Every year, thousands of families visit amusement parks during the summer — 297 million people, to be exact. There’s something for everyone, whether it’s a teacup ride, a speeding roller coaster, fried dough, or those I-know-I-can-win-it-this-time games. One thing you may not be expecting your family to experience, though, is an injury.
While safety is, according to the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, the industry’s #1 concern, accidents do happen. In most instances, the problem isn’t the rides, but activities around the park. Children can be especially susceptible to some of the potential pitfalls involved with visiting an amusement park.
Urgent care centers often have to deal with the aftermath of children who have been hurt at these locations. Here are three tips that urgent care facilities would recommend if you’d like to experience an incident-free trip.
1. Nausea
According to the LA Times, the majority of reported health problems at amusement parks often relate to the combination of heat and motion sickness. Nausea, fainting and dizziness comprise 18% of complaints, the largest single group. Staying hydrated can help prevent heat-related nausea. While ride-related sickness can sometimes be hard to avoid, parents should keep childrens’ ages in mind, and avoid adding food to the equation right before or after allowing children on a motion-filled ride.
2. Injuries to the Back, Neck and Head
When you consider that most rides are whipping your body parts around at speeds sometimes upward of 50 mph, it’s no surprise that people occasionally sustain injuries. The same goes for the less speedy, but no less injury-prone bumper cars. Avoid rides that require your neck and head to shift back and forth rapidly, as this can cause muscle strain that is painful afterward. The very young, old or disabled are better off avoiding bumper cars because of the jostle they can evoke. If injury does occur, urgent care centers can help to mitigate the issue.
3. Slipping and Falling
According to Find Law, the Disneyland theme parks in California have been sued nearly 140 times in the past five years, and the majority of the lawsuits occurred after visitors slipped, fell or tripped. You can imagine that many more people end up falling without trying to sue. An amusement park is a place for fun, but excited children are often prone to running where they shouldn’t, and this can lead to cuts, sprains, and even broken bones. Reminding children to stay on appropriate paths and not to run might help. For families who end up needing care, 24 hour urgent care clinics have doctors that can stitch up kids and set bones, with a shorter wait than what you’d experience in the emergency room.
Have you visited urgent care centers for amusement park injury treatment? Let us know in the comments. Read more blogs like this.