A doctor working in a UK hospital writes in a leading medical journal about his concern for the danger posed by the loop
cords of Venetian blinds which nearly strangled a toddler he treated.
You can read a personal account of how Dr Mahesh Masand, consultant paediatrician at Dr Grays Hospital in Elgin, Scotland,
found himself treating a toddler that her mother had found hanging from the looped cord of a venetian blind, online in the 29 June
issue of BMJ.
The mother found her 22-month old toddler "hanging from the looped cord of a Venetian blind in her bedroom", writes Masand.
Fortunately the mother found her little girl just in time, a few more seconds and it would probably have been too late.
The child was kept on a ventilator for three days then discharged after seven days, with no complications: she had "no
neurological complications or any other abnormalities", and magnetic resonance imaging of her head and spine showed no
abnormalities", he wrote.
The incident worried Masand and he investigated further. He discovered that since 2000 there have been at least 11 cases where
children in Australia have been accidentally strangled by being caught up in blind or curtain cords, and he cites an advisor from
the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents who wrote in a claim that one or two children in the UK also die this way
every year.
Acknowledging that we can't stop all accidents but we should do what we can to limit risk, Masand is urging the industry to
design better products, and quickly:
"There should be a safer way of raising a blind than using a looped cord," he urges.
In the meantime, parents and carers can also reduce the risk of accidental hanging and keep the loops out of reach of children,
says Masand.
They can shorten or remove the loops, use a pulley or tensioning device on the wall, and install devices that keep them taut
against the wall. They can also make sure children can't climb up to the loops by keeping cots, beds, high chairs and such
items of furniture away from windows with looped curtain or blind cords.
"Accidental strangulation with a Venetian blind cord - a near miss."
Mahesh Masand
BMJ, Published 29 June 2010.
DOI:10.1136/bmj.c3458
: Catharine Paddock, PhD