N E W S

Vol 14, No. 2      LINCARE is a National Supplier of Home
Winter '01           Oxygen and Respiratory Therapy Services

HOW SAFE IS YOUR KITCHEN?

Children are at risk

Anyone who is responsible for a child's safety including parents, grandparents, babysitters and older siblings must have a basic understanding of the fire and burn risks in the kitchen.

1. Keep children at a safe distance from hot liquids. A drink heated to 140 degrees F. can cause a burn in 5 seconds. At 160 degrees F., a burn will occur in 1 second. A child's quick movement could spill hot fluid and cause a serious burn.
2. When toddlers are in the home, avoid using a tablecloth. If a child tries to pull himself up by the tablecloth, a heavy object or hot liquid on the table could fall on the child.
3. Keep all hot items near the center of the table to prevent a young child from reaching them.
4. While cooking, keep young children in a high chair or playpen, at a safe distance from hot surfaces, hot liquids and other kitchen hazards.
5. Use extra caution if you use deep fat (oil) cookers/ fryers when young children are present. The fat or oil may reach temperatures over 400 degrees F., hot enough to instantly cause a very serious burn. · Install Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter receptacles near sinks and other wet areas.
6. Keep appliance cords away from the edge of counters, and keep them unplugged and disconnected when not in use. A dangling cord is dangerous because it can get caught in a cabinet door or be pulled on by a curious child.
7. Always use oven mitts or potholders to remove pots and pans from the stove.
8. Keep pot handles turned in so the pots cannot be pulled off or knocked off the stove.
9. Store cookies and other foods away from the stove area so no one will be tempted to reach across a hot burner. Store potholders, paper towels, seasonings and other cooking items at a safe distance from the stove.
10. Establish a "SAFE AREA" in the kitchen where a child can be placed away from risk, but under continuous supervision. Also, consider establishing a "NO ZONE" directly in front of the stove. Teach your child to avoid this area. You can mark the zone with yellow tape, a piece of bright carpet or other material.
11. Use a fill-through-the-spout teapot to reduce the risk of hot water-associated scald burns. The central handle, the single, small opening, and a "spout whistle" are all safety features.

- Shriners Hospital

Not getting enough sleep can age people prematurely and promote serious illness, a study out today suggests. And the changes can occur rapidly.

Researchers found biological signs of "accelerated" aging in healthy young men after less than a week in which they slept four hours a night, University of Chicago endocrinologist Eve Van Cauter says.

The good news: 12 hours in bed for several nights turned the clock back to the right age.

"We don't know if older people or those who are chronically sleep-deprived can recover like this," she says.

People need eight hours of sleep, experts say.

Van Cauter's study, reported in today's Lancet, found several ways that sleep loss made the 11 men in their 20s "older":

They tested as "pre-diabetic" on glucose tolerance, levels typical for men in their 60s.

Their daily patterns of releasing cortisol, a stress hormone, changed to the rhythm of average middle-age adults.

The findings suggest that serious sleep loss "might predispose you to getting even diseases that are known to be genetic," says J. Allan Hobson, director of Harvard Medical School's neurophysiology lab.

Changes in the young men in the study could foster diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and memory loss.

"We don't know that it would make life shorter, but it certainly makes for a less healthy aging," Van Cauter says.

USA TODAY
Oct. 22, 1999

"In the depths of winter I finally learned there was in me an invincible summer."
- Albert Camus

 Previous page     Next page