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Although it may seem like a simple outdoor job, mowing the lawn causes thousands of injuries each year. We folks at Mower Source don’t want you to be part of the statistics, so we’ve compiled the most common injuries when cutting the grass — and how to avoid them.


Foot

Feet

Foot Health Facts, part of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons, reports that each year, about 37,000 Americans suffer injuries from using a lawn mower, with foot injuries some of the most common. It may seem hard to injure your feet when you’re walking behind your mower, but FHF says that “(t)he blades whirl at 3,000 revolutions per minute and produce three times the kinetic energy of a .357 handgun”. Some of the different types of injuries include:

  • Lacerations that can become dirty, and subsequently infected
  • Amputated toes
  • Lacerated tendons
  • How to prevent: Keep your feet away from the blades, no matter what. Your feet should always be at least 6″ away from the edge of the lawn mower to prevent the risk of injury. Don’t mow on wet grass because it becomes a slippery surface. And wear proper footwear to provide an extra layer of protection. If you do become injured, FHF recommends seeking medical attention right away, along with rinsing out the wound and putting on a topical antibiotic (i.e. Polysporin).

    Hand

    Hands

    Eek, we’re cringing just thinking of the different types of hand injuries that can occur from improperly using a lawn mower, the likes of which are so easy to prevent. Most commonly, people will reach into the underside of their lawn mower to poke loose grass clumps or touching super hot parts of the machine.

    How to avoid: Shut off the lawn mower before attending to any problems, and wait a good 30 seconds to ensure everything inside has stopped. Always, always, always use a broom handle or stick to loosen grass clumps, as a clod may have held a blade in place that can spring free once the grass has been loosened. And if you need to touch the hot metal parts, wait a couple hours for it to cool down, or put on thick, heat-resistant gloves.

    Eye

    Eyes

    Surprised to hear that eyes can be commonly injured when using a lawn mower? Don’t be — it’s way too easy for an object on the ground (like a pebble or rock) to get sucked into the underside of the lawn mower, whirl around, and ricochet out off the blades and straight at you. And when you’ve only got one pair of eyes, you want to do everything you can to protect them.

    How to prevent: The answer is simple — put on eyewear. Even if it’s a flimsy pair of dollar store shades, just having that extra layer between your eyes and the mower can often be the difference between sight and blindness. Plus, everyone just looks cooler mowing the lawn when they’re wearing sunglasses.

    Skin

    Skin

    This may seem like a bit of a catch-all category, but exposed skin can very easily suffer the effects of a lawn mower gone rogue. Some injuries we’ve read about that we wish never existed include:

  • Burns from direct contact
  • Chemical burns that can seep in over time
  • Infections
  • Lacerations from sharp flying objects
  • Bruises from slipping, tripping or falling
  • How to prevent: There are a number of things you can do to keep your skin intact, such as immediately shutting off the lawn mower if there’s smoke or liquids spilling from it, making sure there’s a safety off switch in cases of emergencies, and clearing the yard of any debris before you even start mowing. Prevention may not be sexy, but it can keep you and your skin in great shape.

    Children

    Those under 15 comprise almost half of all lawn mower injuries, so taking extra precautions is a really smart idea. The younger the person, the less likely they are to be familiar with what a lawn mower can do and what they have to do to stay safe. Even if you’re the one using the machine, pay extra attention to little ones running around on the lawn and instruct them to stay away until the job is done. And if they’re of the age of having multiple toys, clear them off the yard before starting up the lawn mower so they don’t become flying debris.

    We really, really like you and want to see you back each year, so play it safe with your lawn mower out there. One of the easiest ways of preventing all lawn mower injuries is to use the proper equipment, ensuring that the pieces and parts you have won’t suddenly conk out on you. Whatever you need, we’ve got it and we’ll happily mail it over tax-free (except in MN) and without charging shipping costs.

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