COLUMBUS – As you might expect with a holiday weekend that is centered around fireworks, cookouts and bonfires, the Independence Day weekend is a bad one for burns.
Even s’mores can be hazardous.
An estimated 10,500 people went to emergency rooms for treatment of fireworks-related injuries in 2014, 7,000 of them during a one-month period around the Fourth of July holiday, according to the Society to Prevent Blindness.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates 230 people go the emergency room per day with fireworks-related injuries in the month surrounding the holiday.
Tips to help treat burns:
Hold the burned area under cool running water for at least five minutes.
Don’t use ice. This may cause the burn to deepen.
Remove all jewelry, watches and rings near the burned area.
Do not use ointments, sprays or butter.
Apply a clean, dry dressing.
Do NOT apply things like egg whites, butter or mayonnaise. This could cause infection because these items are not sterile.
Source: The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center
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The Fourth of July is also the biggest day of the year for runaway dogs. Frightened by the loud explosions of public and backyard fireworks displays, they run away and are in danger of being struck by cars or trucks. Make sure your dog is wearing a collar with identification so she can be returned if found away from home.
To keep pets, especially dogs, safe, experts recommend keeping them in a familiar room or in their crates with a television or radio on playing music to cover the sounds of the explosions, says Kim Gaebelein, senior Marketing Director at Medina-based Bil-Jac Foods.
If you live close to a scheduled fireworks display, think about asking a friend or family members to keep your pet for the night, she said.
The backyard barbecue can be hazardous for dogs too, according to Gaebelin. Grapes are unhealthy for dogs, who should be kept away from wine and other alcoholic beverages. The artificial sweetener in many kinds of chewing gum can be fatal to dogs so your pet should be kept away from purses and pockets.
Bug repellant and glow-in-the-dark necklaces and stick contain a dangerous poison and should also be kept away from dogs, Gaebelin said.