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REALTY SPEAK

A common chant that mothers and wives utter whenever someone is going out of the house is ‘Take care, Bye!’. Yes, one needs as many best wishes as possible because roads are treacherous, and we all play the survival game commuting to and from school and office. But it may surprise you to know that a good number of accidents happen at home too. These affect both children and adults. In the absence of ready data from closer home, here is one about the U.K.: that every year one million children are taken to hospital due to an accident in or around the home and every week three of these children die. And another from the American College of Emergency Physicians: that more than 28,000 deaths and more than 6.8 million injuries occurred from injuries in the home in 1997.

Let us start from the gate to the house or apartment block.

Have you noticed how some people like to leave their gates opening outside, that is, jutting out on the road, rather than keeping it flush against the inside wall? At times, you may notice such callousness just as you take a bend, when it may be too late to avert an accident. Something akin to this may be noticed in flats too, when the grill door is kept partially open, hindering easy movement on the stairs, especially when you’re returning from shopping, carrying things in both the hands. Beware of plastic covers littered on stairs; they are an early warning of ominous happenings!

Okay, we have safely reached the door of the flat. Watch your step, because you may trip on the doormat or shoes just outside the door, as ideal tumble teasers.

Women who are sticklers of cleanliness may invite hazard by trying to clean the ceiling fan blades; since you can’t bring the thing down, it is better to advise everybody at home not to take upon themselves tasks that may prove to be too tall for them, more so when alone at home. Consider whether a foldable aluminium ladder is a worthwhile investment compared to ad hoc contraptions such as stool-on-chair-on-table.

To say that fall is a major cause of accidents at home is not false. The elderly are more prone to falls, as much as toddlers.

The site www.eparryware.com has useful tips on ‘bath safety for adults’, such as providing grab bars in the shower or tub area to help those who have difficulty standing up from a seated position; and using adequate light "to make even small puddles of water visible’.

Make your home a sweet one, ensuring that it is safe too.

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