The third leading cause of death in the United States

Did you know that injuries, both intentional and unintentional, are the third leading cause of death in the United States? Not only is that true, but injury deaths in homes and communities have steadily increased since 1992... Yes, 1992! Holy cow! The most frequently treated injuries came from:

• falls
• scald burns
• playgrounds
• unintentional poisoning.

So how can you prevent injuries at home? There are probably those of you who think that there isn’t a way to prevent an unintentional injury; however, you are sadly mistaken. An unintentional injuries aka accidents, are the number three cause of deaths in the United States. Here are some ways you could prevent unintentional injuries:

1. Keep safety on the brain. It may sound crazy but it is not. When you constantly read about, learn about, or are exposed to safety related matters, safety can become a permanent fixture in your subconscious mind. This would come into play when preventing all of the above unintentional injuries.

• Basically, you do things safely without consciously knowing about it. For example, those of you who read my article about the crosswalk dangers; probably think about that article and watch for kiddos crossing the street when you come up to intersections. (Well, at least I hope you do)

2. Attempt to follow safety guidance at all times. Things like wearing eye protection when running a weed eater and wearing hearing protection when operating a leaf blower could prevent unintentional injuries. This should be done ALL the time, not just haphazardly. In doing so you could prevent an unintentional injury like... let’s say... damaging an eyeball or getting permanent hearing damage.

3. If ever in your future life you can see yourself starring in a commercial where you look at someone and say "hold my beer and watch this..," just don't. HA!

Now let’s talk about intentional injures. The term "intentional" is used to refer to injuries resulting from purposeful human action, whether directed at oneself or others. Intentional injuries include self-inflicted and interpersonal acts of violence intended to cause harm.

Major risk factors for intentional injuries from interpersonal or self-inflicted violence include:

• Access to firearms,
• History of interpersonal violence,
• Alcohol abuse,
• Mental illness, and
• Poverty.

Bottom line, protect yourself, your home, and your family. Cheers!