Check out these tips from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. News U. Politics Joe Biden Congress Extremism. Special Projects Highline. HuffPost Personal Video Horoscopes. Follow Us. Terms Privacy Policy. Christmas Safety Tips. Electrical and fire safety at Christmas. Check your fairy lights and any other electrically powered Christmas decorations over before putting them up.
If cables are frayed or fittings damaged in any way, dispose of them. Switch all lights and electrical decorations off at night and when you go out. Always unplug lights before watering the Christmas tree Check that any lights being used outside are safe and designed for external use - and keep plugs and transformers indoors Don't overload electrical sockets. At this time of year it can be tempting to plug extension cables into each other, but this can lead to overheating and electrical fires Keep Christmas cards and decorations away from lights, heaters and fires If you're planning to have a real fire, make sure chimneys have been swept - debris such as bird's nests can cause chimney fires Don't leave candles unattended, and make sure you put them out before you go to bed.
Tea lights need to be in suitable containers, as otherwise they can melt through or set fire to whatever's underneath Make sure overnight guests know how to switch off fires and heaters and show them how to get out of the house if there's an emergency in the night For further tips on electrical safety at home, check out Electrical Safety First's Christmas lights guide. Avoid slips, falls and injuries in the festive season.
Don't go up to the loft when you're alone in the house - have someone on hand to pass boxes down to Don't rely on standing on chairs, stools and sofas when decorating high branches of the Christmas tree - invest in a proper stepladder Don't be tempted to buy an oversized tree - you'll end up having to saw the top off, creating unnecessary risk Be careful when opening presents - you'll need scissors and maybe even a screwdriver to tackle tricky packaging Keep on top of clutter and discarded gift wrappings - toys, debris and trailing wires underfoot can lead to slips and trips, especially when elderly relatives are around Keep lights on in hallways at night to help overnight guests navigate their way to the bathroom without tripping over When playing interactive games on Wii, Playstation or Xbox, make sure you've left enough space around you and be sure to use the wrist straps on hand-held controllers For hints and tips on general safety at Christmas visit RoSPA's website.
Christmas food and drink safety. The last thing you want to do at Christmas is give yourself or your guests food poisoning - all too easy to do with a poorly defrosted or undercooked turkey. Check defrosting and cooking times well ahead of the day to help with planning timings.
The NHS has this helpful guide to cooking the perfect turkey Bear in mind that when the oven is full, food takes longer to cook - so you may need to add a little extra to cooking times Encourage visitors to stay out of the kitchen, or at least out of the chef's way when he or she is dealing with hot ovens and sharp knives Don't leave food out on buffets for hours on end - cover and refrigerate anything which could spoil, ideally within an hour of bringing it out of the fridge Watch your alcohol consumption - it's easy to lose count of how many drinks you've had if you're at home or visiting friends Take a day's break from alcohol between events to give your liver a chance to recover Alternating between alcohol and soft drinks can help you stay in control while still having fun Don't forget to take account of the alcohol in puddings such as sherry trifle, especially when driving The Food Safety Agency has useful advice on eating safely at Christmas.
Christmas and children. Be wary of choking hazards, particularly with Christmas decorations and novelties from crackers, which don't have to comply with strict rules governing the sale of toys for use by children Holly and mistletoe are poisonous plants, with the berries posing the most danger.
Keep them out of reach of children and pets. A dose of 20 holly berries could be fatal for a child Make sure your house is child-friendly, especially if you don't normally have children around. Keep small and fragile items up out of reach Children will be extra excitable at this time of year, and it's easy to lose track of them in a house full of people. Make sure small children have a nominated adult keeping an eye on them Check guidance on packaging to make sure toys given as presents are age-appropriate Consider taking portable safety equipment such as stair gates with you when taking very young children to stay with family.
Stay safe at the office Christmas party. Drink safe Make sure you've had something to eat before you head out - alcohol will hit the bloodstream faster on an empty stomach It's worth alternating soft drinks with alcohol especially if the boss is around. That way you can still enjoy yourself but it'll help you stay in control You may be drinking unfamiliar drinks, so make sure you're aware how strong they are Don't leave your drink unattended - someone might think it's funny to spike it with extra alcohol Avoid topping up drinks before you've finished the glass - it makes it much harder to keep track of how much you've had If you're driving the morning after a party, remember that every unit of alcohol takes a minimum of an hour to pass through your bloodstream once you've stopped drinking Drinkaware have a handy app which allows you to record your drinks and keep tabs on the number of units you've consumed Watch out for hazards at the party Some of the most frequent accidents we encounter over the festive season are slips and falls on wet dancefloors and spilled drinks.
Over the last ten years, from to , as many as , people were sent to the E. They use the data as a probability sample of the more than 5, U. We parsed both the estimate and observed actual ER visits data for injuries caused by Christmas decoration-related injuries: in this case injuries involving artificial Christmas trees there is no data for real trees , nonelectric Christmas decorations, Christmas lights and Christmas tree stands or supports.
Women are injured by decorations more often than men. Over the ten year period, an estimated 76, women visited the ER compared to 57, men. Whether this means women spend more time decorating, are more careless than men while doing so, or just more inclined to go to the E. Lacerations are the most common injury type, followed by strains and sprains, contusions, fractures and ingestion injuries. The body parts most commonly injured are the lower trunk, head, internal organs, upper trunk, foot, finger and face.
Estimate data can only take us so far, so we looked at the observed, incident-level data.
0コメント