15 Tips to Keep Your Family Safe and Injury Free During the Holiday Season
Northwell Health-GoHealth Urgent Care hosted a holiday safety education event where Dr. Neal Shipley, MD Regional Medical Director of GoHealth Urgent Care shared ways to keep our family safe and injury-free during the holiday season so there is no need to visit the urgent care center.
Interesting Facts I learned at Holiday Safety discussion
- 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 while putting up decorations.
Did you know toy injuries resulted in 185K ED visits last year? Make sure the child’s toys are age appropriate. #GoHealthUC
— NYC Single Mom (@NYCSingleMom) December 6, 2016
- Carbon monoxide is responsible for 15,000 emergency visits and nearly 500 deaths annually.
- Cross contamination while cooking is how bacteria is spread.
- Improper heating and preparation of food means bacteria can survive.
- Bacteria grows fastest between 40°F and 140 °F.
- It’s a myth that most heat loss is from the head. There are five ways to lose heat (evaporation, convection, radiation, conduction and respiration.)
- There is a difference between Frostnip and Frostbite.
- Frostnip (skin only) – superficial freezing-burning, tingling and painful but easily treated and reversible by getting out of the cold and warming up. Rubbing is painful but not usually harmful.
- Frostbite – deeper tissues involved layers of skin, fat, muscle, nerves, blood vessels, can be permanent and irreversible and may lead to loss of limb or tissue.
15 Tips to Keep Your Family Safe and Injury Free During the Holiday Season
1. Don’t use indoor extension cords outdoors!
2. Holiday plants may make great decorations but health wise are not the best.
3. Mistletoe are potentially toxic especially the berries; will cause nausea and vomiting and in severe cases may slow the heart rated and cause seizures. They are also not good for pets.
4. Holly can can cause vomiting and diarrhea and there have been rare fatalities of children who ate more than 20 berries. 5. Definitely be careful as holly can drop to the floor and their bright red color is likely to attract children and pets.
6. Discard plastic wrappings immediately (suffocation hazard for children.)
7. Read the label and use age guidelines for that toy. Check the government recall list on the internet at www.cpsc.gov.
8. It’s party season, remember not to leave burning candles unattended.
9. Carbon monoxide is colorless, odorless and tasteless gas. Install a carbon monoxide detector on each level of your home, especially near sleeping areas.
10. Flying during the holidays – pack your medicines or dietary needs in your carry on. If your checked luggage is lost, it will not be too easy to get your prescriptions refilled at your destination.
11. Check your children’s shoes, socks and gloves periodically to make they are dry while playing outdoors in the cold to avoid frostbite and hypothermia.
12. Remove wet clothing and rewarm soon as possible and do not rewarm unless you go all the way – thawing and refreezing is worse.
13. While prepping for your holiday meals, just a reminder to be food safe, keep raw meat and poultry apart from foods that won’t be cooked and use a food thermometer = you can’t tell food is cooked safely by how it looks.
14. Wash cutting boards, utensils and counter tops with hot soapy water after preparing each food item and before you go to the next food.
15. Chill leftovers and takeout foods within 2 hours. Keep Christmas trees away from fireplaces or other areas where high heat is present and water them frequently.
Thanks to Northwell Health GoHealth Urgent Care for the helpful tips and reminders on how to stay safe during the Holiday Season. Sometimes we just reminders to stay safe.
About Northwell Health GoHealth Urgent Care provides immediate walk-in healthcare for non-life threatening injuries and illnesses. Every GoHealth center is equipped with an on-site lab and x-ray. They can also offer referrals to specialists. The center can not treat major trauma, life threatening conditions or potentially disabling conditions such as chest pain, difficulty breathing, stroke, head trauma, severe bleeding or loss of vision. For those conditions, call 911 or visit a dedicated emergency room.
You can check the wait times #GoHealthUC website to see which center has the shortest wait time & u walk right in w/out appt.
— NYC Single Mom (@NYCSingleMom) December 6, 2016
Find a location near you at North Health GoHealthUC.com or have questions call 1.844.234.0020.
Disclosure: This is a compensated article courtesy of Northwell Health-GoHealth Urgent Care. Opinions are 100% my own.
