Mowers and kids are not a good mix

CHILDREN should be warned about the dangers of lawnmowers and campfires, surgeons say following research indicating injuries from both are rising

Surgical trainee Dr David Sharp analysed 35 consecutive lawnmower-related injuries treated at the Mater Children’s Hospital, Brisbane, finding more injuries occurred in non-metropolitan areas, where children had lower levels of supervision, and ride-on lawnmowers were associated with more severe injuries.

The incidence of injury rose steadily throughout the five years to 2011, Dr Sharp told the annual scientific congress of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in Kuala Lumpur last week.

“[Lawnmower-related injuries] in children can lead to significant physical and psychological morbidity. So prevention is better than treatment,” he said, adding there should be a renewed emphasis on injury prevention campaigns.

The conference also heard more public awareness was needed about the risks of accelerants used to light campfires. 

Plastics registrar Dr Paul Di Giovine, said campfire-related burns presentations at Adelaide Women’s and Children’s Hospital had returned to the high levels of a decade ago, accounting for 6.9% of total admissions, whereas they had dropped to 2–3% when an education campaign was run in 2006.