hiker chick
03-26-2009, 09:26 PM
Good to know that the federal government is on top of this -- raising awareness that "pets and pet items can be a fall hazard and can lead to injuries."
Be careful out there, dog people and cat people. If your pets don't get you, their toys and chew items might.
I have much experience with this peril. My first Samoyed cut in front of me when she was a puppy, which resulted in severe ligament strain in one of my ankles. I have repeatedly stubbed toes on Gidget's bones as she fails to warn me in the night where she leaves them. She once lateraled into my knee that had suffered a torn MCL the week before. And in her enthusiasm to say hello once, her nose painfully impacted one of my eyeballs. But I love her. :rolleyes:
CDC Analysis Tracks Falls Related to Pets
By David Brown
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 27, 2009; A02
Federal government researchers yesterday filled in a blank spot on the map of life's hazards -- the part occupied by Spot, Fifi, the chew toy and the water bowl.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that an average of 86,629 Americans visit the emergency room each year after a fall caused by pets or their paraphernalia.
That's the equivalent of 240 ER trips a day, and roughly 1 percent of the 8 million visits for falls of all sorts.
About one-third of the falls broke bones, about one-quarter caused bruises, one-fifth caused sprains and a little more than one-tenth caused cuts. About 62 percent of the dog-related falls and 86 percent of the tumbles involving cats occurred at home.
"We know that pets have many benefits," said Judy A. Stevens, an epidemiologist at the CDC's injury center. "We just want people to be aware that pets and pet items can be a fall hazard and can lead to injuries."
Dog-related falls account for 88 percent of the total, cat-related ones 12 percent. Children 14 and younger recorded the most injuries, but the highest rate of injury is in people 75 and older.
Women were more likely to be injured than men; they suffered 68 percent of the falls involving dogs and 72 percent involving cats.
Exactly how many of the falls occurred when a leashed dog took off after a squirrel, a cat streaked by underfoot or the water dish spilled and made the kitchen floor slick isn't known. Nevertheless, the study, in the center's Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report, gives a rough sketch of hazardous activities.
(rest of the article at the link below)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/26/AR2009032601634.html?hpid=moreheadlines
Be careful out there, dog people and cat people. If your pets don't get you, their toys and chew items might.
I have much experience with this peril. My first Samoyed cut in front of me when she was a puppy, which resulted in severe ligament strain in one of my ankles. I have repeatedly stubbed toes on Gidget's bones as she fails to warn me in the night where she leaves them. She once lateraled into my knee that had suffered a torn MCL the week before. And in her enthusiasm to say hello once, her nose painfully impacted one of my eyeballs. But I love her. :rolleyes:
CDC Analysis Tracks Falls Related to Pets
By David Brown
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 27, 2009; A02
Federal government researchers yesterday filled in a blank spot on the map of life's hazards -- the part occupied by Spot, Fifi, the chew toy and the water bowl.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that an average of 86,629 Americans visit the emergency room each year after a fall caused by pets or their paraphernalia.
That's the equivalent of 240 ER trips a day, and roughly 1 percent of the 8 million visits for falls of all sorts.
About one-third of the falls broke bones, about one-quarter caused bruises, one-fifth caused sprains and a little more than one-tenth caused cuts. About 62 percent of the dog-related falls and 86 percent of the tumbles involving cats occurred at home.
"We know that pets have many benefits," said Judy A. Stevens, an epidemiologist at the CDC's injury center. "We just want people to be aware that pets and pet items can be a fall hazard and can lead to injuries."
Dog-related falls account for 88 percent of the total, cat-related ones 12 percent. Children 14 and younger recorded the most injuries, but the highest rate of injury is in people 75 and older.
Women were more likely to be injured than men; they suffered 68 percent of the falls involving dogs and 72 percent involving cats.
Exactly how many of the falls occurred when a leashed dog took off after a squirrel, a cat streaked by underfoot or the water dish spilled and made the kitchen floor slick isn't known. Nevertheless, the study, in the center's Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report, gives a rough sketch of hazardous activities.
(rest of the article at the link below)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/26/AR2009032601634.html?hpid=moreheadlines