Lawn Mower Injuries
Children should not be permitted to ride mowers
and should be in the house when the mower is in use.
Findings of a recent study presented by Christopher
Kennedy, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Missouri
and ER physician at Children's Mercy Hospital of Kansas City Missouri, at
the American Academy of Pediatrics, demonstrated the devastation of ride
on lawn mower injuries and the need for more vigilance by parents to
prevent the injuries from occurring in the first place.
Injuries caused by ride-on mowers are uncommon, however
the lawn mower may be the most dangerous household tool for children. Dr.
Kennedy believes that this is a public health problem, although these
injuries are infrequent, they are severe and mutilating when they
occur. There are about 8 million ride-on mowers in the USA. The
blade tip of one of these mowers travels up to 4000 rpm, this is
equivalent to 3 times the muzzle velocity of a 0.357
magnum.
Dr. Kennedy looked at injuries to children less than 7
years old. In cases from his own institution he found 12 injuries to
children of an average age of 4.5 years old. In all cases a relative was
operating the mower. Nine of these children sustained an amputation! Two
of these were multiple toes, one partial hand amputation, and 6 lower
extremity amputations (2 of these were of both lower legs!!). Nine of the
children were injured jumping or falling off of the mower. Two children
slid down a slide under the mower and one child jumped out of a swing into
the mower.
When Dr. Kennedy reviewed the data from the National
Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) he found 102 injured
children with a mean age of 3.5 years. Eleven of these children died of
their injuries, 26 sustained a lower leg or foot amputation.
These Injuries are easily preventable by keeping
children off of the mowers and inside the house when the mower is being
used.
From Orthopedics Today
| 
