Christmas often brings out the best in people. From sharing, caring and fun, it can be a joyous occasion. But it’s also a stressful day to get prepared for and can often lead to accidents in the build-up. And there’s nothing worse than suffering a personal injury during a time where you should be relaxing and enjoying yourself. Below, we explore the Christmas accidents to avoid.
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Decorations
Decorations can actually pose a hazard in a few different ways. For a start, they’re usually contained in the loft away from the season – ensure that you bring them down from the loft safely. Ask someone to secure your ladder if necessary when you’re climbing up. However, they can also be dangerous once they’re placed on display. Ensure that all decorations are firmly in place so that they can’t fall on your head or get swallowed.
Alcohol
Alcohol is a more obvious danger. It’s natural to be merry over Christmas, but it’s easy to overdo it. Alcohol lowers your inhibitions and can lead to harm for you, or people around you. This could be something like falling over when you’re walking home, or it could result in more serious issues such as drink driving.
The weather
The weather can also pose danger. Although it rarely snows on Christmas, it’s extremely common for ice to be around. This can lead to car accidents or cause you to fall while out and about. Make sure you assess the conditions before you go out and wear the appropriate footwear.
Food
Cooking food over Christmas can be stressful too. It’s common to cut yourself while busily preparing vegetables or other parts of the big lunch. At the same time, you might try all sorts of different foods over the festive period. You could find yourself having an allergic reaction to something new if you’ve never tried it before.
Electricals
With Christmas decorations and lights going up, there are more electricals around than usual. Poorly wired decorations can easily give you an electric shock. Again, it’s crucial that you put up decorations carefully and make yourself aware of any electrical hazards. This includes making sure cables are not a tripping hazard and that sockets are not overloaded.
Choking
Glass and fragile objects should be left out of reach for toddlers and pets. At Christmas things like novelty decorations such as stuffed reindeers, snowman and Santa’s etc that look like toys but do not have to comply with toy standards could potentially be highly dangerous as they can contain small parts. Other things to consider are small toys from gadgets, crackers, and balloons. These can easily be a choking hazard to your small child so it’s important to keep these out of reach and make sure you know what to do if your child does start choking.
Christmas is a time to get excited for. But there are hazards too. By being aware of the common accidents to avoid, though, you should have the knowledge to keep yourself safe during the festive season.