Gardening: 10,000 leisure accidents every year
According to Suva, of the 540,000 recreational accidents recorded on average each year by accident insurers, around 10,000 accidents involve people who injure themselves in their garden with a hoe, shears or shovel.
Easter vacations, after the prolonged winter period, the free Easter days just offered to do the first work on planters at home. For many people, these activities are a pastime to escape from everyday life.
But Suva urges caution: No fewer than 10,000 accidents are recorded each year that occur during gardening. The serious accidents, which can lead to an inability to work for more than 90 days, account for around 270 cases per year, according to Suva, while an average of two people die from their injuries.
Affected are mainly men
Two out of three accidents while gardening appear to involve men (65 percent) and 94 percent of those involved in accidents are older than 30.
Gardening is not without its dangers: handling branches and bushes can cause serious injuries (16 percent), as can insect bites, which also account for 16 percent of reported accidents.
The top three causes include accidents involving equipment, which account for 12 percent of recorded injuries. Wearing protective eyewear, gloves and clothing with long sleeves are proven ways to avoid serious injuries, insect bites and sunburn.
These tips can help prevent gardening accidents:
- Eliminate fall hazards and trip hazards
- Put away dangerous and unused tools, lock scissors in closed position.
- Wear gloves, safety glasses and hearing protection.
- Wear long and light-colored protective clothing.
- Protection against cuts
- Protection against insect bites and tick bites
- Sunshade - When working at height, the ladder must be well secured.
