MU Health Care surgeon says to leave fireworks 'to the professionals'
When preparing for the July 4 holiday, it's better to go watch a professional display, such as Columbia's Fire in the Sky, rather than buying and setting off your own, said Daniel London, University of Missouri Health Care orthopedic surgeon.
London's specialty is in hand and microvascular surgery. These skills are needed as hands and fingers are the most common injuries associated with fireworks. The annual fireworks safety report from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission notes 29% of fireworks-related injuries hands and fingers.
"This is not my favorite time of year as a hand surgeon. Firework injuries can be incredibly devastating to the patient," London said, including loss of function or even unrecoverable body parts. "...
Fireworks injuries can have other impacts, including financial, not only because of surgery and physical therapy costs, but potentially affecting what jobs a person could get due to limited hand functionality, he added.
"So, the best way to avoid fireworks injuries is to not use fireworks. That would be our strong recommendation is to leave the fireworks to the professionals," London said. "Home fireworks are a recipe for significant problems and challenges.
We’ll continue to talk about the dangers posed by fireworks but a picture is worth a thousand words and this video is worth a million! So many fails here. Think about it. pic.twitter.com/Q8COFAe5vb
— MO Div. of Fire Safety (@MoFireMarshal) June 30, 2023
General firework safety tips
For those that do purchase and set off consumer fireworks, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety commission has some general guidelines on firework safety.
Never allow young children to play with or ignite fireworks, including sparklers. Sparklers burn at temperatures of about 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit—hot enough to melt some metals.
Keep a bucket of water or a garden hose handy, in case of fire or other mishap.
Make sure fireworks are legal in your area, and only purchase and set off fireworks that are labeled for consumer (not professional) use.
Never use fireworks while impaired by alcohol or drugs.
Only sparklers are allowed inside Columbia city limits. If anything else, a person could face a misdemeanor charge. Fireworks of any kind, including sparklers, are not allowed in city parks. The only exception is for sponsored, organized groups who have permission from the Parks and Recreation director and/or the city council.
The high temperatures and drought conditions also are a concern associated with fireworks as there is the potential for fires. Centralia and Boonville have called off their city-sponsored fireworks over these concerns.
Injury statistics
On average, over the last 10 years, there are 8,000 fireworks injuries annually, London said. In the 2022 safety commission report, that number was estimated at 10,200 nationally, with 73% of injuries in the month around the Independence Day holiday.
Another issue with personal fireworks purchases is the potential they could contain illegal fuses, prohibited chemicals or an overload of pyrotechnic materials, the safety commission said.
The safety commission selected and tested consumer fireworks and found that 43% of what was sourced violated provisions of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act. It is these illegal components that can cause severe injuries, the safety commission noted.
“Fireworks are beautiful to watch, but they can be deadly when mishandled or misused, or if the fireworks themselves contain illegal components.” said Alex Hoehn-Saric, safety commission chair. “I urge everyone to use care around fireworks, only use fireworks labeled for consumer use, and always keep children far away from fireworks, including sparklers. We want everyone to have a fun and safe celebration.”
Consumer fireworks injuries continue to have an upward trend, London said.
"Eighty percent of injuries typically occur in people under the age of 40 and over half of our patients usually are under the age of 25. So, this is predominantly impacting young people," he said, adding in his experience it's an even mix of face and head injuries and the hand and arm injuries.
The age demographics related by London are similar to what was found nationally by the safety commission. Those aged 5 to 24 make up 43% of injuries, while ages 25 to 44 are 36% of injuries. Breaking this down further, the safety commission counted 1,400 injuries among those aged 5 to 14; 1,800 injuries among ages 15 to 24; and 2,700 injuries in ages 25 to 44. Those identified as male make up 65% of injuries.
Common injuries
Second-degree burns are among the most common injuries with fireworks, London said. These burns a little deeper than than the top layer of skin, he added.
"This typically is handled in the emergency room and they never reach me as a hand surgeon. It's the patients that have much more significant injuries that can lead to seeing myself or one of my partners. If that is the case it tends to be blast-type injury," London said.
It is these injuries that can lead to loss of fingers or even multiple surgeries to try to restore what was lost. In the past London had to operate 11 different times on a patient after the injury "to address everything and subsequent difficulties they had," he said.
"These can be life-changing injuries if patients end up losing fingers, parts of their hand, or their entire hand," London said.
Thirty-eight percent of injuries in 2022 were burns, the safety commission reported. Roughly 30% were contusions, laceration or abrasions; 26% all other injury categories; and 7% fractures and sprains.
Hand surgeries can get extremely complicated, London said, since a blast-type injury can have various facets. This includes skin loss and damage, ligament damage, tendon damage and bone, vascular and nerve injuries affecting motor skills.
"The unfortunate part of a blast injury, as opposed to knife injury, is in a lot of cases we can't fix the pieces. They are so damaged and the zone of injury is so vast that it really is a salvage-type situation where we are putting pieces together where we can," he said.
Charles Dunlap covers local government, community stories and other general subjects for the Tribune. You can reach him at cdunlap@columbiatribune.com or @CD_CDT on Twitter. Subscribe to support vital local journalism.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: MU Health Care surgeon says no to consumer fireworks
