With warm properly summer weather the number of injuries suffered by residents in Latvia has increased significantly. The current number already exceeds the one observed during the slippery season in winter. The patient flow to the Hospital of Traumatology and Orthopaedics (TOS) has increased significantly. Doctors urge residents to be responsible and take better care of their health when engaging in different sports activities and spending time outside.
During warm days the number of patients exceeds 100, which is 25% more when compared to colder days. Most injuries are received while residents are drunk, acting recklessly and poorly assessing the situation.
Explaining the situation, TOS chief physician Uģis Zariņš says most injuries involve bone fractures, shoulder bone fractures and other injuries: «The number of injuries received when driving electric scooters has increased dramatic. These injuries are large in numbers and have already exceeded numbers observed in spring. On top of that, these injuries are generally heavy and take a long time to treat,» explains Zariņš.
Residents also receive injuries when using different sharp items in the kitchen, working in the garden, doing sports in inappropriate footwear (playing football barefoot in wet grass, etc.), the hospital explains.
Every year doctors urge residents to be careful when swimming – people should not jump head first into water no matter how well they know the river, lake or sea!
The is no way to predict what could be hiding beneath the surface of the water. Jumping head first into water can result in death or life-long paralysis. About 20 people end up in hospitals every year. However, most people die from injuries on the spot by drowning, because broken necks result in paralysis, leaving them unable to move and swim.
With the long midsummer festival coming up, physicians predict another increase of patient numbers and invite residents to be more responsible about their safety.