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Staying safe in bathtubs
Parents are often warned not to leave their young children alone in a bathtub. But even when grown-ups are in the room, there can be danger, a new study finds. Writing this month in the journal Clinical Pediatrics, researchers from the Columbus Children's Hospital in Ohio said that when they looked at bathtub injuries over three years, falls caused by slipping were the most common. And four out of five times, an adult was present. The researchers examined cases involving more than 200 patients aged four months to 16 years. They found that more than 80 per cent of the cases involved falls, with cuts being the most common injury, generally to the head or face. "Increased supervision alone will not be sufficient to prevent these injuries, given that adult supervision is already present in most cases," the authors wrote.
The researchers noted that tub manufacturers should take a new look at their safety standards and consider, among other changes, using surfaces that create more friction. Tub safety, they said, should be demonstrated under real-world conditions - when, for example, soap is being used. Moreover, the study said, "What is slip-resistant for an adult with a long stride may not be slip-resistant for a child with a very short stride."
(New York Times)
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