[Report 1969] / Medical Officer of Health, Brixworth R.D.C.
- Brixworth (England). Rural District Council.
- Date:
- 1969
Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Credit: [Report 1969] / Medical Officer of Health, Brixworth R.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![Prevention: To prevent burning accidents all coal fires should have fixed guards (to British Standards 2788 or 3140); gas, electric and oil fires should have integral guards. Winter clothing should be made of pure vfool (slov? burning), brushed nylon, or proofed cotton. Clothing should never be aired near ungniarded fires of any kind. Care should be taken v:hen using flammable solvents for dry c]eaning, or flammable adhesives for fixing tiles, etc., in the house. Paraffin and petrol should be stored in metal cans, and oil heaters filled, if possible outside the house. Polythene-type storage containers are increasingly popular and safe - metal cans can rust and therefore leak. To prevent scalding accidents fill hot-water bottles carefully, using a thick protective cover: keep panhandles and kettle spouts away from the front of the cooker: keep toddlers out of the kitchen when doing laundry, washing up, cooking and dishing up are in progress; turn tablecloths under to prevent toddlers pulling hot liquids off the table. V/hen using water for bathing and washing always run cold vrater before hot. Suffocation and Choking These accidents account for over 9/0 of all fatal hone accidents. In one year (196?) there vrere 742 deaths. Ti-zo thirds of these were by inhalation and ingestion of food, the rest from suffocation in cots and cradles. Children under 5 years accounted for 71/® of all cases of suffocation and choking. Prevention; To prevent suffocation and choking never 'prop-feed' infants; ensure adequate rubbing of the baby's back to bring up wind before putting down to sleep. Keep talcimi powder (v;hich can clog the lungs) away from babies, and if a sponge is used for washing see that it is too large and firm to be put in baby's mouth. Keep plastic bags out of the reach of children; never use a pillo:7 for a baby under tv^elve months old, remove bibs before putting a baby dovrn to sleep, and use a net to prevent pets getting into cots or prams. Other Risks In one year (1967) 489 people died from other accidental causes; these included 75 drovming fatalities in baths, garden ponds, etc.; 27 from accidents vn’.th firearms: 70 from electrocution and 20 from foreign bodies in orifice. Electrical Accidents Due to amateur installations and repairs, faulty flex and plugs, misuse of domestic appliances, unearthed plugs, open sockets where there are children, also ung\iarded electric fires, touching electrical appliances vrith wet hands. Taking electrical apparatus into the bathroom, filling ,■ electric kettles vrithout first disconnecting are also dangerous practices. ■ - 17 -](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b28957969_0037.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
