The Holidays arrive and all we think about are Family, the parties, the food, the gifts, and the fun. What we seem to forget is that safety is still very much important in the joyous time of the year. We were invited by Northwell Health-GoHealth Urgent Care to have a sit-down and chat about Holiday Safety. Here’s some of the great intel we received from it. Let’s start with Decoration Safety…
Did you know that more than 12,000 people are treated in the nation’s emergency rooms each year due to falls, cuts, electrical shocks and burns from faulty holiday decorations or accidents that occur while putting decorations in place? A few things you can do to stay safe when decorating for any holiday are check decorative lights to make sure they are not broken and the wires are not bare or frayed. Turn off all decorative lights before going to bed or leaving the house. Use proper “elevation “ devices (ladder or stepstool- not a chair, bookcase, or standing on someone’s shoulders….) When buying an artificial tree, be sure the label indicates it is “fire resistant.”
When buying a live tree, check for freshness (green, full of needles, sticky trunk). Fresh trees are less of a fire hazard and should be watered frequently.
Carbon Monoxide safety: When starting your car, always put the window down while you wait for it to warm up. #GoHealthUC— Shirley ♥ (@NewMommyBliss) December 6, 2016
Celebration Safety: Be an amazing party host! People want someone memorable. Provide plenty of food so guests won’t drink as much. Don’t push drinks. If at a public setting, DO NOT LEAVE YOUR DRINKS UNATTENDED! There are crazy substances made to be dropped in drinks to cause you to blackout and that’s no bueno. Avoid celebrations that include illegal substances!
We make sure meat is fully cooked inside by using Meat thermometers. #FoodSafety is very important #GoHealthUC https://t.co/m6fzjpkJ53— Shirley ♥ (@NewMommyBliss) December 6, 2016
Outdoor Safety: Be sure to clear snow and leaves from pathways and sprinkle salt on patches of ice to melt. Leave the snow shoveling to the professionals so that you don’t pull a muscle. Check children’s shoes, socks and gloves periodically to make sure they are dry while playing outdoors in cold weather to avoid frostnip, frostbite and hypothermia. Find a safe place for children to sled (Make sure the area is free of fences, roadways, trees and other hazards). Choose a hill where children cannot reach fast, uncontrollable speeds all at once.
Do you know the difference between Frostbites and Frostnips?
Frostnip: Superficial (skin only) freezing-burning, tingling and painful but easily treated and reversible by getting out of the cold and warming up; rubbing is painful but usually not harmful.
Frostbite: Deeper tissues involved including layers of skin, fat, muscle, nerves, blood vessels; can be permanent and irreversible; may lead to loss of limb or tissue (amputation and gangrene).
There are so many more safety precautions to talk about, but MY last one will be Toy Safety: Toy injuries resulted in 185,000 ED visits in 2015. To help prevent such mishaps, select toys to suit age, abilities, skills & the child’s interest. For infants & toddlers, avoid toys with small parts (choking). Don’t buy electric toys with heating elements for children under 8. Read the label and use the age guidelines for that toy. Buy associated safety gear and make sure you store toys are in their correct location as well ̶̶ no scooters in the living room. Look for sturdy construction and tightly secured small parts. Discard plastic wrappings immediately (suffocation hazard). Call consumer product safety commission (CPSC) hotline 800-638-2772 to report dangerous toys. Lastly, check the government recall list on the internet at www.Cpsc.Gov
Follow these steps for this holiday season and you’ll be quite alright! For more information and locations head to Northwell Health-GoHealth Urgent Care.
This is such important information to keep people safe over the holidays.