Author: Brenda Plascencia

Blog: Community Safety Stories

Bikes: Fun, Freedom and Exercise

by Brenda Plascencia

There are many reasons to ride your bike. Do you enjoy getting outdoors, exercising, helping our environment or just having fun on two wheels? There are many trails and bike lanes that you can enjoy this summer, in Montana. While you want to have fun, you will also want to ensure that you are protected. Here are some quick tips for you.

  • Wear a helmet. First, find a helmet that fits correctly and that meets the US Consumer Product Safety Commission’s standards. Correct fitting includes checking the eye position (look up and you should see the bottom rim of the helmet and the rim should be one to two finger-widths above the eyebrows); Make sure the straps of the helmet form a “V” under your ears when buckled with the strap being snug but comfortable and then open your mouth as wide as you can to make sure that the helmet is hugging your head.
  • Be watchful and mindful of your surroundings. Keep an eye out for traffic, actively supervise children until you are comfortable that they are able to ride on their own. Ensure that they are aware of and use the proper hand signals for stopping and turning.
  • Model proper use and teach good behaviors. Children learn from you and they will then model your behaviors. Teach your children how to make eye contact with drivers, stay to the right side of the road and stop, look left then right then left again before crossing a street.
  • Be Bright, use lights. Ensure that you wear reflective clothing, ensure reflectors and lights on your bike are working and also use a headlamp at dusk, dawn and or in the evening.

Fireworks – A real life discussion

by Brenda Plascencia

Fireworks are one of the most spectacular outdoor shows. They produce beautiful bursts of colors that take a variety of shapes. My question has always been “how do they work, how do they turn into colors in the sky, how do they explode and why can the cause injuries and sometimes even death? 

So, I guess first I needed to find out what is inside a firework.  Inside most fireworks is a small tube called an aerial shell that contains explosive chemicals. The lights, colors, and sounds that you hear and see all come from these chemicals. A shell is made of gunpowder, which is a well-known explosive, and small amounts of explosive materials called stars.  These stars give fireworks their color when they explode. What we see and hear is the explosion of the stars. Depending on the shapes and sizes of the stars, different colors and patterns will be seen and heard.

As you can see, fireworks are beautiful, but due to the gunpowder and explosive materials in the stars, they can also be very dangerous.  Imaging lighting a fire an inch from your face and then having the sparks explode and land on you.  Lighting a firework can do the same thing – it can explode, sooner than you expect it to explode and/or with a larger “bang.”  As someone who knows how bad a burn can hurt, I do not ever want to take a chance to be on the wrong end of a firework when it goes off.  I have seen people get burned, I have seen the sparks light hair and cloths on fire, I have known people whose ears are hurting from the sound of the explosion. 

There is fun and alternatives to help keep yourself and other safer this 4th of July.  Attend a show that is run by trained professionals and sit far back from the lighting area.  Give the children glow sticks and let them play with those rather than lighting off even small fireworks.  Create other fun activities and participate as a family.  No matter what your choice is, this writer recommends that you think about your choices this year and hopes that you all stay safe.

Blog: Community Safety Stories

Five Tips for Families to Stay Safe While Camping

by Brenda Plascencia

While packing the right gear may often be the main focus of preparing for a camping or hiking trip, Safe Kids Missoula recommends that families also keep safety guidelines in mind while preparing to take children outdoors.

“Going camping can be a great experience for children and families but it’s also a time when kids may be in an environment they’re not used to,” says Kevi Berger, coordinator of Safe Kids Missoula. “It’s really about preparing for different situations that could be dangerous for kids, like sitting near a campfire or swimming in open bodies of water. Serious injuries can be avoided by following a few simple tips.”

Safe Kids Missoula recommends these 5 tips to stay safe while camping.

  1. Be safe around the campfire. Actively supervise children near a campfire or portable stove.Follow posted rules about campfires, and do not light fires in windy or excessively dry conditions. Keep a bucket of water and a shovel near a fire and extinguish the fire completely before going to sleep or leaving the campsite.
  • Be prepared for emergencies. Keep first aid supplies and emergency phone numbers handy and know where the nearest phone is located. Cell phones might not work in remote areas.
  • Protect against sudden weather change. Dress children in layers of clothing to help prevent heat-related illness and hypothermia. A child’s body temperature changes faster than an adult’s. Bring waterproof clothes to protect against rain or wind.
  • Actively supervise around water. Never leave your child unattended around water. We know it sounds strict, but there is no room for compromise on this one. Assign a water watcher (someone who watches the water and that is their only job.
  • Wear a life jacket. Always have your children wear a life jacket approved by the U.S. Coast Guard while on boats, around bodies of water or when practicing in water sports.

Blog: Community Safety Stories

Two-thirds of Drowning Deaths occur between May and August

by Brenda Plascencia

As the weather heats up and more children and families head to pools and beaches, Safe Kids Missoula wants to remind parents and caregivers to keep an eye on their kids and actively supervise children at all times when they’re in and around water.

Drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children ages 1-19. On average, about a 1,000 children die each year due to unintentional drowning and more than 5,000 are seen in emergency rooms for injuries from near-drowning incidents.

Studies show that although 90 percent of parents say they supervise their children while swimming, many acknowledge that they engage in other distracting activities at the same time like talking, eating, reading or taking care of another child. Even a near-drowning incident can have lifelong consequences. Kids who survive a near-drowning may have brain damage, and after four to six minutes under water the damage is usually irreversible.  

Here are 5 tips to keep kids safe in and around water:

  1. Give kids your undivided attention. Actively supervise children in and around water, without distraction.
  1. Use the Water Watcher strategy. When there are several adults present and children are swimming, use the Water Watcher card strategy, which designates an adult as the Water Watcher for a certain amount of time (such as 15-minute periods) to prevent lapses in supervision and give parents a chance to read, make phone calls or take a bathroom break.
  1. Teach kids not to swim alone. Whether you’re swimming in a backyard pool or in a lake, teach children to swim with an adult. Older, more experienced swimmers should still swim with a partner every time. From the first time your kids swim, teach children to never go near or in water without an adult present.
  1. Learn CPR. We know you have a million things to do, but learning CPR should be on the top of the list. It will give you tremendous peace of mind – and the more peace of mind you have as a parent, the better. Contact your local hospital, fire department, or recreation site for information about local CPR classes.
  1. Be extra careful around pool drains. Educate your children about the dangers of drain entanglement and entrapment and teach them to never play or swim near drains or suction outlets.

For more information about drowning and water safety, please visit www.safekids.org.  For more water safety tips, visit: http://bit.ly/1dysdUS

Heat and Its Consequences

by Brenda Plascencia

The human body is normally able to regulate its temperature through sweating, until it is exposed to more heat than it can handle. Heat exhaustion and heat stroke can escalate rapidly, leading to delirium, organ damage and even death.

People most at risk include:

  • Infants and young children, especially if left in hot cars
  • People 65 and older
  • People who are ill, have chronic health conditions or are on certain medications
  • People who are overweight

Heat Exhaustion:  When the body loses excessive water and salt, usually due to sweating, heat exhaustion can occur. According to the NSC First Aid Quick Reference App, signs and symptoms include:

  • Sweating
  • Pale, ashen or moist skin
  • Muscle cramps (especially for those working or exercising outdoors in high temperatures)
  • Fatigue, weakness or exhaustion
  • Headache, dizziness or fainting
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Rapid heart rate

Uncontrolled heat exhaustion can evolve into heat stroke, so make sure to treat victims quickly:

  • Move victims to a shaded or air-conditioned area
  • Give water or other cool, nonalcoholic beverages
  • Apply wet towels, or have victims take a cool shower

Heat Stroke:  Seek medical help immediately if someone is suffering from heat stroke. Signs include:

  • Body temperature above 103 degrees
  • Skin that is flushed, dry and hot to the touch; sweating has usually stopped
  • Rapid breathing
  • Headache, dizziness, confusion or other signs of altered mental status
  • Irrational or belligerent behavior
  • Convulsions or unresponsiveness

Immediately take action:

  • Call 911
  • Move the victim to a cool place
  • Remove unnecessary clothing
  • Immediately cool the victim, preferably by immersing up to the neck in cold water (with the help of a second rescuer)
  • If immersion in cold water is not possible, place the victim in a cold shower or move to a cool area and cover as much of the body as possible with cold, wet towels
  • Keep cooling until body temperature drops to 101 degrees
  • Monitor the victim’s breathing and be ready to give CPR if needed

Thosewho are elderly, house-bound or otherwise may be reluctant to ask for help. You can offer to host them in the air-conditioned comfort of your living room on hot days, drive them to a local cooling center, or call relatives or city services to arrange for them to stay cool.

Information provided via online article:  https://www.nsc.org/home-safety/tools-resources/seasonal-safety/summer/heat