The holiday season is here, and while it’s a time of celebration and warmth, it can also be fraught with peril. From accidental fires to kitchen mishaps to alcohol poisoning, don’t let these 12 dangers of Christmas ruin your yuletide. By Brent Furdyk
Christmas Cuts
The Christmas rush means accidents will happen. ERs across the country see patients with all sorts of different cuts and scrapes during the holiday season. These typically include adults who unintentionally stab themselves with scissors while wrapping gifts and wayward screwdrivers during toy assembly. Then there are those folks, driven by the fury of wrap rage, who move from one sharp object to another trying to dealing with hard-to-open packaging.
Burns
From the turkey to the trimmings, it’s the holiday meals that bring families together. And the season of giving means everyone’s in the spirit to help. This “too many cooks” in the kitchen scenario can be a recipe for disaster. Hot pots tip, oven mitts are forgotten and towels and wooden utensils can catch fire, while unattended stovetop can spell disaster when children are roaming around. In addition, the increasing popularity of deep-frying turkeys has brought about even more hazards; from 1998 to 2007, there were at least 138 incidents in the U.S. involving turkey fryers, leading to 36 injuries and more than $7.8 million in property loss.
Falling Down
Hauling out the holly and stringing up the lights can lead to serious injury. Falling off ladders and roofs are all too common, especially as the weather gets colder and icy conditions are thrown into the mix. More than 60 per cent of injuries due to falls occur at this time of the year, according to the Hamilton General trauma centre. Lone light stringing, unstable ladders and hard landings lead to broken bones, concussions and worse. Experts also advise to never, under any circumstances, drink while decorating.
Up in Smoke
Fire hazards and holiday festivities go hand-in-hand. The dangers of long-in-the-tooth extension cords, frayed wires and overloaded electrical outlets have a direct correlation to tree and home fires. Trees, in fact, are notorious for going up in smoke in seconds and engulfing an entire room in minutes. Fire prevention experts also warn about the perils of dried Christmas trees, which can be a serious fire hazard.
Yuletide Booze
Most of us like a drink or two at Christmas time, but once it goes beyond that, potential problems emerge. Libations abound this time of year, and with too many bevies come a whole slew of headaches, literally. Hangovers – head, liver, tummy pain – follow and can sometimes last for days. People are already stressed with the holiday hoopla and hangovers increase anxiety. The more serious issues come with drunken falls that lead to broken bones and head injury and car accidents with more critical outcomes – and overdoing it to the extreme can lead to a trip to the ER to treat alcohol poisoning.
Cold and Flu
Stress, overindulging, no sleep, and kiss/hug/handshake greetings are all contributors to the spread of cold and flu viruses. Besides ruining one’s holidays, the flu can also lead to life-threatening complications for people who have underlying conditions. There are always more deaths in winter than other times of year, with causes from respiratory and circulatory diseases – more cases of pneumonia are reported in December than during any other time of year.
Poison Plants
There are a number of holiday plants that can be poisonous to people and pets. Holly and mistletoe berries can be deadly when ingested. In addition,, poinsettia plants are a traditional part of Christmas, and aren’t as poisonous as once thought, but can still cause nausea and vomiting when ingested. English Ivy, often used in holiday decorating, is also poisonous if consumed, causing breathing difficulty, gastrointestinal issues, delirium, hallucinations and seizures.
Food Poisoning
Each year, roughly 48 million people get sick because of food-borne illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Food and the holidays go hand in hand so it’s no wonder that cases of food poisoning increase at this time of year. Proteins like meat, poultry, and seafood are teeming with bacteria, resulting in the majority of cases, while consuming raw cookie dough and homemade eggnog are also contributors.
Carbon Monoxide
With ovens baking, stoves simmering, fireplaces roaring and furnaces on high, the winter months have become the leading time for carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. Often called the invisible killer, CO is produced when fuels such as natural gas, gasoline, oil, propane, wood or coal are burned. The most common symptoms of CO poisoning are headache, dizziness, weakness, upset stomach, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion, and if you breathe in too much CO you’ll or die. Stats Canada reports that 380 accidental deaths can be attributed to carbon monoxide between 2000 and 2009.
Childproofing
Holiday decorations, with all their glitz and glitter, are an exciting prospect to children who can easily choke on items like tinsel, small ornaments, button batteries and nuts. The batteries that power a number of household items contain harmful substances such as acids and heavy metals, and can be easily swallowed by children. Kids are also drawn to holly and mistletoe berries, both of which can cause serious tummy issues if ingested. Be mindful of snow globes too; in addition to dealing with broken glass if they break, the fluid within often contains anti-freeze.
Don’t Forget Pets
The hustle and bustle of the holiday season isn’t just stressful for people; it can also be taxing and unsafe for pets. Meeting strangers, bright lights, chocolate treats scattered everywhere and fatty table scraps are just a few holiday dangers a pet may happen upon. Chicken bones, alcohol, tinsel, fallen pine needles and plants like mistletoe and holly can have serious adverse effects on animals if ingested, while getting tangled up in a string of lights can also lead to danger.
Holiday Blues
Many people are alone at this time of the year, and Christmas is just behind Valentine’s Day when it comes to suicide rates. Everyone wants you to be happy – and that can get depressing. Having too much, or too little to do can be mentally exhausting. Parties, spending money, time demands and overindulging with food and alcohol all take a real toll on the mind and body.
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