My Green Corner

Spring time brings green cheerfulness everywhere. It is time for families to take care of their gardens and the green grass often needs proper dressing with lawn mowers.

The “Power Lawn Mower” is one of the most unsafe tools around the home. The unsafe use of lawn mowers poses a serious public health threat and it results in more than 55,000 injuries every year due to that.

In such accidents, a significant proportion of the victims either lose a part of their toes or fingers or could face dislocated bones, burns or it might even prove to be fatal. According to the medical data, in almost 95 percent of such injury cases amputation and extensive reconstructive surgery was found to be inevitable.

The types of injuries caused by unsafe and improper use of power lawn mowers could include lacerations, fractures and amputations of the fingers, hands, toes, feet and legs. Thousands of unfortunate children not only suffer the physical injuries but also have to undergo the emotional and social problems associated with these kinds of injuries. Other type of injuries include being run over by a riding mower, any object being flung and striking the child, or the burns due to the gasoline or by touching the hot metal parts.

Most of the ‘lawn mower injuries’ occur on slopes, particularly when the ground is damp, in poor lighting conditions and among inexperienced mowers. Among the victims are usually the innocent bystanders, often children, injured or killed by someone else operating the mower. Fatalities usually occur during the following situations:

• When adults while moving the mower, allow children to stand on it or sit at the back of riding mowers while moving lawn mower.
• Children try to operate the mower themselves, when they are too young to do so.
• Sometimes even rocks or stones can be thrown by the mowers and they can hit the head or eyes of the children.
• Injuries also occur when the lawn mowers are placed into reverse and children moving behind them are not aware of it.

Lawn mowing experts and other health professionals including some medical societies recommend that virtually all of these injuries could be prevented if some necessary precautions are taken. An initial training would always be more beneficial because it will help in understanding the working of power lawn mowing machine and its operational guidelines. According to the expert’s recommendations, individuals and families should observe following precautions:

• It is important for one to familiarize oneself with the equipment before operating it and after checking that it is in proper working condition. It is always safe to go through the manufacturer precautions.
• It is recommended to use lawn mowers with guards and a cutoff switch and be certain that the cutoff switches should not be disconnected. All electrical connections must be checked properly prior to operating the machine. Any negligence could give you a shock.
• One should be extra ordinarily careful while operating the mowers on slopes and avoid mowing when the ground is damp.
• Other people, especially the children under the age of 6, should not be allowed inside the yard when operating a lawn mower.
• Kids should not be allowed to ride as passengers on mowers or let them be towed behind mowers. They should not be allowed to play on or around stored mowers.
• Children should not be allowed to operate the equipment unless they have strength and are totally aware of the know how of it. It is always better to keep them off instead of making them participative in this ‘adventurous activity’.
• It is dangerous to go barefoot while mowing. Sturdy shoes should be worn. Use your legs in movements with caution and more attention.
• Always wear protective eye gear, hand gear and footwear such as goggles, gloves and heavy rubber sole boots.
• It is advisable to pick up stones, toys, and debris from the mowing area. These objects can act as potential projectiles from the lawn and could hit back affect head, eyes and other parts of your body.
• It could be dangerous while pulling backward on a mower or mow in reverse. This should be done while looking carefully behind you before backing up a mower.
• It is advisable to start and refuel mowers outdoors, not in a garage or shed. Refueling should be done with the motor turned off and cool.
• While removing any objects from the blade, one should be extra careful as any negligence could result in to severe cuts and injuries.

In addition to the above precautionary steps adopted by the consumers, it should be made necessary for the lawn mower manufacturers to include a safety manual with every lawn mower sold and imprinting safety instructions on all machines. There should also be awareness campaigns among the public so that such injuries could be prevented, contributing to a decline in costs on health care as well as eliminate suffering to the injured.

“Lawn mowers severely injure thousands of children every year. So many of these tragic injuries could have been prevented with just a few precautions”, says AAP President Dr Jay. E. Berkelhamer.

Lawn mower injuries are a seasonal threat to children and the leading cause of amputations in adolescents, say specialists from the ‘Johns Hopkins Children’s Center’, Maryland’s designated pediatric trauma center where the most severe injuries are treated.