According to a 2007 US General Safety Council research report, home injuries are the fifth leading cause of death in the US. Researchers point to the bathroom, along with the kitchen and stairs, as one of the most dangerous areas in the home.
1. Water, water all around
The most basic part of the bathroom is water: in the sink, bathtub and shower. And this is probably the number one danger. More people are injured and even killed by falls in the bathroom than in any other room in the house. The problem is that the water doesn't always stay where it needs to be. Poorly installed shower curtains and simply wet feet are some of the main causes of water on the bathroom floor.
The ideal shower has glass doors rather than curtains. Otherwise, you can minimize leakage by using two curtains: one that falls into the bathtub and the other, a decorative curtain, that hangs onto the floor. To stop slipping, try installing tiles in your shower that have a slightly uneven surface, and place soft rugs on the floor.
2. Slippery bath or shower products
Modern people use many products in the shower and bath. The problem is, all of this: shampoo, conditioner, body gel, exfoliant, shaving cream, create a lot of foam and make surfaces slippery. The soap may slip enough to cause a fall.
Soap accumulations should be cleaned regularly. After a shower or bath, dry surfaces quickly.
3. Bright and white surfaces
A pure white bathroom can look great, but the combination of light, white surfaces and reflective surfaces (like mirrors and chrome taps) can be disorienting. Bright lights can even be dazzling to someone with less than perfect vision, as is the case with many older people. What's more, all that brightness can mask standing water on the floor, increasing the risk of slipping.
Switch to frosted bulbs to help reduce glare. A row of contrasting tiles (or wallpaper border) breaking up the white wall space will help maintain balance.
People who are trying to keep the bathroom warm use an electric heater in this room. Like any electrical appliance (hair dryer, razor) in a bathroom where there is so much water, the heater is a potential risk of electric shock, as well as accidental fire.
If staying warm is a problem, install a permanent wired heating system and install heated floors only in the bathroom. Or you can run the shower a little earlier before your bath to allow the steam to warm up the area.
5. Shower doors
Glass shower doors have become popular as an alternative to vinyl shower curtains. But they are known to deteriorate over time. They can also break if impacted. Since most doors are made of tempered glass, they tend to instantly break into many small pieces rather than large jagged ones. This is less likely to cause severe cutting, but can still seriously injure a child or frail elderly adult.
You don't have to give up glass. Just make sure family members don't use them as towel racks or lean on them. Check shower doors regularly for cracks and chips.
Let's start with the most important rule: never leave your baby in the bath unattended, even for half a minute! Even if the baby is already sitting confidently and it seems to you that you will have time to run to the kitchen and check if the milk is boiling there, or quickly answer the phone call. Very young children are still quite helpless, and for them to be under water is a matter of seconds. And older toddlers may try to get out of the bath on their own in your absence. These dangerous attempts often result in serious injury. Try to detach yourself from everyday chores while bathing - they will wait. And if for some reason it doesn’t work out, take the baby out of the water, wrap him in a large towel and take him with you...
Be very careful with hot water. Always follow a simple rule: when opening the water, first open the cold one and only then open the hot one! You should close the water the other way around: first hot, then cold.
Before putting your baby in a bathtub or large bathtub, first check the temperature of the water in it. It can be measured using a thermometer. The maximum water temperature when bathing a baby should be no more than 50°C. But the fastest and easiest way is to put your elbow in the water. If the water is too hot, you will immediately feel it. Never add hot water to the bathtub while your baby is in it. Hot water does not mix with cold water instantly and can burn the baby. If you need to add water, take the baby out of the bath, add water, stir, check the temperature and only then return the little bather to his place. This simple rule will help you avoid serious troubles! It would also be a good idea to put special protective attachments on the taps: then, when playing in the bathroom, the baby will not hit his head on them.
Everything is in its place!
Usually in the bathroom there are all kinds of shelves and cabinets for shampoos, washcloths and other bath accessories, creams, and cosmetics. Carefully check how securely they are fastened and whether the bottles and vials are stable on them. Otherwise, if you accidentally catch one of the shelves while swimming, you can dump a bottle of shower gel or an aerosol with shaving foam on the little bather. It is better that there is nothing above the bathing baby that could fall on him.
Household chemicals in the bathroom require special care: washing powders, bleaches, cleaning products, etc. They must be securely hidden in locked cabinets. After all, sometimes it happens like this: an open packet of washing powder is on the washing machine. As soon as mom turned away for a second, the baby, sitting in the bathtub, reached out to the powder, grabbed it with a tenacious little hand and - lo and behold - the powder was already in the bathtub! That is why all household chemicals should be kept away from those tenacious little hands and curious noses. If your lockers do not close, equip them with special locks. Or even remove all objects that are dangerous to the child from the bathroom.
If you have a shared bathroom, do not forget to put locks on the toilet lid so that the baby is not tempted to study everything thoroughly or to bathe his favorite toy in the toilet. And under no circumstances should you place hooks, latches or other locks on bathroom doors that are easy to latch from the inside and impossible to open from the outside. Otherwise, it may happen that you will have to break down the door, rescuing the baby locked there.
Dangerous electricity
We remember from our school physics course that electricity and water are very dangerous neighbors. There is as much water and even just moisture in the bathroom as you like. Electricity is also present: there is light, a socket, and all sorts of electrical appliances, from a washing machine to a hairdryer. From this we can conclude that compliance with the rules for safe handling of electricity in the bathroom is more important than in any other room.
So, all wiring in the bathroom should be in perfect condition. Electrical sockets should be covered with special protective plugs for the bathroom to prevent moisture from entering them.
Never leave plugged-in electrical appliances in the bathroom - hair dryer, curling iron, razor, etc. Remember that they may accidentally fall into the water where the baby is. Train yourself to turn them off and put them away immediately after use. The same goes for your washing machine: always keep it closed and unplugged. Never bathe your baby while the washing machine is running in the bathroom. If you use a water heater, do not forget to turn it off while bathing. Negligence in this matter can cost lives...
Cleanliness is the key to health
The bathroom is usually a small and closed room. Therefore, all foreign odors linger here for quite a long time. It is very important that the hood in the bathroom works flawlessly. But, in any case, it is better not to use chemicals with a strong smell to wash and clean the bathroom. Microparticles of the detergent will “hang” in the room for a long time, and the bathing baby will be forced to breathe them. Clean the bathroom in advance and ventilate the room well before bathing your baby. Remember to thoroughly rinse cleaning products from the surface of the bathtub, washbasin and baby bath using plenty of running water. Many household cleaning substances are very aggressive, and even a small amount of them, if it gets on the baby’s skin, can lead to burns, irritation, and an allergic reaction.
Due to high humidity and elevated temperature in the bathroom, all kinds of bacteria and mold fungi quickly multiply. Poor ventilation and leaking pipes especially contribute to this. If a black coating spoils the appearance, that’s not so bad. Much more dangerous is that mold spores enter the air and then into the human respiratory tract. This can lead to various allergic diseases, including bronchial asthma. The proximity to mold fungi is especially unfavorable for children with allergies. If you are planning to renovate your bathroom, it makes sense to treat the tiles with a special compound that will prevent mold from growing. If repairs are not planned in the near future, wash the walls in the bathroom with a hot, strong solution of soda and washing powder - 1 tbsp. a spoonful of powder or a pack of soda in a bucket of water. The “vegetation” cannot tolerate the alkaline environment created by the solution and dies. It is advisable to carry out such treatment once every 1–2 months or at the first signs of mold. You can also find special antifungal detergents on sale.
Useful things
For bathing very young children, it is convenient to use baby baths, at the bottom of which special bathing stands or “slides” are placed. They support the baby during bathing and reduce the risk that the baby will accidentally slip from your hands and his head will drop below the water level.
If you are bathing your baby in a large bathtub, you may need a device that will allow the little bather to sit in the bathtub. It is a large, durable ring on four legs with suction cups. The suction cups securely attach the “seat” to the bottom of the bath, the back provides the baby with a comfortable and safe position, and the arms remain free for play. For older children, provide the bottom of the bath with a special mat with suction cups to prevent it from slipping. A handle holder on the wall would also be useful. This will prevent your child from slipping and falling if he decides to stand up while bathing.
By the way, the bathroom floor must also be covered with an anti-slip mat. A damp, soapy floor can make it easy to slip and fall or hit your head on the hard ceramic surface of the sink or bathtub itself. People suffer many serious injuries at home for this reason. Such sliding is dangerous even for adults. And what can we say about tiny, awkward people who have just learned to walk and still do not know how to properly balance.
If we pay attention to the arrangement of our bathroom, if we do not forget about simple safety rules, bathing the baby will be pleasant, useful, fun and, most importantly, a safe procedure!
You are serenely humming your favorite song in the shower, and all these objects are just waiting to kill you, injure you or infect you with an infection.
We're joking, of course, but still be careful with them. Especially when you bathe a child.
1. Gender
Do you disdain to go without slippers in the shower of a fitness club? Your own bathroom floor isn't much cleaner: Australian scientists estimate that it contains, on average, 200 times more than sanitary standards.
How to escape? Wash the floor with disinfectants and place a washable rug on it.
2. Spilled water
Every year, about 450 people die from slipping on wet floors. Children and the elderly are at risk.
How to escape? Choose a shower stall with a door rather than a curtain. Install tiles with an uneven surface. There are also special mats that do not slip on the floor.
3. Toothbrush
London professor John Oxford said that the bathroom is a difficult place to plan. Every day, dirt from our own bodies scatters throughout the room and settles on objects that outwardly seem clean.
A study by British scientists says that up to 100 million people can live on a toothbrush. Some of them can be almost fatal: E. coli, fungi, streptococci, etc. Hygiene in shared bathrooms suffers especially badly: germs from the toilet scatter within a radius of 180 cm.
How to escape? Store brushes in a case or put special caps on them. Alternatively, you can put the glass with brushes on a closed shelf.
4. Shower curtain
Moist and warm all the time - ideal for the growth of bacteria and fungi. the curtain can cause intestinal diseases and inflammation of the genitourinary system.
How to escape? Wash (or better yet, change) once every three months. After you have taken a shower, straighten the curtain and open the door. This will make it dry faster.
5. Shower head
American researchers have found that almost a third of shower heads contain pathogens. The fact is that they always contain warm water, which bacteria love very much.
How to escape? Before taking a shower, run a stream of hot water through the nozzle.
ansport.
Unless you resemble Schwarzenegger in size, try not to get between the bus and the crowd waiting for it. This is especially dangerous during icy conditions, when the ground at the stop is covered with a slippery crust of ice. You can be dropped and slightly trampled, pressed against the side of an approaching vehicle, or, most dangerously, pushed off the curb under its wheels when approaching.
Don't cram your arms, legs, and bags into closing doors in the hope that you can pull everything else in behind them. You just might get caught in the door.
Now for other tips related to traveling on public transport.
Do not get on or off the vehicle until it comes to a complete stop.
Do not lean against doors, do not stick your head or hands out of windows.
Inside a tram, trolleybus, and especially a more mobile bus, try to hold on to the handrails in case of emergency braking or stopping. The best point of support is the handrail above your head.
It is better to stand facing the direction of movement in order to be able to see the danger in advance and have time to react to it.
Umbrellas, canes, etc. pose a certain threat in case of sudden stops and braking. objects with sharp and protruding edges.
In the event of a collision and the inability to stay upright, try to group yourself while falling and cover your head with your hands, and ideally, see the landing site.
Any public transport, including electric ones, is a fire hazard. For this reason, after a traffic accident, it is advisable to leave the cabin as quickly as possible and move 10-15 meters to the side.
If the exit doors are jammed or there is a traffic jam, use emergency exits, do not wait until the situation becomes critical. Break windows using any heavy objects at hand.
In urban electric transport, during a fire, burning electrical wiring is dangerous. Therefore, it is better not to touch the walls and metal parts of the case again.
In the event of an accident, when the current-carrying wire is damaged, the safest places in a tram or trolleybus are seats. In this case, it is better to lift your feet off the floor and not lean on the walls and handrails.
You should get out of the electric vehicle by jumping, with both feet forward at the same time, without touching the handrails and other parts of the body, so as not to close the electrical circuit with your body. The indicated technique - jumping out - should be used even in cases where there is no visible damage to the structure of the trolleybus or tram and the power line.
Rail transport
Of the many modes of transport, we feel safest on trains. Unlike airplanes, they do not crash or skid on icy roads. Meanwhile, this is self-deception. According to statistics, far more people die in train accidents around the world than in plane crashes.
Here are some generally known rules that must be followed when traveling by train.
The safest places in the carriage are the compartment shelves located in the direction of travel. In case of emergency braking or a train collision, you are only pressed against the wall, while passengers from opposite shelves fly to the floor. The last person to fall after a complete stop is the person lying on the top shelf in the direction of travel.
The greatest threat to passengers is posed by the first and last carriages of the train. The first one is crushed and thrown out of the way in a head-on collision. With the latter, the same thing happens in a rear-end collision, only on an even more catastrophic scale, since, unlike the first, it is not buffered by the locomotive and the baggage car.
Do not overload the top shelves with things or secure them, so that during sudden braking you do not become a victim of your own suitcases and boxes.
The emergency exit from the carriages is provided by quickly opening windows in the third and sixth compartments on the side of the transverse shelves.
A fire on a train is no safer than a plane falling from a height of 10 thousand meters.
If there is a real threat, immediately leave the carriage through the vestibule doors and emergency exits. As a last resort, knock out the window panes with improvised objects - stepladders, hard briefcases.
If there is heavy smoke in the carriage, cover your nose and mouth with a rag moistened with water - a towel, pillowcase, sheet, or a piece of torn clothing. In half-empty carriages you can move on your knees, as there is less smoke near the floor.
In crashes involving collisions and emergency braking, most injuries occur from falling from shelves. To avoid them or at least soften the blow, you should, in addition to securing your luggage, remove unsafe bottles from the tables, glasses in cup holders with spoons sticking out of them like daggers, etc.
Avoid leaning out of open windows. A stone thrown at a train flies at a speed at least equal to the speed of the train. Imagine what a stone flying at a speed of 60-100 km/h can do to your face. When going to bed on the bottom shelf facing the direction of the train, it is better to turn your head towards the aisle and be sure to curtain the window. Even if it is not the most reliable protection from cobblestones and glass shards, it is better than none at all.
Food. What does this have to do with the train? And given that passengers sometimes travel there for several days, there are no refrigerators in the compartments, but, on the contrary, there is plenty of heat. Given these conditions, getting poisoned by stale food is a piece of cake. And, by the way, there are only two places to suffer in this regard in the carriage, and the conductors usually close one to themselves.
Soap, towel, glasses, etc. It is better to use your own toiletries and cutlery. It is advisable to sleep in tights or pajamas. In general, the less contact you have with the environment, the less itching you will subsequently have.
Tea, or rather, hot tea, or more precisely, freshly boiled tea. If you don’t want to cause trouble for yourself and other passengers, take boiling water only in parking lots or on level sections of the tracks, when the carriage does not rock or throw from side to side, and be sure to fill glasses and mugs to no more than two-thirds of the volume, or better yet, use special deep jars, wrapped in a rag so as not to burn your fingers.
Lagging behind the train. The only advice is do not try to compete with the train in racing and jumping from a place into a moving carriage. Many people lose their legs, arms and lives in these competitions. The railway provides assistance measures for passengers who are left behind by the train. You only need to contact the station duty officer or the station manager. They will help you - they will put you on the train, and the cargo will be delivered where it needs to be. So don't rush to jump on the platforms. It’s not your life that’s leaving you—it’s just a train.
And try to keep an eye on children on the platforms.
Storm
Thunderstorms pose a real danger to humans. In addition, it can become a source of emergency situations.
Thunderstorms often go against the wind. The distance to an approaching thunderstorm can be determined by counting the seconds separating the flash of lightning and the sound of the first clap of thunder. A second pause means that the thunderstorm is at a distance of 300-400 m, a two-second pause means 600-800 m, a three-second pause means 1 km, etc.
When a thunderstorm front approaches, you need to stop in advance and find a safe place. Immediately before the onset of a thunderstorm, there is usually calm or the wind changes direction, sharp squalls occur, after which it begins to rain. However, the greatest danger is posed by “dry” ones, i.e. thunderstorms not accompanied by precipitation.
In the forest during a thunderstorm, you should not stop near solitary trees or trees with their tops protruding above the forest level. You should take shelter among low trees with dense crowns. At the same time, we must remember that most often lightning strikes oaks, poplars, chestnuts, and less often - spruce and pine. And very rarely - in birches and maples. It is dangerous to be near watercourses, since during a thunderstorm even small cracks filled with water become a conductor for the flow of electricity.
In a thunderstorm zone, you should not run or make thoughtless, fussy movements. It is dangerous to move in a dense group.
Wet bodies and clothing increase the risk of being struck by lightning.
When a thunderstorm approaches, a person on a watercraft (boat, raft) must immediately moor to the shore. If this is not possible, drain the boat, cover it with polyethylene so that rainwater flows overboard and not inside the craft, but the polyethylene should not come into contact with the mast, propellers and water. Fishing should be stopped during a thunderstorm.
During a thunderstorm you should:
in the forest, hide among low trees with dense crowns;
in open areas, hide in a dry hole, ditch, ravine;
on the water - lower the mast or ground it to the water through a keel or oar.
During a thunderstorm you cannot:
lean or touch rocks and steep walls when moving in a thunderstorm;
stop at the edges of the forest, large clearings;
stop or walk in places where water flows or near bodies of water;
move in a tight group;
stop at higher elevations;
take cover near solitary trees or trees protruding above nearby trees.
Literature
1. V.M. Lapin "Human life safety". Textbook. - Lvov, 1998. - pp. 5 - 42.
2. Zheliba E.P. "Safety. Life activity." Textbook - Kyiv, 2001. - pp. 54-71, 142-151, 204-207, 227-230.
3. N.A. Kasyanov "Life Safety". Lecture notes. - Lugansk: VNU, 1998.
4. Rusak O.N. "Life Safety". - St. Petersburg, 2001. - pp. 150-151, 168-173.
The bathroom, one of the most important rooms in the house, often becomes a source of danger. A tiled room can undermine your health in three ways: here you can get physical injury, chemical poisoning, or even chronic disease.
But this is not a reason to give up hygiene. Making a room less “harmful” is not that difficult.
Physical threat
Typically, the bathroom floor is covered tiles. When water gets in, it turns into a skating rink. According to tradition, the bath itself is enameled. This coating looks very impressive, it does not wear off for 30 years and remains extremely slippery all these years (even if it is dry). All this creates ideal conditions for falling and receiving numerous injuries, fractures and concussions. Especially slippery surfaces are dangerous For:
- children under 5 years old. Firstly, babies still have very poor balance control, and secondly, they have not yet developed the instinct of self-preservation, and when falling, they will not even try to grab onto something;
- women after 50-55 years. Age-related and hormonal changes in the female body, characteristic of this period, make bones extremely fragile. After the half-century anniversary, it is easy to get a fracture even with a minor blow; it breaks especially often femoral neck- by nature this is an extremely delicate place. Such an injury is very unpleasant: the bone does not heal for a long time and there is a risk that after recovery one leg will remain shorter than the other.
What to do?
To make the bathtub and its floor more stable, you need special mats, which can be laid not only on the floor, but also in the bath itself. For this purpose there are mats equipped with suction cups, which rigidly fix their position. If you don't like the rug, attach it to the bottom of the bathtub anti-slip application. You just need to remember that such rugs must be on rubberized base, otherwise various microorganisms will quickly settle in them.
In addition, the surface of the bath itself can be coated acrylic- this will increase its durability and eliminate any slipping.
If you decide to change the floor in the bathroom, do not be fooled by the cold beauty of glossy tiles - this is the most “slippery” type of coating. Give preference matte porcelain granite. It is very difficult to lose your balance on it, even if it gets wet. This material is considered one of the most environmentally friendly, surpasses natural stone in strength and, unlike some types of finishes, does not become radioactive over time.
Chemical threat
Usually the bathroom is small in size and, as a rule, poorly ventilated. In this regard, the use and storage of chemical cleaning substances in it leads to the fact that the atmosphere of the room quickly fills harmful toxic substances. And they not only provoke poisoning, but can also accumulate in our body, leading to cancer and chronic diseases.
Read also:
- Dishwashing detergents are a time bomb
- Cosmetic horror stories: alcohol, parabens, silicone and ammonia
What to do?
- To minimize the damage of cleaning products, do not buy anything that has a strong odor or contains aggressive solvents, chlorine and ammonia.
- Make sure that the packaging of the product says “non-toxic”.
- While cleaning, you can wear a respiratory mask and then ventilate the room.
By the way, it is not only cleaning products that pose a threat to health, but also... ordinary curtains, as well as air fresheners. The danger is PVC curtains. This compound releases volatile organic compounds into the air, which negatively affect the nervous system and can cause cancer. It is better to replace such curtains with more environmentally friendly ones.
Included unnatural air fresheners and aerosols contain substances that irritate lung tissue, cause headaches and dull the sense of smell. It is better to abandon them and replace them with flowers or scented candles.
Biological threat
In the bathroom there are ideal conditions for the growth and development of fungus and mold- heat and humidity. Lack of proper ventilation, old pipes and high humidity lead to unexpected neighbors. There are over 100,000 types of fungi that can exist in the bathroom. Black Aspergillus settles there more often than others ( Aspergillus niger). If there is a black coating in your bathroom, then you are familiar with this type firsthand.
Fungi are scary not only from an aesthetic point of view. It is not the mold itself that poses a danger to our health, but millions of spores, which it releases into the surrounding space. We inhale them along with the air - this is how they end up in the respiratory and circulatory system. A healthy immune system successfully resists them. If the immune system is weakened, then black mold can cause bronchial asthma, allergic sinusitis, bronchopulmonary aspergillosis(often leading to death) and other diseases. Allergy sufferers, children and the elderly are most prone to the effects of mold waste products.
What to do?
The fungus must be removed. To eliminate the enemy completely, you need repair, during which professionals will treat the room with a special preparation.
If repairs are not yet part of your plans, you need to treat the damaged surfaces with hot strong solution of soda and washing powder(a spoonful of powder, a pack of soda in a bucket of water). This composition creates an alkaline environment from which the fungus dies. Unfortunately, the spores that it manages to release before death can hide deep under the tiles, and after some time the mold will be reborn. To prevent this from happening, treatment is carried out once every 1-2 months (or at the first appearance of fungi).
Prepared by Olga Kulinkovich, September 7, 2011.
Newspaper “Zvyazda”, original in Belarusian: http://zvyazda.minsk.by/ru/pril/article.php?id=85499