The holidays are here! It’s a time to spend surrounded by family and friends. Parties, entertainment and festive cheer are just around the corner. But the holidays also lend themselves to accidents. Food poisoning, kitchen-related injuries, burns and falls are just some of the common ones. So stay safe and healthy this season by following a few simple precautions.
1 – Stay safe while decorating your home
Whether you’re putting up the Christmas tree, hanging tinsel or stringing up fairy lights these activities can also present a safety hazard if not done cautiously.
- If children are in the house, decorate the tree with them in mind. Keep fragile, breakable ornaments out of reach and ensure that no exposed wires are around.
- Always use a proper step ladder when decorating. Don’t stand on furniture that’s unstable. If you don’t have a step ladder, buy one. It’s a simple investment that can save you from a serious injury.
- Take a few minutes to test your smoke alarms right now. Make sure they work.
- Before heading off to bed during those holiday nights, do a quick walk around the house to make sure that everything is turned off or powered down. If you have a live tree pay special attention to heat sources around them. Live trees are highly flammable.
2 – Everything in moderation
Make moderation your buzz word this holiday. Drink alcohol in moderation. Eat in moderation and indulge in desserts in moderation. The winter holiday season is a cluster of special days all bunched together within a short period of time so it’s important to pace yourself.
- If drinking alcohol, spread out the drinks over a longer period of time. Drink juice, sparkling water or other beverages in between.
- DUI’s and traffic accidents have ruined a lot of holidays. It goes without saying that you shouldn’t drink and drive. Be on the lookout for other drivers and don’t let friends and family get behind the wheel if they have been drinking.
- Limit your intake of salty, sugary and high-fat foods.
3- Schedule time for yourself
Whether you’re celebrating Christmas, New Years, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa, it’s a joyous time of year. But it can also be enormously stressful. In the busyness of everything be sure to carve time out for yourself. Your own physical and mental health is just as important as any other chore on your to-do list.
- Go for a short walk after meals.
- Spend a few moments doing activities that you personally enjoy.
- Don’t be afraid to say no to extra tasks or requests that others may have. Sometimes you can’t do everything all the time and that’s okay.
4 – Minor accidents in the home
Between home decorating, cooking out by the pool or enjoying the cooler Florida weather, minor accidents can happen.
- Make sure your home first aid kit is well stocked.
- For more serious injuries remember your local urgent care center. Urgent care centers treat injuries that don’t require a trip to the emergency room. With shorter waiting times and no appointment necessary patients are usually seen much faster and can get back home much sooner.
5 – Flu shots for everyone
The holidays are a time when you are likely to see more people, have increased travel and be exposed to more germs. The flu vaccine gives you and your family added protection against the flu virus and lowers your risk of getting a serious flu infection.
Use the tips above to help you and your family stay safe this winter. We wish you all a safe, stress-free and happy holiday!
