Practice Safety This 4th of July
Summertime in North Dakota can be a busy time as the weather heats up. After making it through the long cold months, many North Dakotans are excited for bon fires, summer sports, vacations, summer events, trips to the lake, days along the river, and fireworks during July. The 4th of July is often celebrated as a fun holiday to spend with family and enjoy watching sparkling fireworks light the sky. However, lack of safety can cause hundreds of firework mishaps and injuries.
The 4th of July is a busy holiday for orthopaedic surgeons, who see hundred of firework-related injuries every year – especially hand injuries. In 2017, there were 12,900 reported injuries and 8 deaths caused by firework accidents. In Addition, most of these injuries are hand injuries and eye injuries. Therefore, please practice caution around fireworks this Independence Day and use the tips in the link below to avoid accidents. Additionally, assure that you are supervising children around fireworks and talk to teenage children about proper handling and the consequences of misuse.
Safety Tips for Lighting Fireworks
The most important firework safety tips are:
- Do not consume drugs or alcohol while handling fireworks
- Do not allow children to handle fireworks
- Keep a bucket of water or hose close by while lighting fireworks. Make sure all fireworks are placed in the water bucket after use
- Use eye protection while lighting fireworks
- Do not hold fireworks that should not be held
- Do not aim fireworks towards other people
- Never relight a firework that does not go off
The Bone & Joint Center & Firework Care
As the leading Orthopaedic Practice in North Dakota, we want to keep our patients safe and give them proper care. Therefore, we hope that you will take the proper precautions this holiday while lighting fireworks so you can avoid a trip to the emergency room. However, if you do experience firework accidents or injuries, our specialized surgeons will be available to take care of you!
Visit The Bone & Joint Center website for more information on our Orthopaedic Surgeons that are able to treat hand injuries or for our after-hours emergency recommendations and contact information.
Firework Safety Infographic provided by the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH).
