Hidden Dangers They’re Drawn To By Christine Mace, RN
Try this experiment: Let a two-year-old loose in your home for a few moments. See what they manage to find. It will be the most dangerous items you have. They’re drawn to them like magnets. Still, with all the babyproofing products available on the market and all the safety precautions you may take, more children between the ages of one and four die from accidental injuries than from all childhood diseases combined and the majority of these occur in the home. Let’s look at some of the not so obvious hazards in and around your home:
Magnets: If two or more magnets, magnetic components or a magnet and another metal object (such as a small metal ball) are swallowed separately, they can attract to one another through intestinal walls. This traps the magnets in place and can cause holes (perforations), twisting and/or blockage of the intestines, infection, and possibly death. When multiple magnets are ingested, surgery is required to remove the magnets and sometimes sections of the intestines need to be removed.
Non-Food Choking Hazards: These tend to be round in nature (coins, small balls, pen caps, nails, batteries, and/or objects that conform to the child’s windpipe, like balloons). Children can also choke on plastic labels that they have peeled off their toys, high chairs, strollers, etc.
Strangulation Hazards: Common items that can strangle children include clothing drawstrings, ribbons, necklaces, pacifier strings and window blind cords.
Large Containers That Contain Liquids: Buckets used for household chores, (which often have tall, straight sides and are very stable) make it nearly impossible for top-heavy infants to free themselves when they topple in headfirst. Other potentially dangerous items are fish tanks, landscape ponds, coolers, toilets, or any other large, non-covered container with liquid inside.
Fortunately, there are many things we can do to prevent these curious creatures from the harmful injuries awaiting them. It’s a simple matter of prevention.
Christine Mace, RN is director of health services at the Child Care Council of Nassau, Inc.
Safety Tips
Don’t leave tempting items (treats, toys, remotes) on top of the TV, furniture or countertops and push the TV as far back as possible.
Secure doors to areas that are off limits to children and put covers on the door knobs that prevent them from opening the door.
Get down on all fours to see what they see and remove any potentially harmful items.
Regularly inspect toys for loose or missing pieces and always follow manufacturers’ age recommendations when buying toys.
Pull off and throw away plastic labels and decals.
Don’t allow children to play with deflated balloons.
