Amid ceiling fan injuries in kids, doctors recommend adding warning labels: ‘Largely preventable’
Researchers from Dell Medical School in Austin, Texas, are warning dad and mom and caregivers to not toss infants and younger youngsters into the air in rooms with ceiling followers.
Some 2,300 youngsters have been handled in U.S. emergency rooms for head injuries between 2013 and 2021, in line with a research printed in the journal Pediatrics this month.
The most typical harm was laceration — which affected 60% of the sufferers. Just beneath 10% had contusions or abrasions, 2% had concussions and fewer than 1% (three instances) had fractures.
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The common affected person age was 5, with spikes at lower than 1 12 months outdated and at 4 years outdated. And youngsters beneath age 3 confirmed double the danger of being injured when lifted or tossed into the air, the analysis confirmed.
The knowledge got here from ER information from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) for sufferers beneath 18 years of age who have been seen for ceiling-fan associated injuries to the pinnacle, face, eyeball, mouth or ear.
Researchers from Dell Medical School in Austin, Texas, are warning dad and mom and caregivers to not toss infants and younger youngsters into the air in rooms with ceiling followers. (iStock)
Most of those injuries occurred one in every of two methods, in line with lead researcher Holly Hughes Garza, a analysis scientist and epidemiologist in the Trauma and Injury Research Center at Dell Children’s Medical Center.
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“The first is when lifting babies or small children into the air around a moving ceiling fan — and the second is when older children are using bunk or loft beds, or jumping or climbing on other furniture when it’s too close to a ceiling fan and they get hit in the head,” she informed Fox News Digital.
In studying via a whole bunch of tales, the researchers discovered many similarities in how these injuries occurred.
“Consider awareness of ceiling fans as part of childproofing your home, just as you think about electrical outlets or sharp corners.”
“A lot of the youngest kids were lifted in the air by a grown-up and accidentally hit by a ceiling fan,” Garza mentioned.
“Sometimes these accidents happened when doing everyday things like lifting the child out of a crib or swing, but other times it was something playful like lifting or tossing the child up in the air.”
Kids leaping on beds have been a typical explanation for ceiling fan-related injuries. (iStock)
Eighty p.c of the injuries occurred at house.
While the vast majority of youngsters who got here into the ER wanted, at most, some stitches for a head laceration, there have been uncommon instances of concussions and even cranium fractures, Garza mentioned.
Study had some limitations
The research did have some limitations, Garza admitted.
“This research only represents children who were injured seriously enough to go to an emergency room for care — so there are probably many more who get a bump on the head and don’t require the ER,” she mentioned.
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Also, the researchers weren’t all the time capable of decide what sort of fan was concerned in the incidents.
“We had limited information on some details, like what type of ceiling fan it was and what speed it was running at the time of the incident,” Garza famous.
The researchers have been additionally unable to pinpoint the race, ethnicity, geographic location or insurance coverage protection of the concerned households.
Ways to forestall harm
“Our research is focused on how we can keep kids and families out of the emergency room by preventing injuries, but also when they do come in, how we can take the best care of them possible,” Garza mentioned.
The most typical harm from a ceiling fan was laceration, which affected 60% of the sufferers, in line with a research simply printed. (iStock)
“It’s important for families to understand that children can be seriously injured by ceiling fans.”
The printed research consists of suggestions for policymakers and the U.S. Product Safety Commission to re-evaluate constructing and electrical codes, to think about adding warning labels to ceiling followers and/or bunk beds and to enhance the standard and readability of medical knowledge reporting.
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Studies from another international locations indicate that ceiling followers with steel blades are seemingly essentially the most harmful, and “can literally cut into a child’s skull,” Garza mentioned.
“Thankfully, those fans don’t seem to be super common in the U.S.,” she mentioned.
“One thing is just to be aware of the hazard and be cautious when lifting kids up above your shoulder level,” a researcher mentioned. (iStock)
CeilingFan.com studies that almost all of residential ceiling fan blades are comprised of wooden, veneers, plastic, and tropical supplies like wicker or bamboo.
“Metal blades are found typically on any industrial or heat fan type … not recommended for standard ceilings or home applications to where anyone can reach the fan,” the web site states.
Parents must be conscious “of ceiling fans as part of childproofing your home, just as you think about electrical outlets or sharp corners.”
These injuries are “largely preventable,” Garza mentioned.
“One thing is just to be aware of the hazard and be cautious when lifting kids up above your shoulder level,” she mentioned. “It’s also important to try and avoid placing tall furniture like bunk beds close to a ceiling fan.”
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Dr. Shana Johnson, a bodily medication and rehabilitation doctor in Scottsdale, Arizona, was not concerned in the research, however urged dad and mom to remember “of ceiling fans as part of childproofing your home, just as you think about electrical outlets or sharp corners.”
Earlier this week, it was reported that the Biden administration is “cracking down” on ceiling followers.
The Department of Energy is proposing a rule that may require the followers to be extra energy-efficient with the aim of saving on vitality prices.
