BAUXITE, Ark. — The 4th of July holiday should be a time to celebrate the American dream, but without the right knowledge to keep you safe, it can become a nightmare.
Doctor Sean Morell, an assistant professor of orthopedics and hand surgeon at UAMS, said he typically sees multiple fireworks injuries during this time of year.
“We have a lot of patients that have significant blast injuries, and a lot of these dynamites are about a quarter stick of dynamite,” he described. “People don’t follow the safety instructions and hold a mortar shell in your hand. Usually what happens is they blow up in your hand.”
Dr. Morell has seen injuries of all ages, but one particular group sticks out from the rest.
“It’s usually teenagers that have gotten ahold of fireworks and they are playing with their friends," he said. "They have accidents sometimes and that is life-changing for a lot of teenagers.”
In these cases, there can be extensive damage to a teen's hand that could require months and years of repair.
“I have patients come to the O.R. multiple times and lose fingers. It’s those bigger fireworks that should be sat on the ground and you should be a far distance away from them when you’re firing them,” Dr. Morell added.
He recommends that parents with teenagers keep a close eye on them over the holiday and make sure they're staying safe.
“Try to prevent some of these injuries and without parents there they don’t have that guidance. Peer pressure can make them more susceptible to those injuries," he said. "These are not small surgeries or one or two nights in the hospital. These are multiple surgeries over multiple months.”
Finally, be sure to tell your teen or kiddo to stay safe this holiday weekend and avoid becoming a statistic.
“In Arkansas, we probably see about 12-14 of these a year and they are severe blast injuries that should not be disregarded,” Dr. Morell said.