Summer seems to be a great time for everybody, especially the Fourth of July holiday. There are parades, picnics, cookouts, fireworks, and unfortunately, a busy time for the hospital emergency rooms.

In 2007, there were 10,000 injuries and 11 deaths reported from fireworks. Most of the injuries were to the eyes, hands and legs. Burns accounted for more than 50% of these injuries. The majority of these injuries was due to carelessness and could have been prevented if safety precautions were taken.

Preventing Serious Injury

You can still enjoy the fireworks and all the fun that goes along with the Fourth of July celebration if you just follow some common sense safety rules.

• If you are going to shoot off your own fireworks, make sure to use legal consumer fireworks
• Have a bucket of water handy
• Never use glass or metal containers to shoot off fireworks
• If you are drinking alcohol do not shoot off fireworks. Just like driving, your judgment and reflexes are impaired
• Make sure everybody is a safe distance away from where the fireworks are being shot off
• Small children should not hold sparklers. They heat up to 2000 degrees and can cause serious burns. They can be put into the ground and lit by an adult. You can line as many as you want and put a light show on for the children. When the sparkles are finished, be sure to douse them with water and dispose of them. Many children have suffered serious burns by picking up sparklers that were still very hot.
• If a firework or firecracker does not go off after lighting, DO NOT pick it up or get too close to it. Wait a few minutes or a reasonable amount of time, and douse it with water.
• Do not light firecrackers and throw them into crowds of people. Not only are they loud, but they can cause serious injuries. Remember, they are an explosive and need to be treated as such.
• Leave the shooting of large fireworks to the pyrotechnic professionals. They are licensed and trained to do this safely.

These safety tips will help keep your Fourth of July holiday fun and out of the hospital emergency room. With everybody using a little common sense when it comes to fireworks, this year should be a lot safer.