Let's Keep Christmas Safe for our kids

Keep Safety in Mind with Children’s Gifts

PUBLISHED ON December 19, 2019

December is National Safe Toys and Gifts month. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission an estimated 226,100 toy-related injuries were treated in U.S. hospital emergency rooms in 2018. Almost half of those incidents were injuries to the head. Unfortunately, most of these injuries happen to children under age 15.1 Since so many children’s accidents are related to the eye, the American Academy of Ophthalmology provides a list of tips for choosing safe toys.2

• Avoid purchasing toys with sharp, protruding or projectile parts.
• Make sure children have appropriate supervision when playing with potentially hazardous toys or games that could cause an eye injury.
• Ensure that laser product labels include a statement that the device complies with 21 CFR (the Code of Federal Regulations) Subchapter J.
• If you give a gift of sports equipment, also give the appropriate protective eyewear with polycarbonate lenses. Check with your ophthalmologist to learn about protective gear recommended for your child’s sport.
• Check labels for age recommendations and be sure to select gifts that are appropriate for a child’s age and maturity.
• Keep toys that are made for older children away from younger children.
• If your child experiences an eye injury from a toy, seek immediate medical attention from an ophthalmologist.

Federal small parts regulations ban any toys intended for use by children younger than three from having pieces that may break off during play or having small parts. A small part is defined as anything that fits completely into a test cylinder slightly smaller than a toilet-paper tube, which is about the size of a fully expanded child’s throat.3

In addition to the gifts themselves, the wrapping and packaging can prove hazardous to small children. Plastic wrapping and other packaging are often treated as toys by children and pets, and may cause suffocation. Strings and straps may injure or strangle young children. Here are some other safety tips:

• Battery charging should be supervised by adults. Chargers and adapters can pose thermal burn hazards to young children.
• Avoid toys or gifts with unsafe lead levels. For example, there was a recall in August of this year by Restoration Hardware (RH) for children’s chairs and stools because they contained paint with levels of lead exceeding the federal lead paint ban.4
• Keep deflated balloons away from children younger than eight. Discard broken balloons at once.
• Children playing on riding toys (such as scooters, both motorized and foot propelled) need to be closely supervised. Make sure they are not on streets that have automobile traffic.
• Whether riding bicycles or tricycles, skateboarding or scootering, children should be equipped with safety gear—helmets, elbow and knee pads, etc.
• Use a bin or container to store toys when playtime is over. Make sure there are no holes or hinges that could hurt little fingers.

Two great resources to check before purchasing children’s gifts are www.recalls.gov and www.safekids.org/children-product-recalls. These sites provide month-to- month updates on recalls related to children’s products as well as adult items.

From Nikken to you and your families, we wish you a safe and happy holiday season of continuous Active Wellness.

From Kathy and I to all of you, Have a Very Merry Christmas and a Blessed and Happy New Year.
1,www.nikken.com/na/jsj

2 https://www.aao.org/eye-health/news/buying-safe-toys

3 https://www.consumerreports.org/child-safety/toy-safety-tips-holiday-gift-buying/

4 https://www.safekids.org/childrens-product-recalls

Eat, Drink and Be Merry but Don’t Drink and Drive

PUBLISHED ON December 12, 2019

The holidays are full of festivities and that generally means lots of food and drink. In North America, parties tend to include a variety of alcoholic beverages, and moderation can be difficult. Everyone needs to commit to not driving if drinking away from home.

Drinking and driving don’t mix, and the statistics are staggering. The U.S. Department of Transportation reports that throughout the year, more than 10,000 people die from drunk driving—equal to 20 jumbo jets crashing. And, reports state that 300 Americans die annually during the few days surrounding Christmas and New Year’s.1 This computes to more highway deaths related to alcohol that occur during the holidays than at other times of the year.

Celebrations and joy making can turn into tragedies, but now more than ever, it’s easy to avoid the temptation to get into a car after drinking alcohol. There are rideshare services easily accessed by phone and in many major cities, community volunteer drivers for the holiday season.

PsychCentral2 notes that during the holidays, people who don’t usually drink may have some alcohol in the spirit of “joining in the fun.” There are also people who drink and drive because they believe they are staying within the “one drink an hour” rule. Unfortunately, this is not reliable and depends on variances in individual body weight and metabolism, as well as hydration levels and the amount of food eaten.

This holiday season, embrace Active Wellness and resist the pressure to drink in excess. If you enjoy alcohol, plan ahead by having a designated driver or ordering a ride share service to pick you up. Active Wellness means moderation, so decide in advance how many drinks you will allot yourself and stick to it.

Since the holidays are a time for giving, remember to offer a variety of non-alcoholic beverages when you’re hosting, and watch out for your guests. If they’re consuming alcohol, help ensure they have a driver or ride available before they leave.

There are still a few days left to shop from the Nikken Holiday Gift Catalog—a gift of magnetic bling is definitely something to toast!

For more information go to www.nikken.com/na/jsj or call 713-725-1842 for John St. John, ID. # 838621900....If you call the number in the catalog, you will need to give this ID# to place the order.

Merry Christmas to one and all.

1https://drivingschool.net/sober-facts-of-holiday-drinking-and-driving/

2https://psychcentral.com/lib/holiday-drinking-keep-it-safe/392/

How Often Do You Wash Your Hands?

PUBLISHED ON December 5, 2019

During the holidays, we come in contact with more people than usual. Although this can help us expand our circle of friends and acquaintances, it increases our exposure to germs. Bacteria and viruses are easily transmitted by just about everything we touch. As we touch people, surfaces and objects throughout the day, we accumulate germs on our hands. We can infect ourselves with these germs by touching our eyes, noses or mouths, and we can also spread them to others through microscopic particles that will attack our immune systems on a daily basis.

That’s why our best line of defense is to wash our hands often. Although it’s impossible to keep our hands completely germ-free, washing our hands frequently is a must when practicing Active Wellness. Handwashing can help limit the transfer of bacteria, viruses and other microbes.

According to the Mayo Clinic1, we should always wash our hands when they are visibly dirty and before:

• Preparing food or eating
• Treating wounds or caring for a sick person
• Inserting or removing contact lenses

Always wash our hands after:

• Preparing food
• Using the toilet, changing a diaper or cleaning up a child who has used the toilet
• Touching an animal, animal feed or animal waste
• Blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing
• Treating wounds or caring for a sick person
• Handling garbage
• Handling pet food or pet treats

The recommended guidelines are to scrub your hands for a minimum of 20 seconds. A 2018 report by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) found that up to 97 percent of us wash our hands incorrectly.2

The Center for Disease Control cites that handwashing can prevent one in three diarrhea-related sicknesses and one in five respiratory infections, such as a cold or the flu.3 Teaching children from a young age to wash hands often is key to preventing the spread of common ailments. The five easy steps are: wet, lather, scrub, rinse and dry. Remember to teach them the key to proper washing is to scrub with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

It’s wise to wash your hands and change your clothes after you get home from your commute, and to wash your hands frequently during the workday. You don’t have to work with soil or anything else produced by Mother Nature to become infested with germs. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, the average office worker’s desk is covered in more germs than a bathroom toilet seat!4

Alcohol-based hand sanitizers, which don’t require water, are an acceptable alternative when soap and water aren’t available. If you use a hand sanitizer, make sure the product contains at least 60% alcohol.5

This holiday season, decrease exposure to germs simply by thoroughly washing your hands often and with soap, and enjoy Active Wellness.