{"id":15852,"date":"2022-02-03T16:10:13","date_gmt":"2022-02-03T16:10:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.metrokids.com\/index.php\/2022\/02\/03\/emergency-room-injuries-and-how-to-prevent-them\/"},"modified":"2023-08-16T23:02:32","modified_gmt":"2023-08-16T23:02:32","slug":"emergency-room-injuries-and-how-to-prevent-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metrokids.com\/emergency-room-injuries-and-how-to-prevent-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Emergency Room Injuries and How to Prevent Them"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo<\/a>
Photo by Pixabay from Pexels<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Getting hurt is a part of childhood, but it\u2019s essential to prevent serious injuries in children. Parents can take several steps \u2014 in the home, on the playground and in the car \u2014 to try to avoid a trip to the emergency room.<\/p>\n

But if your child gets seriously hurt, it\u2019s crucial to know when a trip to the ER is necessary to get the care needed.<\/p>\n

Accidents<\/h3>\n

According to Dan Taylor, medical director of St. Christopher\u2019s Hospital for Children outpatient clinic and associate professor of pediatrics for Drexel College of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the most common injuries in children occur because of accidents such as falls or bike crashes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose are typically either broken bones or cuts, which we call lacerations or sprains,\u201d he says.
\nParents need to watch for certain signs after an accident that signal they should take their child to the emergency room.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it\u2019s a cut or a laceration \u2014 not just a scrape \u2014 those typically have to go to an ER or an urgent care center,\u201d Taylor says. \u201cIf it\u2019s a small laceration that might need a few stitches, or a staple or two, most urgent care centers can do that, and all emergency rooms can do that. If it\u2019s a larger cut or laceration, definitely an emergency room.\u201d<\/p>\n

If a child falls on an outstretched arm and is experiencing swelling, an ER professional needs to evaluate this injury.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny type of injury on an outstretched arm where a kid is in a lot of pain and they\u2019re swelling in the elbow especially needs to be evaluated pretty quickly or else there can be nerve damage,\u201d Taylor says. \u201cAny kind of injury where there is pain and swelling in a joint or extremity or ribs should be evaluated in an ER to make sure there\u2019s no fracture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Motor vehicle accidents<\/h3>\n

More serious injuries can occur from motor vehicle accidents, according to Marjorie Galler, an emergency department pediatrician at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and assistant professor of clinical pediatrics and emergency medicine at Georgetown University School of Medicine.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile most of the injuries I see are not life-threatening, certainly the ones related to motor vehicle accidents can be,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Prevention is key in avoiding life-threatening injuries from car crashes.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to have a really good infant car seat. You want to make sure people are transitioning out of the infant car seat into an appropriate toddler preschool-age car seat when they hit that weight limit,\u201d Galler says. Additionally, she notes that \u201cthe American Academy of Pediatrics is pushing for people to keep children as rear-facing for as long as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Winter injuries<\/h3>\n

In the home<\/strong><\/p>\n

During the winter, injuries in the home are more common since families spend more time inside. The American Academy of Pediatrics offers a home safety checklist that Taylor recommends families review.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt includes things like stair gates and having cribs that have sides that are the right height so kids can\u2019t crawl out of cribs and fall down,\u201d he says. \u201cKnowing the development milestones of kids is really important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Burns<\/strong><\/p>\n

Scalding burns are common for children during the winter.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether that\u2019s pulling down mom or dad\u2019s coffee from the table, or going to grandma or grandpa\u2019s house and having the kettle on (the stove), scalding burns are deep, and they\u2019re serious,\u201d Galler says. \u201cYou want to be really cautious about placement of things, especially when you have family visiting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Families should also be careful if they light fires in the fireplace or in outdoor fire pits. \u201cMake sure you\u2019re thinking about having a safe fire grate and constant supervision,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Always a balance<\/strong><\/p>\n

While parents should allow their kids freedom to play, they also need to be vigilant about the potential for serious injury.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat delicate balance is something that all parents have to struggle with a little bit,\u201d Taylor says. \u201cMost kids are resilient and can bounce back from injuries, but it\u2019s important to ensure that there\u2019s no chance for them to have a major life-threatening injury.\u201d<\/p>\n

But when serious injuries occur, emergency room pediatricians are available to address them. \u201cYou can always remember we\u2019re here 24\/7,\u201d Galler says. \u201cEvery emergency department is prepared to care for your child while in need.\u201d<\/p>\n

This piece first appeared in the\u00a0February 2022 issue of\u00a0<\/a><\/em>MetroKids.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Getting hurt is a part of childhood, but it\u2019s essential to prevent serious injuries in children. Parents can take several steps \u2014 in the home, on the playground and in the car \u2014 to try to avoid a trip to the emergency room. But if your child gets seriously hurt, it\u2019s crucial to know when […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15855,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5118,4,3],"tags":[6744,2768,2786],"yoast_head":"\nEmergency Room Injuries and How to Prevent Them - Metrokids<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Parents can take these steps to try to avoid a trip to the emergency room and prevent serious injuries in their children.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.metrokids.com\/emergency-room-injuries-and-how-to-prevent-them\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Emergency Room Injuries and How to Prevent Them - Metrokids\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Parents can take these steps to try to avoid a trip to the emergency room and prevent serious injuries in their children.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/www.metrokids.com\/emergency-room-injuries-and-how-to-prevent-them\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Metrokids\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-02-03T16:10:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-08-16T23:02:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.metrokids.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/photo-by-pixabay-from-pexels-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"662\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MK Staff\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MK Staff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.metrokids.com\/emergency-room-injuries-and-how-to-prevent-them\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.metrokids.com\/emergency-room-injuries-and-how-to-prevent-them\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"MK Staff\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.metrokids.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e57323642027d183d526ad194735aa02\"},\"headline\":\"Emergency Room Injuries and How to Prevent Them\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-02-03T16:10:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-08-16T23:02:32+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.metrokids.com\/emergency-room-injuries-and-how-to-prevent-them\/\"},\"wordCount\":750,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.metrokids.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.metrokids.com\/emergency-room-injuries-and-how-to-prevent-them\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.metrokids.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/photo-by-pixabay-from-pexels-1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"emergency room\",\"health\",\"safety\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Health\",\"Home Page\",\"Homepage\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/www.metrokids.com\/emergency-room-injuries-and-how-to-prevent-them\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.metrokids.com\/emergency-room-injuries-and-how-to-prevent-them\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.metrokids.com\/emergency-room-injuries-and-how-to-prevent-them\/\",\"name\":\"Emergency Room Injuries and How to Prevent Them - 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