The document discusses various ways to prevent accidents and injuries in children. It outlines education programs for parents and children, modifications to the social and physical environment like road design and traffic laws, and changes to product design. Specific prevention strategies are provided for common causes of childhood injury like road accidents, drowning, burns, bites, and poisonings. Engineering road designs, close supervision of children, safe storage of hazardous items, and first aid training are emphasized as effective measures to reduce injury risks for children.

1. PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS IN CHILDREN
• Accidents – Unexpected unplanned occurrence which may involve injury or occurrence in a
sequence of events which usually produces unintended injury, death or property damage.
• The term accident prevention has been replaced by injury control. The reduction of morbidity
and mortality from injuries can be prevented through advertising the event of injury in the first
place and then appropriate emergency medical services for injured children. Children at high
injury risk are likely to be relatively poorly supervised have disorganized or stressed families and
live in hazard our environment.
• Effect to control injuries in children in clouds.
1. Education
2. Modification of social and physical environment
3. Change in product design.
• Parents to be educated to change their behavior
• Modification of environment like
1. Safe road designs
2. Decreased traffic volume
3. Speed limits of vehicles
4. Elimination of guns from house holds
• Change in social environment through.
1. Legislations, law mandating – child seat restraint and seat belt use.
2. Graduated motor vehicle licensing laws.
• Majority of accidents are preventable about 1.8 lac children under 15 years of age dies in road
accidents mainly by two wheelers.
• Types
1. Road traffic accidents
2. Drowning and mean drowning.

2. 3. Poisonings
4. Burns
5. Electric burns
6. Bites and other injuries from animals
7. Work related
8. Disasters.
• Safety education must be given in schools. The school bus drivers need to be trained in proper
maintenance of vehicles and safe driving. Children to be trained for first aid also.
• Promotion of safety measures like. Helmets which prevents major head injuries during RTA.
• Children should be seated in rear seats and informant of use of seat belts during travel.
• Elimination of causative factors.
1. Improvement of roads – in proper or damaged roads in gears chances of accidents.
2. Speed limits – higher speed limit to be set for vehicles.
3. Enforcement of laws – Driving test and medical fitness of drivers should be made
compulsory.
4. Pedestrian’s injury.
5. Prevention of pedestrian injury in clouds.
6. Education of children in pedestrian safety should be initiated at early age by parents and to
continue into the school age tears, young children should be taught never to cross street
when alone.
7. Major streets should be crossed alone until the child is 10 years of age.
8. Pedestrian skill training programmes to be included in schools.
9. Legislation and police enforcements are important components to reduce pedestrian
injuries in children.
• Engineering change in road designs.

3. 1. Slow the speed of traffic by speed breakers and to route traffic away from schools and
residential areas.
2. One way street networks
3. Proper placement of transit, school bus stops.
4. Sidewalks in urban and sub-urban areas
5. Edge stripping in rural areas to delineate the edge of roads and Gub parking regulations.
• Drowning – is a major cause of injury death for children’s. Children younger than 5 year old
accounts for nearly 40% of all drowning fats lities in 1 st 4 years old children drowning is the
second leading cause of injury death.
• Specials the residential swimming pool should be focus of preventable efforts because of high
drawing rates at this site.
• Prevention
1. Parents are advised to closely supervise children at every movement during swimming.
2. Education (including CPR) in addition to appropriate pool fencing can prevent 80% of
drowning in young children.
3. Fences should completely isolate the pool from the house and yard.
4. Proper gates and they should be self closing and self latching with latches mounted inside
and near top of the fence.
5. Toys should be removed from the pool area at the end of swim time.
6. Pools should be covered properly after swim time.
7. Parents should be educated and should be told about the risk of common house hold items
like bath tubs buckets toilets and washing machines to be kept away from children, buckets
tubs containing water should never be left unattended.
8. Toilet covers and bathrooms doors should be closed all the times, in spite of all above
parents should not feel secure that their children are safe in water they should be vigilant all
the time.
9. Teenagers should learn CPR and be counseled about alcohol and drug abuse which
significantly contribute to submersion and drowning.

4. • Burns – about 30 to 40% of burns patients are below 15 years of age.
• Preventive measures.
1. Parents and care providers to be educated regarding preventive measures of burn injuries.
2. Preventing fire out brakes by installing smoke detectors.
3. Use of flame retardant at places clothing at fire work places.
4. Prohibition of smoking reduces the incident of burns.
5. Learn to use fire matches – lighters to prevent injury. Control of hot water thermostat in
buildings.
6. Roll not run if clothing catches fire, child should be wrap in blanket carpets in case of clothes
catches fire.
7. Crawl beneath smoke if indoors, there should be planned routes for emergency exit from
home or work places in case of fire.
8. Use of material for educating peoples regarding fire burn injuries to be distributed in
schools.
• Fire arm injuries in children and their prevention.
1. Physician should counsel parents about fire arm ownership this should include information
in forming risks associated with awning a hand gun the risk of injury to all members
including children and especially to adolescent males and teens with mental health and
alcoholism.
2. The safest approach is to remove fire arm from house hold or if it is must to keep guns,
should be kept in locked containers.
3. Make airway patent remove clothing saturated with hot liquids jewelry rings and bracelets
should be removed and cut away to prevent construction and vascular injury in oedema
phase.
4. In case of chemical injures brush off any reaming chemical powder, soap then wash the
affected area with water, cover the burnt areas with clean dry sheeting and apply cold wet
compressed small injuries
5. In case of burns caused by hot tar use mine red oil is remove tar.
• Animal and human bites and its prevention

5. 1. 0.7 to 1% viils hospital for treatment children between 6 year to 11 years suffers from dog
bites.
2. All the children should be closely supervised in presence of animals, children should be
taught to respect animals and to be aware of their potential to inflict injury.
• Children should be taught that.
1. Do not disturb any animal that is eating or sleeping.
2. Do not approach unfamiliar animal.
3. Do not disturb any animal caring or feeding her puppies.
4. Never run from unaccompanied dog / animal.
5. Remain still if unfamiliar animal approached.
6. Always allows a dog to see and sniff you before touching it.
7. Parents should be routinely counseled during prenatal visit and routine health maintenance
examination about the risk of having potentially biting pets in house.
8. Reduction of human bites injuries particularly in day care centers and schools can be
achieved by good surveillance of children and having adequate supervisory personnel’s to
child ratio.
• Poisoning
1. To prevent poisoning of drugs in children physician should always specify on pres geptcains
that pris creations be dispensed in child resistant containers.
2. Packing of drugs should be of child resistant packing.
3. Parents of toddlers should also be given a bottle of syp of ipeace to store in medicine; they
should be instructed to call the regional poison control center or the pediatrician before
administering IPGCAE.
Dr. Ravi Malik
M.B.B.S.,M.D. (Paed)
Sr. Child Specialist
Convener Medical Education, IMA-National

6. Asstt Secretery General, IMA-National