ACCIDENTS IN THE HOME: FALL FROM GRACE
Everyone wants to be like Bob Vila, the ultimate safe, competent handyman. But in reality, most of us are more like Home Improvements Tim “The Toolman” Taylor, an accident waiting to happen.
More often than not, our attempts at home improvement don’t mean more trips to the local hardware superstore, but to the emergency room instead, says Michael Taylor (no relation to Tim “The Toolman”) of the National Safety Council, who specializes in home safety awareness. “Not that we try to discourage people from working on things around the house. But they should know their limits. And they should know what they’re doing,” he says. “People have this misconception that they are magically safe within their own homes, when, in fact, that’s where most accidents happen.”
If we could prevent falls, we could prevent hundreds of thousands of disabling injuries and deaths in the home. Here are some tips for staying on your feet, as well as guidelines if you find yourself unexpectedly swept off them.
Watch that last step. Need we say it? The instant you feel you’re putting yourself in danger for a fall, you are, Taylor says. “Move the ladder; don’t reach from the top rungs. Don’t reach for something from the edge of the roof. Use stepladders rather than chairs or stools to reach high-up cabinets. When you’re off balance, gravity generally wins,” he says.
Make it stick, Slick. Give traction to high-traffic areas like hardwood floor walkways and especially hardwood stairs, suggests Taylor.
Also, if you haven’t already, shell out the 1.99 dollars and stick down some of those decorative, and potentially lifesaving, bathtub treads. The bathtub is a dangerous place to fall because you risk falling on something hard that provides no cushioning, warns Taylor.
Learn from Jackie. Try though you may, sometimes you just can’t avoid life’s little trip wires. By learning how to fall, you may be able to avoid the consequences of the tumble. Quintessential fall guy and martial arts mega star Jackie Chan has three key rules for hitting the ground safely.
1. Protect your head and back. When you feel yourself going down, try to land on your
shoulders, thighs, and feet. Wrap your arms around your body to cushion the blow.
2. Don’t fall on your head. A no-brainer!
3. Roll with it. If you use the momentum of the fall to keep rolling, instead of just hitting the ground with a thud, you’ll lessen your chances of really hurting yourself.
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