Repsol YPF

Household tasks are those performed by the greatest number of people around the world. However, perhaps because in the majority of cases it is unpaid work, less attention is paid to the associated occupational hazards. In fact, European health and safety directives do not cover house staff.
 
Safety experts believe that addressing health and safety at work in a comprehensive fashion, including the relationship between work and tasks outside work, together with wider organisational aspects both in and outside of work, would lead to improved everyday accident prevention.
 
Burns, electric shocks, falls, knocks and harmful inhalations are just some of the possibilities which arise in our own homes if we are not careful. Furthermore, washing up, ironing and making the bed can cause problems if we do not adopt the appropriate posture. In the majority of cases, domestic accidents do not happen by chance and are easily avoidable.
 
Domestic ergonomics
Obviously, household tasks may imply certain dangers, especially if they are performed incorrectly. The fact of having to combine two jobs, one at home and another outside the house, sometimes in addition to looking after children and relatives, may end up being a source of stress and anxiety for men and women. In such circumstances it is normal that they both find it too much and cannot maintain either physical or mental balance.
 
The incompatibility between work and family life also causes conflict and pressure with their associated health risks. Taking diversity into account, it is true that everyone is exposed to different work environments, demands and tensions.
 
On the other hand, it is worth highlighting that summer is one of the periods when many people choose to do more types of work at home. Specifically the month of August was when most accidents of this kind occurred in 2004, 11.9% of all accidents, according to the Detection of Domestic and Leisure Time Accidents Programme (DADO), published by the National Consumers Institute. This is a period when we normally have more free time. But if the necessary precautions are not taken, these activities can end up putting our health and physical well being at risk.
 
Responsible attitude
Knowing the possible risks, adopting a responsible attitude and taking certain precautions help to increase the entire familys safety.
 
Firstly, it is sensible to stress the need to adopt the correct posture for each job and insist on domestic ergonomics, since the majority of problems which arise are back pain and lumbago, although contractions, tendonitis, etc also occur. As such, it is not necessary to get up quickly out of bed or the sofa; it is better to squat than to bend over; we should sit with our backs properly supported by the back of the chair; we should bend our legs when moving heavy items; it is better to push the shopping trolley than pull it... find other recommendations below:
 
- It is advisable to take special care with the edge of furniture, as well as with certain ornaments.
- Plugs in the house must be earthed in order to avoid electric shocks. It is also advisable to install a differential which will cut the electricity supply if there is an energy surge.
- Small electrical appliances should be unplugged when they are not in use and should not be left within childrens reach.
- The kitchen is the place where the greatest number of household accidents occur. It is advisable to pay particular attention especially when you are cooking or carrying hot liquids. Frying pans and saucepans should be placed on the hob with the handles facing inwards.
- Cleaning products and medicines must always be stored in places where small children cannot reach them.
- Poisonous substances should not be stored in containers which might cause confusion, such as bleach in mineral water bottles for example.
 
According to the DADO programme data concerning domestic and free time accidents in 2004, nearly four of every 100 people have suffered some sort of injury, which leads to a figure of 1,671,956 accidents in the whole of Spain. Of them, 2628 involved children aged one year or less, 61,641 involved children between the ages of one and four years and 176,083 involved children ranging from five to fourteen years old.
 
It is worth taking extra precautions. Throughout our lives we spend more time at home than anywhere else. For this reason alone it is at home that there is more chance of some kind of accident happening.