DIY projects spiked during the pandemic. So did visits to London hospitals by DIYers

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Severed fingers, broken bones and falls from ladders.

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London’s hospitals saw an uptick in the number of patients injured at home – including ones hurt during home improvement projects – in 2020, as public health restrictions and lockdowns kept people around the house.

St. Joseph’s Health Care London reported a spike in the number of patients treated for at-home injuries, including finger amputations in do-it-yourselfers, while London Health Sciences Centre saw a slight increase in the number of traumatic at-home injuries.

From March 2020 to August 2021, the Roth McFarlane hand and upper limb centre at St. Joseph’s saw 318 patients with injuries sustained at home, an increase of 76 per cent over the 181 patients during the same time period in 2018-19

Though the increase in injuries is not driven exclusively by home improvement incidents, the St. Joseph’s team has seen its share of power-tool mishaps during the pandemic, said Graham King, an orthopedic surgeon and director of the hand and upper limb centre.

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“There were more people building decks and doing other home renovations. We saw homeowners that may not regularly do work like that, or were doing it for the first time,” he said.

“There were more table saw, power drill and nail gun hand injuries. We saw more fingers that were amputated or partially amputated during that period of time.”

Do-it-yourselfers need to take a lot of care when they’re embarking on a project, King said. Some patients at the clinic bought a power tool and assumed, without reading the instruction manual or safety instructions, that they knew how to use it safely.

“There are lots of things you need to know to use these machines safely. Some people purchase them having never been taught,” King said, adding fatigue, rushing or poor lighting also are hazards for seasoned weekend warriors.

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“You have to be so focused. Every cut you make with a saw could be your finger.”

LHSC saw more patients with traumatic injuries sustained at home last year than in the two previous years, a total of 223 in 2020 compared to 173 the year before and 178 in 2018.

The numbers only capture at-home injuries that triggered a trauma protocol at the hospital, a category reserved for severe or life-threatening injuries, said Kaitlyn Jacobs, an injury prevention specialist with LHSC’s trauma program. Sprained ankles or other minor injuries that sent people to the emergency room aren’t included, Jacobs said.

Falls constituted 73 per cent of all the traumatic at-home injuries LHSC saw in 2020. Of those, nearly one in five involved a ladder.

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“Falls continue to be a really big issue,” Jacobs said.

Jacobs said LHSC is expecting to see even more ladder-related injuries this fall and winter, with people cleaning leaves out of their gutters or putting up Christmas lights.

She urges people always to keep ladders away from doorways, make sure they’re using the correct ladder for the job and maintain three points of contact on the ladder at all times. Having a helper around is never a bad idea, she said.

“It’s easy to think ‘It’s never going to happen to me,’ until it does,” Jacobs said.

“There is always some risk. It’s important to always assess the situation, make sure that it’s safe to do the activity, making sure you’re physically and mentally equipped to do the activity and not just diving in.”

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While ladders are a risk, they’re not the only way people are seriously injured in slips and falls at home, Jacobs said. Slippery rugs, poorly lit hallways and icy walkways are common causes of serious fall-related injuries, especially in older adults, Jacobs said.

King said broken bones from leisure activities became more common at the clinic during the lockdowns, while upper limb injuries from organized sports and the industrial sector decreased at the height of the first and second waves. Farming-related injuries remained stable, he said.

“It was a switch in the type of patient we were seeing,” King said.

“More people went walking, running and biking. We saw a lot more injuries from those types of activities than we normally would, people going for a walk to stay sane during the lockdown, people hopping on a bike for the first time in 15 years.”

jbieman@postmedia.com

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