Since man began to walk on two feet thousands of years ago, he has encountered a basic safety hazard that is universal in nature - tripping and falling. Early man had to deal with rocks, roots, and wild vegetation as tripping hazards. Modern times brings walking hazards to the forefront of our struggle for home safety.
Home safety doesn't require blazing yellow and orange signs around hazardous areas or barricades to dangerous places. It just requires some fairly simple and common sense adjustments to your lifestyle to prevent accidents. People are very conditioned to convenience and often sacrifice safety concepts to make life easier.
Less obvious as home safety problems are counters and tables with sharp corners. For adults the corners represent a danger to knees, thighs, elbows, and hips. Many large bruises are gained every day from bumping into the corner of a piece of furniture. If there are young kids in the house, those corners become threats to the head, eyes, and shoulders. As children develop, they often are not looking ahead to what dangers lay at head level.
Shelves in closets and storage areas in general are very often victims of clutter and overloading. It is a classic cartoon notion for the closet door to open and everything fall out on the hapless character involved. In real life it is not funny and can be painful. Overloaded shelves can fall on a head or body at any time to cause injury.
The elderly are usually more sensitive to tripping and falling concerns such as varied flooring or rugs. The differing levels for materials covering the floor are potential sources of tripping. The danger grows over time as the borders get worn. Home safety experts additionally recommend non-slip pads for rugs and periodic review of floor covering boundaries.
Placing protective covers on knives, corners and electrical outlets is a great way to prevent possibly serious accidents. Knives left on a counter or table can fall or be accidentally handles with dire consequences. Is there anyone that hasn't bruised a hip or shin of a sharp corner of a piece of furniture? The covers for outlets are an opportunity to combine home safety with decorating since they come in many designs.
Tripping and falling are common hazards in a house and often develop after time instead of immediately. The hallway rug was nice and smooth to start with, but after the kids and pets chased on it, the ridges and ruffles are just waiting to trip someone. Borders that were once secured between flooring and carpet come loose over time and can lead to unexpected falls.
If you are a late night kitchen raider, bathroom user, or child checker the dark halls can be dangerous. Using nightlights can save many painful and embarrassing falls in the middle of the night. Stair areas are of special interest for nighttime lighting to create a safe environment during needed trips.
