LUNG INJURY

• Monitor the air quality in your home. Place carbon monoxide (CO) detection devices that measure cumulative CO exposure near your bedrooms and where people nap (CPSC, 2002). Make sure that your CO detectors are certified for home use (Underwriter Laboratories standard, UL 2034).
• Assure that all fuel burning appliances are professionally installed and inspected annually.
• Avoid exposure to CO from lawn mower or motor vehicle exhaust, whether in your garage or from a busy alley or street. Keep street-level windows and doors closed.
• Do not use gasoline-powered engines or burn fuels or charcoal in confined spaces (such as a garage, tent, or poorly ventilated room). Do not burn colored paper, such as wrapping paper, junk mail circulars, or newspaper comic sections - the inks usually contain trace metals that emit toxic vapors when burned.
• Open windows and turn on a fan when using chemical products. Wear protective covering (long sleeves and pants, socks and shoes, gloves) if you must spray pesticides or other chemicals.
• Never mix any cleaners containing chlorine bleach with other household chemical products together! They may create poisonous gases.
• Don't disrupt asbestos-containing materials (such as patching compounds, naturally occurring asbestos outcroppings of gravel or tremolite, pre-1970 duct or pipe insulation, roof or siding shingles, or linoleum). Asbestos is safe when it is encapsulated, but hazardous when particles become loose. Only specially trained and equipped personnel can properly (and legally) remove asbestos: don't do it yourself. Check with your local health department for a referral.

• Whenever young children are bathing, playing near water, swimming or boating, assure that an adult is constantly watching them without any distracting activity (such as mowing the lawn, reading, talking on the phone, or playing cards).
• Never swim alone
• Keep small children away from buckets containing liquid: 5-gallon containers are a particular danger. Empty buckets as soon as household chores are finished (CDC, 9/02).
• Use life jackets or preservers for children: never used air-filled swimming aids (water wings), which give a false sense of security and increase the risk of drowning (CDC, 9/02)
• If you have a pool, install a four-sided pool fence with self-closing and self-latching gates. This fence needs to be at least four feet high and completely separate the pool from the house and play area. The CDC strongly advises additional safeguards such as pool covers and alarms.
• When boarding any type of boat, always wear personal flotation devices and assure each child does the same.
• Alcohol is involved in 25-50% of drownings. Because alcohol affects balance, movement, vision, and judgment, its use represents higher risk for injury and death. Act responsibly and be in command of your alcohol consumption.

• Always put babies on their backs in a crib with a firm, flat mattress and no soft bedding underneath.
• Use cribs with slats 2 3/8" apart or less.
• Never put small or sharp objects in your nose or mouth: they can be swallowed into the lung ("aspiration of foreign body"), blocking off air or causing infection. Realize that any balloon or piece of plastic wrap in a toddler's mouth can seal off the windpipe.
• If a person does aspirate a foreign body, get emergency attention to be sure that no remnants stay in the lung. A sharp object in the lungs can tear the delicate tissue: some objects can block an airway; and any oily item - including bath oils or peanuts - can cause infection.
• Snip any closed cord ends that dangle on your blinds or draperies so that young children will not strangle on the loops.

• Keep lighters, matches, and flammable liquids away from children's reach
• Seriously consider being tobacco free. If you do smoke, never leave a burning cigarette unattended; keep ashes and matches away from furniture, carpeting, and curtains, never empty smoldering ashes into the trash, and never smoke in bed.
• Do not use portable space heaters near flammable items. Turn them off every time you leave the room and before going to sleep (CDC, 9/02)
• Alcohol is involved in approximately 40% of deaths associated with residential fires. Act responsibly and be in command of your consumption.
• Install working fire alarms on every level in your home. Working smoke alarms can reduce the risk of death in a residential fire by 40-50% (Ahrends, M National Fire Protection Association, 2000).
• CDC recommends using smoke alarms with lithium-powered batteries (these last up to 10 years) and hush buttons (that allow you to quickly stop nuisance alarms caused by steam, toaster smoke, etc). If you use regular batteries, replace them every year. It is useful to have a routine - such as the day you turn your clocks to standard time in the fall).