Falling down stairs is a common medical emergency and people should not use mobile devices or be under the influence of alcohol while using stairs, a Taipei-based emergency room doctor said.
Emergency rooms see people on a daily basis who have slipped ,and those who fall on their head, chest or neck often sustain serious injuries, MacKay Memorial Hospital Taipei Branch doctor Chang Kuo-sung (張國頌) said.
“Most people would think that crossing the street is more dangerous than using an underpass or overpass, but drivers are wary of pedestrians on the street level, while it only takes one person to slip on stairs,” Chang said.
The hospital’s emergency room has treated people who have slipped on stairs nearly every day, with ankle sprains sustained by school-aged children accounting for the majority of cases and broken wrists or hands also common, he said, adding the injuries are typically minor.
However, head, neck or chest injuries are dangerous and direct hits to the head in a fall could cause a cerebral hemorrhage, Chang said, adding that cases as severe as TCC Group chairman Leslie Koo’s (辜成允) are exceptional.
Koo died on Monday from head injuries he suffered in a fall down a flight of stairs at the Regent Taipei hotel on Saturday night, when he was attending a wedding banquet. He was 62.
Falling and landing on one’s neck could snap the spine and cause instant death and hits to the chest could break ribs and cause a hemothorax, Chang said.
Elderly people are at particular risk of pneumonia as a result of chest injuries that impede coughing and the expulsion of phlegm, Chang said.
“Using handrails is a must when taking stairs and people should not be looking at devices when doing so. People who have been drinking alcohol should use an elevator,” he said.
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