The Summer’s Top 7 Hazards

Many of us love fireworks.

Fireworks don’t necessarily love us back.

I remember years ago my cousins were lighting and throwing cherry bombs.

These are little explosive charges smaller than ping pong balls, usually dark red, hence cherry bombs.

They have a wick you light and make a louder noise than explosives much larger than they are.

Why we weren’t all permanently deafened by the noise is a testament to the body’s ability to heal itself.

One cousin didn’t get rid of his cherry bomb quickly enough and paid a price.

When it exploded in his hand, his father had to take him to the emergency room in considerable pain.

He still shows the scar to his children because he does not want them to go through what he did.

Our dog Scoop goes nuts when the fireworks start.

He runs around the house barking as if the Visigoths are at the front door.

We put him in a room without windows where he won’t hear the noise.

Nearly 9,000 of us are injured by fireworks each year, according to the U.S. Fire Administration.

Emergency rooms treat hand and eye injuries from fireworks every summer.

The safe way to watch fireworks is at a professional display such as the ones on Lake Murray, the Peach Festival or the Lexington County Blowfish games.

South Carolina does not restrict sales but at least 6 states ban consumer fireworks and others allow them only with limitations.

If you can buy fireworks, take these precautions:

• Keep a hose or fire extinguisher handy in case you start a fire.

• Keep children away from sparklers and fireworks. Sparklers can burn as hot as 2,000 degrees – hot enough to melt some metals – and can cause serious eye injuries.

• To care for fireworks burns, wrap them in a clean towel with ice to ease the pain and take your child to an emergency room to have the injury treated.

Other installments of this Summer Hazards series can be found in our online e-editions at www.LexingtonChronicle.com