WEDNESDAY, July 4 (HealthDay News) -- For safety's sake,
Americans should avoid using fireworks of any kind this
Independence Day, experts say. Prevent Blindness America urges
consumers to attend only authorized public fireworks displays
conducted by licensed operators. Individuals should not buy, use
or store fireworks, including sparklers, the nonprofit
organization added. Although sparklers are sometimes considered
to be safe, they were responsible for 17 percent of the
injuries, including 36 percent of those sustained by children
under 5 years of age, according to the U.S. Consumer Product
Safety Commission (CPSC). Injuries from sparklers and other
novelties also made up two out of five emergency room injuries,
the CPSC found. Overall, an estimated 6,200 people went to the
emergency room between June 17 and July 17, 2011, for injuries
they sustained while using fireworks, according to the CPSC.
Their 2011 Fireworks Annual Report noted that children younger
than 15 accounted for 26 percent of those injurie