Daily HealthBeat Tip

Mowed down

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Sending the kid out to mow the grass is a spring and summer tradition � and, for a grown-up, sure beats doing it yourself.

But a researcher at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health says danger lurks in those whirling blades, snapping twigs and hurtling pebbles. David Bishai�s study of injury data was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and reported in Annals of Emergency Medicine.

Bishai and his colleagues say kids and younger teens lack the judgment and skill for the job.

"We would recommend that children under 12 not be assigned the chore of mowing the lawn with a push mower and under 15 not to be riding on a riding mower." (seven seconds)

The researchers say people 60 and over also can be hurt � things like chest pain, muscle aches, dehydration -- and should be careful.

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: June 16, 2006

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