Bottle Rockets are Safer than Gummy Bears

Growing up we had fireworks. We had firecrackers and bottle rockets, fountains and mortars. Someone I won’t name once set the woods beside his house on fire with illegal military weaponry. He was a bit weird. No one got seriously hurt except the time my brother burned himself with a sparkler. I understand it was different times but I can’t help but wonder how many people are actually injured each year by fireworks?

According to the CDC

• In 2005, four persons died and an estimated 10,800 were treated in emergency departments for fireworks-related injuries in the United States (Greene & Joholske 2006).
• About 45% (4,860) of persons injured from fireworks were children ages 14 years and younger;
• 5% of the hospital visits required hospitalization.

Any injuries are too many.  Children should not play with fireworks.  However,  I recently looked into other forms or injury in children.

• Each year in the United States, emergency departments treat more than 200,000 children ages 14 and younger for playground-related injuries (Tinsworth 2001).
• About 45% of playground-related injuries are severe—fractures, internal injuries, concussions, dislocations, and amputations (Tinsworth 2001).
• Between 1990 and 2000, 147 children ages 14 and younger died from playground-related injuries
• In 2004, there were 3,308 unintentional fatal drownings and 676 boating related deaths in the United States.
• In 2005, 48 children age 14 years and younger who were killed as pedestrians or pedalcyclists were struck by impaired drivers
• 414 child passengers ages 14 and younger died in alcohol-related crashes during 2005
• In 2000, 160 children ages 14 years or younger died from an obstruction of the respiratory tract due to inhaled or ingested foreign bodies
• 12.5%  of choking incidents (20 incidents) were related to chocolate candy, gummy bears, gum, etc

Now I’m sitting here questioning my judgment the year I took my kids to the playground by the river to watch the legal firework display. We laughed at the drunken people while we ate gummy bears.

Worse yet, we left grandma at home. She wanted to take a bath!

• In 2004, 14,900 people 65 and older died from injuries related to unintentional falls; about 1.8 million people 65 and older were treated in emergency departments for nonfatal injuries from falls, and more than 433,000 of these patients were hospitalized

Have a happy and safe holiday.