Know what can hurt you: ER physicians discuss common summer injuries

Jeff Broddle | Cadillac News Zach Losinksi rides his bike over a ramp a second before he crashed. Fortunately, he was wearing a helmet and was not hurt. Due to more activity, summer is the time when emergency rooms become busier.

It happens to everyone.

Have you or do you know someone who has fallen off a bike, gotten stung by a bee or had a sunburn? It is almost a requirement of being a child.

Although these are normally minor setbacks, some injuries can be extremely dangerous — even deadly.

This time of year normally makes the hospital emergency rooms around the country a busy place.

“People seem to be more active during the summer,” said Dr. Robert Kowalski, Mercy Hospital Cadillac ER physician. “People do a variety of summer activities, which automatically increases their risk of injury.”

Whether it be heat-related injuries or cuts and bruises, it is bound to happen to you or someone you know — unless the right precautions are made.

Being an emergency room doctor, Dr. Alan Grillo sees a lot of unusual injuries.

In the summer, though, he has a good idea what is going to come through the ER doors at Spectrum Health-Reed City Campus — the same preventable injuries seem to happen every year.

ER physician Robert Kowalski notices the same trend at Mercy Hospital Cadillac.

“Our trauma seems to go up in the summer,” Kowalski said. “Sometimes they are minor scrapes and bumps. Other times they are much more serious. The big thing is that these are all preventable.”

Bikes and boards

The most common injuries Grillo sees are bike, skateboard and inline skating injuries. Not only does he see a lot of skinned knees and cuts that require stitches, but a fair amount of concussions — some requiring trips to the Grand Rapids trauma center.

“We always recommend people wear helmets and wrist and knee pads,” Grillo said. “Those do cut down on injuries.”

Those riding a motorcycle or a horse also should wear helmets, according to Kowalski. With a person being about 10 feet up in the air on a horse, a fall can cause head injuries — in some cases, even to those wearing a helmet.

Fireworks

With the Fourth of July coming up, fireworks are another common injury. The biggest problem, according to Grillo, are burns. But he also has cases where fingers had to be amputated and eye injuries.

“We had a young kid last year who shot off a mortar,” Grillo said.

“It hit him in the armpit and he just about lost his arm. We also have to amputate fingers due to firecrackers going off in a hand.”

Grillo said people should stay away from illegal fireworks and anything that flies, spins or goes bang. Although he said children should not light off fireworks, if they do, it should be done with adult supervision.

“They need to take extreme caution, even for fireworks you don’t think could hurt you,” he said. “Many parents don’t think they need to be careful with their children using sparklers. They can get up to 2,000 degrees because of magnesium compounds. They should be supervised.”

Heat injuries

Once summer is here, many people are anxious to get out and enjoy the heat and sun. For those who aren’t careful, it can be dangerous, if not deadly.

Heat-related injures are fairly high, according to Kowalski. It might be because people are in the sun too long, not drinking enough water or putting too much stress on the body.

“Historically, Cadillac has been fairly cool during the summer,” he said. “But the past two summers, we have been seeing more and more heat-related injuries. People seem to be more active during the summer.”

To stay safe, people should drink plenty of fluids, not overexert the body and take plenty of breaks.

“You have to be especially careful with elderly adults and small children because they don’t always know their limits,” Kowalski said.

“Some medications can prevent older adults from maintaining an adequate body temperature. That puts them at risk for hyperthermia and heat stroke.”

Recreational injuries

There are a handful of other injuries that Grillo comes in contact with from time to time, including cuts from string trimmers and lawn mowers or farm equipment.

“We don’t see a lot (of farm equipment injuries) because equipment is a lot safer,” he said. “But we do see people now and then. What we don’t see are repeat offenders — they usually learn their lesson the first time.”

Other uncommon injuries involve campfires. Grillo said occasionally people throw a spray can in the fire, which can blow up. He also sees injuries on trampolines — the most common are children jumping on or banging into each other or falling off of the trampoline that doesn’t have netting.

“About three to four times a week we see people with fishhook injuries,” he said. “They can be anywhere. A person just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Getting hit with a nail gun also happens on occasion. The most common places, according to Grillo, are the hands, wrists, knees and shins. Once in a while he sees nails in the back or abdomen.

Your local connection

Safety tips