Indoor mishap prevention Published Feb. 8, 2007 By Gary Johnson 319th Air Refueling Wing safety office GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, ND -- What's the number one mishap in our own homes? Slips and falls while ascending and descending stairs. What's the number one cause? Negotiating stairs while wearing socks or flip-flops. The number two most common mishap is tripping over or running into furniture, toys or other items left lying around. The list of ways to injure yourself within the confines of the home is endless. Other common injuries include strains from lifting, lacerations while preparing food or burns while cooking. The one thing that all of these injuries have in common is that they are all preventable. If you have to walk up or down stairs, put on shoes or at least remove your socks; bare feet have more traction than socks. Flip-flops are not a great choice either. To eliminate stubbed toes and sore shins, try turning on the light before you get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. No, gremlins didn't move the furniture, but maybe your spouse did and even the best of children leave an occasional toy in the trip zone. To lessen the chance of injury while preparing food, use a cutting board or other flat surface to slice and dice. Make sure knives are sharp; more injuries are caused by dull knives than sharp ones. Having to apply excess pressure to cut through something can result in the knife slipping. To prevent burns, keep pot holders near and make sure the floor around the stove and oven is kept free from water or other materials that would cause you to slip. Home safety is no different than job safety; you have to think about what you're going to do. Unfortunately, we are far more familiar and therefore more comfortable in our homes. Many times the familiarity and comfort lead to complacency, then to injuries.