What the pros know: How to avoid a trip to the emergency room

Three local doctors have advice that could keep you and your family out of the emergency room.

News4 asked them what injuries they see over and over again and what can be done to avoid them.

E-scooters

Topping the list is e-scooters.

“Driving those e-scooters at night without a helmet and especially when alcohol is involved. They’re a very dangerous combination,” said Dr. Alex Koo with Medstar Health.

The problem is, e-scooters can go up to 20 miles an hour and if you lose control or hit a curb, you could get hurt.

“We see tons of broken bones, facial fractures and sometimes even brain bleeds from falls off of scooters, and these are healthy people too,” Koo said

His best advice is to wear a helmet and don’t drive impaired.

Trampolines

“I could get crucified for this one,” Koo said.

Trampolines are all fun and games until you end up with a fracture, according to Koo.

“Boken bones, facial fractures as well as brain bleed sometimes if they’re serious enough. or even spinal cord injuries too,” he said.

As a father of two, Koo says they’re off limits at his house. But if you have one, take precautions.

“If you have a safety net on the side, that’s great,” he said. “And then just being careful and definitely maybe avoiding multiple people on the trampoline at once.”

DIY projects gone wrong

Dr. Kyle Burton is an urgent care physician with Kaiser Permanente and says some of the most common injuries he sees stem from DIY projects gone wrong and using tools without proper training.

“We wanna take a stab at it, but we wanna make sure that we don’t stab ourselves in the process,” he said

Trouble in the kitchen

Two other common injuries happen in the kitchen.

“Oftentimes, we have what we call the avocado injury because when people are using a blade in order to cut around the seed, the blade can slip and cut your palm,” Burton said. “If we’re going to be cutting any vegetables, we have it on the surface. We’re leading with our knuckles instead of with our fingers, and we’re ensuring that we have good control of the knife blade.”

There are also measures you can take to prevent burns.

“Cook on the back burner when you’re cooking and turn the handle of the pot or the pan away from the edge of the counter so that little hands can’t reach up and grab a hot liquid or hot something that’s on the stove and burn themselves,” said Dr. Christina Johns, a pediatric emergency physician with 25 years of experience and mom of two. “That is a big one that we see every single year.”

Proper footwear

When it comes to Johns’ kids, there’s one thing you won’t see them wearing — Crocs.

“While they seem like they’re easy to get on and off of, they are not your friend,” she said. “From getting them caught in the spokes of bicycle wheels to having sharp objects or sticks get in through the holes and cause injuries to the feet. Those are accidents waiting to happen.

Johns says while they are great for the beach, they’re not meant for sports and everyday life. She says she’s seen kids play basketball in them and then sprain their ankles.

“As a mom of two teenagers, I have been there with all of the families that I have taken care of,” she said. “My kids have fallen down the steps, they have twisted their ankle at sporting events and they’ve worn the wrong shoes. So I can relate to every one of these circumstances, but trust me when I tell you as a mom and as a physician, take a little time, prevent the things you can.”