You may spend all the time trying to keep your domestic environment safe as possible, but an accident at home is inevitable. It may still happen even in conscientious households. Knowing how to deal with the health of your family members at home is vital, especially in the event an incident occurs. The most vulnerable ones are children because you cannot restrain them from playing with their mates or running up and down. 

As a responsible person at home, it is important to buy a first aid kit and understand how to clean a wound when someone gets hurt. You cannot entirely prevent incidents but can manage by ensuring the environment at home is safe for everyone. Study shows that about 45% of unintentional injuries happen at home. It is a scary statistics, especially for those with children, but here are tips to help you deal with the most common accidents in your home.

Bruises

At one time, you may experience a fall or your child and though it might look as if it’s not serious, but later can turn out to be a nasty bruising. The best way to deal with a bruise is to pour frozen peas or cold pack into the affected area to reduce the chances of swelling. Make sure you check beyond the bruising because sometimes the pain may be coming from a broken bone. So, if the pain persists even after several attempts to apply medication or first aid, go for a professional checkup. 

Falling objects

Mostly the falling objects affect small children who are learning to move around the house. They tend to pull anything they see, and there is a likelihood of objects falling on them. Always check their movement and prevent items such as electrical cables lying on the floor, table clothes edges, phone chargers, and dish towels preventing any accident from happening. 

Trips and falls

A fall is seen as a small kid’s common accident, but it can happen to people of all ages. Probably it’s viewed that way since kids are the most affected from minor to major trips and falls. For kids, it may not be that serious unless some objects hit them. But normal falls requires you to soothe the child and rub them on the side of their fall. If an adult trips and falls and sees them become drowsy, lose consciousness, or vomit, that requires speedy medical attention. 

Cuts

If anyone gets a cut, that means blood is involved, and sometimes it can become messy, especially for kids. You need to apply pressure to stop any bleeding and antiseptic where there is a cut. Also, don’t apply and leave it, but assess to see the degree of the cut to determine whether the cut is minor or major. For a minor cut, the bleeding should stop shortly after applying pressure, but seek medical intervention for stitches when it continues. 

Poisoning

Poisoning is another common accident that happens at home, and mostly it involves household products, medicine or cosmetics at home. Except for adult committing suicide, children are the most vulnerable if these things are exposed. If anything is swallowed, before rushing to the hospital, make sure you give them first aid. Also, make sure you prevent poisoning cases at home by being careful how you store things at home. 

Glass injuries

Broken glass can happen in any home, either from window shattering, cup breaking into pieces and other glass items. The glass injuries can be serious and require immediate action to stop the bleeding and remove any glass pieces. The members of the family that suffer as a result of glass are children. Since most of them may not be aware, they are even there. The treatment is the same with the cut, where you observe the extent of the injury and give the affected person or child first aid. 

How to avoid accidents from your home

Even after realizing accidents will happen whether you keep your home environment safe or not, there are ways you can prevent them from happening in the first place. Here are few tips to keep your home safe.

  • Check your water heater – The elderly and children are susceptible to burns from hot water. Therefore, always make sure your water heater maintains water at 120 degrees Fahrenheit to prevent unintentional burns.
  • Keep electronics away from water – This is dangerous to kids, and many accidents have happened involving electronics in water. So, keep them away where children cannot reach them.
  • Lock all tools – Kids are curious, and they are attracted by any tool they see. So, lock all the tools after use in a room and make sure they have safety covers.
  • Stairs safety – Stairs are dangerous zones for both kids and adults. You can avoid this by ensuring the handrail runs the staircase’s full length and carpeting the whole staircase may prevent falls, especially if the liquid cause them to become slippery. 
  • Clean spills immediately
  • Install grab bar in the shower
  • Secure rugs
  • Keep cleaning products out of reach.
  • Keep the garage and basement safe.

Conclusion

Safety in your home is a priority that you must consider all the time. And if accidents happen, follow the tips shared above to prevent the danger from turning worse. They say prevention is better than cure; therefore, try as much as possible to keep everyone at home safe for both adults and kids.