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Specialists warn window insect screens represent a threat to children


https://www.ipn.md/en/specialists-warn-window-insect-screens-represent-a-threat-to-children-7967_1027585.html

At least five cases when children younger than five fell from height when leaning against mosquito nets or insect screens placed on windows were recorded last May-August alone. Three of the cases had a fatal ending. In this connection, doctors warn being especially cautious in the warm period as the children left unsupervised can go up the windowsill and can fall off when they lean against such screens that can easily separate. At such an age, the children do not realize the danger and are not afraid of height.

Contacted by IPN, vice director of the Clinical Children’s Hospital “Valentin Ignatenco” Vitalie Mihalcean said that such cases involve mainly children aged between zero and five. For example, a three-year-old child who fell from the fourth floor when resting on a window screen was rushed to the hospital last summer. The child suffered a leg fracture and brain injury. He stayed in the hospital for ten days and then received treatment at home and recovered fully.

Vitalie Mihalcean noted that such home accidents cause mainly brain injury given that the head is heavier and, when falling, it comes with a greater weight towards earth. The children can also suffer backbone, rib, leg and hand fractures. It depends a lot on how the child falls. The fall can be cushioned by earth, tree branches or clotheslines. But such accidents are often fatal or leave the children with scars for life.

To avoid such cases, doctors recommend permanently supervising the children. When airing the rooms, the adults must not leave the children alone in the room and should better go out for a walk with them in the period. A solution is to install vertical opening window systems.

More information about how a child can be protected in different situations is available at www.parinti.md that was launched within the Regionalization of Pediatric Emergency and Intensive Care Services in the Republic of Moldova Project (REPEMOL). During seven years, the project, in cooperation with the authorities, has informed parents about the measures to prevent home accidents involving children younger than five within the campaign “A danger-free home for your child”. The REPEMOL project is financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and is implemented by the Center for Health Policies and Services.