"The most common trauma in summer is falling from heights," said Saar, a surgeon at North Estonia Medical Center's (PERH) Emergency Surgery Center. "People go out to their country homes and start fixing their roofs or cutting high up [tree] branches. These cause very serious traumas, and often require convening a large trauma team."

Second most common in summer are traffic injuries.

"Crashes involving cars, motorcycles, scooters and bicycles," he listed. "While people riding motorcycles wear helmets properly, cyclists should really be much more diligent about wearing helmets.

Bikers, meanwhile, are prone to lower limb injuries in motorcycle crashes.

"In a serious collision, their feet are basically ground meat if they weren't wearing specialized footwear – motorcyclists should keep this in mind," he warned.

Third most common in summer are knife injuries. "This isn't a gang war; this is the result of prolonged partying," the surgeon explained. "If you're partying for five, seven days in a row, at some point the knives come out, and that's what happens."

According to Saar, there is definitely more trauma-related work in July and August than at any other time of year.

"Too often at work I find myself thinking that these traumas could have been avoided," he acknowledged. "It's crucial to keep your wits about you. 70 percent of people die at the scene; they never even make it to the hospital."

Jumps into water are another serious concern as well. "These are mostly young men, who are often left paralyzed from the waist down," the surgeon said. "One jump and your whole life is changed. It's always worth thinking about whether you need to make that jump. Once the spinal cord has been severed, nothing can be done."

According to Saar, doctors don't see as sharp of an uptick in traumatic injuries in summer as they do in adults, but he acknowledged that children are nonetheless more prone to injury in summer as well.

"Kids often ride [their bikes] without a helmet," he pointed out, and urged parents to set a good example by wearing helmets themselves and putting them on their kids.

"There's nothing elaborate involved in preventing traumatic injuries – wear the right safety gear; don't climb up on the roof to repair it if you have been consuming alcohol; don't speed," Saar described. "These simple things save a great deal."

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!