Change of Season Brings Lawn Mower Warning
Mar. 23 --
SUNDAY, April 15 (HealthDay News) -- Each year in the United States, about 9,400 children are treated for lawn-mower related injuries such as lacerations, fractures and amputations of the fingers, hands, toes, feet and legs, say experts at Johns Hopkins Children's Center.
"The No. 1 advice to parents is: Treat the lawn mower as hazardous equipment, not a toy. You don't let a child play with an electric saw, and that's exactly what a lawn mower is," Carol Gentry, pediatric OR nurse manager, said in a prepared statement.
Of the lawn mower accident cases treated at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center between 2000 and 2005, 95 percent involved amputations that required reattachment or reconstructive surgery.
The Hopkins experts offer tips for preventing mower-related injuries:
More information
The American Academy of Pediatrics has more about lawn mower safety.
SOURCE: Johns Hopkins Medicine, news release, April 9, 2007