COLUMBUS – As the sound of lawn mowers fills the summer air, researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital warn: Nearly 5,000 children are taken to emergency rooms every year suffering from injuries caused by lawn mowers.
On average, 13 children per day – nearly 4,800 per year — receive some kind of emergency treatment for a lawn mower-related injury in the U.S., according to research by the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and published in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine.
“While we are happy to see that the number of lawn mower-related injuries has declined over the years, it is important for families to realize that these injuries still occur frequently during warm weather months,” said Dr. Gary Smith, senior author of the study and director of the center, who credits improvements in lawn mower design during the last few decades for the decrease in injuries.
Follow these safety rules to prevent injuries:
Children should be at least 12 years old to operate a push mower and at least 16 to use a ride-on mower
Children should never be passengers on ride-on mowers and children younger than 6 years of age should be kept indoors during mowing
Pick up any stones or other objects in the grass which can be thrown by rotating blades.
When using a walk-behind lawn mower, use a control that stops it from moving forward if the handle is released. Always mow going forward.
-Source: Center for Injury Research and Policy
While most children were treated at the hospital and released, more than eight percent were serious enough to be admitted, Smith said.
Bystanders and passengers were almost four times more likely than operators to be admitted. The most common types of lawn mower injuries were cuts and burns. The hands and fingers were the most commonly injured body region, followed by the leg, feet and toes.