DIY disasters leave men broken
HAPLESS DIY buffs are ending up in hospital in record numbers as weekend repair chores leave them with shocking injuries.
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HAPLESS DIY buffs are ending up in hospital in record numbers as weekend repair chores leave them with shocking injuries - everything from broken backs to sliced fingers.
As the trend towards do-it-yourself home repairs soars so does the injury toll, with more than 25,000 hospitalised last year from ladder falls, nailgun mishaps, lawnmower accidents and power tool problems, figures show.
While long weekends are the most popular time for painting the house, cleaning the gutters and building furniture, they are easily the most dangerous.
Armed with cheap electrical tools, hundreds of home handymen in NSW are risking life and limb to perform jobs normally carried out by tradesmen.
The alarming figures from the National Injury Surveillance Unit show DIY injuries are steadily rising.
"It would be a rare week when we didn't see a serious injury with a circular saw or angle grinder," said Dr Tim Heath from Sydney Hospital's hand unit. "We always see a spike after long weekends and especially after Father's Day."
Of the hospitalisations due to accidental injury, 1711 were injuries from a non-powered hand tool, 2803 with a powered hand tool and more than 5000 were due to contact with machinery.
More than 11,000 admissions to hospital were the result of foreign bodies either in the eye or through the skin.
In another study by the unit, 3486 admissions were from falls from ladders. Men outnumber women four to one in the statistics.
Rob Harvey knows better than most the dangers associated with a quick DIY project - every time he picks up a hammer his wife Lyn, 43, reaches for the first-aid kit.
"I hammer my thumb pretty well but that's about it," the 44-year-old office worker from Yowie Bay told The Sunday Telegraph.
In fact, he has had so many mishaps, Ms Harvey now insists they hire professionals.
Even experienced handymen can come a cropper. Floor sander Hashem Aiche, 38, was yesterday recovering in hospital after having his thumb reattached following a DIY accident.
"You have to be really careful; these are tools you just can't muck around with," Mr Aiche said.