With the Christmas and New Years season here, celebrations with loved ones are something many look forward to, and a local doctor is offering tips on how to keep the holidays full of fun and safe.
Among some of the common issues seen during the holidays include burns, cuts and alcohol-related injuries, Dr. Harlan Goode, an emergency room physician at St. David’s Georgetown Hospital, told Hello Georgetown.
“With the amount of cooking people are doing, we see a lot of burns, and more so, lots of cuts,” Dr. Harlan Goode, an emergency room physician at St. David’s Georgetown Hospital, said. “People getting distracted while cooking and externally cutting their finger with a knife while they’re chopping up stuff for dinner.”
Dr. Goode reminded people to be aware of potential distractions while they are cooking, and focus on the task at hand to avoid injury.
“Take your time and be careful while cooking and cutting up stuff, and avoiding hot stoves and other things that could lead to burns,” Dr. Goode said.
As the holidays come to a close, it’s also important to keep safety in mind when taking decorations down.
“If you’re going to be up on a ladder, make sure that it’s on level ground, preferably have somebody there to help you out,” Dr. Goode said. “Use extreme caution if you’re up on a ladder, up on your roof or getting up in the attic. This applies to everybody, but I feel especially anyone that’s on any kind of blood thinner, Aspirin, Plavix, Eliquis, any of those medications, those people are at higher risk for bad head injuries due to the blood thinners.”
Another potential opportunity for burns and injuries, Dr. Goode added, involve fireworks.
“Alcohol and fireworks do not mix,” Dr. Goode said. “So, if you’re going to set off fireworks, be sure that you have not had too much to drink. Don’t go buy a bunch of fireworks that you’ve not had any experience using, and obviously just read the safety levels, then make sure you’re being safe while setting off any fireworks.”
The holidays also usually result in increased alcohol consumption, and according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Texas had one of the highest rates for alcohol-related fatal holiday car crashes between 2015 and 2019.
“With Christmas and New Year’s, the level of alcohol consumption goes up and we would urge everyone to drink responsibly, and most importantly, do not drive after consuming alcohol, even if it’s just one to two drinks,” Dr. Goode said. “Call a cab, call an Uber, find a safe ride.”
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