.

The National Safe Kids Coalition recommends that children be restricted to bike paths and sidewalks until age 10 and/or until they show that they know and obey the rules of the road.

Sports Injuries-Those who prefer more organized sports such as basketball, soccer or football should also be aware of potential injury. "We see a lot of pulled muscles and broken bones," says Tarrer. "So it's important to wear the proper safety equipment and play by the rules."

She also recommends playing in a safe area, having adequate adult supervision, and matching children according to their skill level, height, weight and maturity level, especially when playing contact sports.

Injuries don't have to ruin your summer. Although Jack Hitchens' injury was severe, he was one of the lucky ones. After months of recovering, he is back doing all the activities he did before the accident. "I keep saying, 'he was lucky'," says his father. "My wife corrects me and says, 'blessed'. Perhaps the word 'fortunate' would be best, blessed the injury was not worse and fortunate to have Hamilton Medical Center to care for him."

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