Surgeon: Parents' inattention leads to winter injuries on slides and rinks
An ice rink is a place where the risk of injury is always higher than in everyday life.
Traditional winter entertainments — snow slides with ice rinks, as well as icy and snow-covered city streets — threaten Volgograd children with numerous injuries, dislocations, fractures, and other serious consequences. In turn, Professor Andrey Perepelkin, head of pediatric surgery at Volgograd State Medical University, is convinced that in winter, children get injured not because of games, but due to the inattention and irresponsibility of adults.
As Dr. Andrey Perepelkin knows firsthand, winter in Volgograd is always unstable: icy in the morning, thaw during the day, snow and frost at night.
«Changeable weather turns streets into risk zones, not to mention ice slides and rinks,» says Professor Perepelkin. «Most children»s injuries occur not on extreme slopes, but literally near apartment buildings. Parents often hope for luck and don«t pay attention to the many factors that lead to serious injuries.»
The professor explained how to avoid injuries and pointed out what adults should look for first.
«A child»s safety in winter starts not with equipment, but with choosing a place for a walk,« notes Andrey Perepelkin. »Before letting a child onto an ice rink or slide, parents must carefully inspect the site itself, its organization, and equipment. If it«s an ice rink, first of all, attention should be paid to the presence of fences. Particularly dangerous are sites located near roads or cliffs. This will help prevent accidental falls or the child entering traffic zones.»
Recall that just recently, at least two children were seriously injured while sledding on a paid snow slide in the Kirovsky district of Volgograd. As the mother of the injured child, whose head was stitched up by doctors, said, no briefing is conducted for either parents or children. Another woman, contacted by a V1.RU correspondent, stated that her daughter was hospitalized with a concussion after a directional sign fell on her head. The situation was noted by Chairman of the Investigative Committee of Russia Alexander Bastrykin.
Given that it gets dark early in winter, the pediatric surgeon advises inspecting the condition of the surface. Ice on the rink should be thick, even, and clean, without foreign objects.
«Cracks, large irregularities, sharp edges of ice or snow, glass shards, foreign objects, trash — all this directly threatens a child»s health,« reminds Andrey Perepelkin. »It is equally important to explain to the child the rules of behavior on the rink: upon entering the site, look around to the right and left to get into the «flow,» adhering to one-way movement; initially stay closer to the edge of the site to be able to hold onto the fence in time.«
When choosing a snow slide or slope, safety requirements recommendations remain the same, but special attention should also be paid to lighting and visibility conditions, which can be decisive due to the risk of serious injuries, fractures, and other consequences.
«The slope surface should consist of dense, homogeneous snow or ice, without hidden holes, stones, stumps, tree trunks, poles, sharp jumps, fences, and trash,» notes Andrey Perepelkin. «The main danger comes from poorly visible areas where collisions, falls, or »rolling out« onto the roadway are possible. Behavior rules on the slope differ from those recommended on rinks, as they are most often organized by local residents with makeshift means. When sliding, legs should be extended forward; sliding on the stomach or standing is not recommended; when falling, curl up in a fetal position. Using inflatable tubes or toboggans is only allowed on specially equipped tracks.»
Professor Perepelkin reminds that even with a perfectly prepared site, parents must not forget about the child«s personal protection.
«Properly chosen clothing affects not only comfort but also safety,» convinces the doctor of medical sciences. «Layering helps avoid hypothermia, and comfortable shoes reduce the risk of slipping. Regardless of the child»s age and skill level, a helmet, knee and elbow pads should be used, which significantly reduce the risks of severe injuries.«
By the way, residents of Volgograd have been reminded more than once about the danger of inflatable tubes and their uncontrollability, which can easily lead to tragedy. So, in 2020, a young man suffered fatal injuries while sledding on an inflatable tube on the slope of Mamayev Kurgan.
«In terms of injury risk, inflatable tubes are in first place. Following them, in second, are ice skates,» said winter sports instructor Alexander Chentsov. «When ice skating, the most common injury is typically arm fractures. In third place are snowboards. In this case, due to the rigid fixation of the feet, people often land on their hands when falling. Hence, fractures of arms, shoulders, heads. In fourth place for injury are skis.»
