A word from
Dr. Grabow
With the July 4th Holiday only one day away, I would like to wish all of you a Happy Independence Day!
I was interviewed today by Channel 3 News for a segment on Sparkler Safety that will air tonight at 11pm.
I enjoy the July 4th holiday and am against a ban on fireworks but I do want my patients and their children to be safe this holiday and wanted to share these helpful tips with you.
Please review the safety tips I have provided and visit the NEW Injury Prevention Section of my website to review more safety tips as well as video and photos to educate your chldren.
Good Luck and Happy Independence Day!
Ryan J. Grabow, MD
OUR SUMMER NEWSLETTER IS COMING NEXT WEEK
Our Summer Issue of Shoulder to Finger Tips is coming next week. Some of the topics are listed below. If you are not interested in receving the newsletter simply hit UNSUBSCRIBE at the bottom of this message.
TOPICS INCLUDE:
CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME: MYTHS and REALITY!
Top 10 Hand Beauty Secrets
Kitchen Dangers: How to Protect Your Hands
Shoulder Pain - Why do they hurt at Night?
Dupuytren's Clinic of Nevada Update
Disclaimer: Shoulder to Finger Tips is produced, edited, and distributed by the Grabow Hand to Shoulder Center as a source of information and education. It is not inteded to be taken as medical advice. Please consult a physician regarding specific questions about your health. All materials presented herein is expressly the opinion of Ryan J. Grabow, MD. |
Dr. Grabow to be featured on Channel 3 news at 11 pm TONIGHT!
As part of our effort to reduce the number of injuries related to Sparklers and other novelty fireworks this July 4th the Grabow Hand to Shoulder Center sent out a Press Release to all media outlets in the Valley and distributed materials at several local libraries. Many were surprised to learn that sparklers cause more injuries than firecrackers or rockets and were interested to learn more!
Channel 3 news reporter Maria Silva interviewed Dr. Grabow today at our office to learn more about the dangers of sparklers and the easy safety tips that can be followed to prevent injury.
In order to illustrate the tremendous heat generated by a sparkler, Dr. Grabow put on a demonstration using hotdogs that will help every parent teach their children how hot sparklers really are!
Tune in at 11pm tonight to see the interview and video demonstration and visit the News 3 website: www.kvbc.com to see the interview if you miss it tonight. We will place a link on our website in the Injury Prevention Section.
SPARKLERS
THE BIGGEST DANGER TO YOUR CHILDREN
Our nation’s birthday is fast approaching and with it comes barbecues, parades, family reunions, and of course – Fireworks! Most of the communities around the Valley do sponsor a formal fireworks display for all to enjoy. I went to the Henderson display last year and thought it was great. Unfortunately, that same desire for freedom that inspired our forefathers to found our great nation also inspirers many of us to grab a match and blow something up!
While the inherent danger of fireworks seems relatively obvious to most of us, hand surgeons like myself will still see countless injuries on the 4th and 5th due to holiday celebrations gone bad. The worst injuries I see are usually due to a firecracker exploding in teen's hand. For those of you with teenage sons or husbands who are a little crazy, you know if they really want to play with firecrackers they will. To keep them safe, I highly recommend viewing my fireworks injury slideshow to emphasize the danger. Warning: This slideshow is VERY GRAPHIC, but it clearly shows the danger of playing with firecrackers.
Although firecrackes do cause the most damage, the biggest threat to the youngest members of your family is not the M-80 firecracker but that innocent looking box of sparklers you bought at the fireworks stand. Let’s review the facts…
Every year there are over 10,000 injuries treated in emergency rooms due to fireworks with almost half occurring in patients under age 15. While firecrackers and bottle rockets do the most damage, sparklers, YES SPARKLERS, are the third leading cause of injury overall and cause 50% of the injuries to children under age 5. Let me say that again. Sparklers cause half the fireworks injuries to young children!
Why are sparklers so dangerous?
1. They bun at up to 1,800 degrees - just to put this in perspective: Aluminum cans burn at 1,200, Glass melts at 900, Wood burns at 575, Cakes Bake at 350, Matches burn at 325. Giving your young child a sparkler is more dangerous than having them hold the handle of a pan you just used to scramble eggs
2. The handle end is flimsy and hard to hold with young hands. Young children do not have the hand dexterity of an adult. It is more difficult for them to hold tiny objects such as the end of a sparkler with strength and confidence. As things begin to slip in their hands they instinctively try to use their other hand to help grab the falling object. In the case of a sparkler this results in a firm grasp to the burnt but still very hot end.
3. Wooden handles break. Many parents assume the sparklers with wooden handles are safer because the wood does not transmit heat like metal and they are easier to hold. While this is true, we see more burns to other children with wooden sparklers because kids like to wave the burning stick in the air to make patterns or sign their names. The handles are not designed for this force and often crack off and fly in whatever direction they were aimed. Considering the Harry Potter craze, children often pretend they are magic wands and “cast spells” at each other. You can imagine what would happen if the sparkler flew into s child’s eye.
4. Kids don’t think about safety. What do you do when the sparkler is burnt out? If you are a child you drop it on the ground and move on to something else. What do you do if you see a sparkler on the ground? If you are a child you pick it up to examine it and see if it is good. Kids don’t think about the danger of leaving a hot sparkler on the ground and they certainly don’t think that it may be hot BEFORE picking it up.
5. PARENTS THINK THEY ARE SAFE! The biggest obstacle to preventing sparkler safety for children is the mistaken belief that they are the “safe” form of fireworks. Many parents who would never dream of buying firecrackers, bottle rockets, or roman candles to give to their children, readily buy sparklers for their kids. Groups such as the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend parents to avoid purchasing all fireworks, including sparklers, snakes, smoke bombs, etc. and encourage attending professional city displays instead.
Personally I am not against fireworks and do not support any effort to ban them. Following some easy safety recommendations you can certainly enjoy consumre fireworks this holiday while reducing the risk of injury to yourself and your children.
As a hand surgeon I see patients when things have gone wrong. Fireworks, pit bulls, cats, and power machinery cause a lot of horrible injuries that I have to treat on a regular basis. Although most of the injured patients learn a valuable lesson from the experience, it is often a lesson with permanent consequences. It is my hope that I can help you avoid having to learn this lesson first hand.
Please visit the Injury Prevention Section of our website to review current safety recommendations and links to online fireworks safety videos.
Good luck and have a safe and enjoyable July 4th weekend.
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