Prevent Holiday Hazards
The holiday season is fraught with hazards, warns Earl Siegel, PharmD, co-director of the Drug and Poison Information Center and professor of emergency medicine at Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, OH. "Holidays are a time of fun and celebration, but are also potentially a time of disruption when accidents are more likely to happen," he stresses. "Nurses should caution families to be especially vigilant."
Here are several holiday hazards to be aware of:
Alcohol and young children. Adults may leave glasses of alcoholic drinks around the house after parties. "If parents are drinking and sleep-in the next morning, children might wake up hungry and thirsty, forage through leftovers, and find half-filled glasses of mixed drinks that taste like fruit punch," says Siegel. "We’ve seen this time and time again. Alcohol may increase hypoglycemia, which is especially dangerous for young children."
Small batteries. Button-sized batteries found in watches, Christmas cards, and games are hazardous to children, says Siegel. "Because they are small, shiny objects, they’re attractive to children. Ingesting them could cause complications," he says. "If the object gets past the esophagus, it keeps moving and the child usually does fine. But if it gets stuck at the level of aortic arch and breaks open, it can be corrosive since there is an alkaline inside."
Poinsettia, mistletoe, and holly. If children play with the leaves of poinsettia plants, they may experience redness and irritation, says Siegel. Also, certain varieties of mistletoe could affect nerves, blood pressure, and the heart. "Prevent poisonings before they happen by keeping these plants out of the reach of children. Keep a high index of suspicion for calling a poison control center if there is any concern," he stresses.
Visiting realtives. When visiting a realtive’s home, evaluate the location through the eyes of a child. "Imagine yourself crawling around on all fours, and realize this different environment might not be poison proof," recommends Siegel. "With visitors to your home, realize they might not appreciate risks for young children."
Drunk driving. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) statistics show that impaired driving crashes increase significantly over holiday periods, with the month of December high on the list. "During the holidays, there are more parties and more drinking, and also more drunk driving crashes," reports Barbara Foley, RN, associate executive director of EN CARE, based in Arlington, VA. "On any given weekend, one out of any six drivers is a drinking driver. On holiday weekends, your chances of being involved in a motor vehicle crash with a drunk driver increase." Of deaths caused by motor vehicle crashes, more than 40% were alcohol-related on Thanksgiving and Christmas, and 67% on New Year’s Day, says Foley.
Nurses should urge patients to be safe during holiday driving, adds Foley. "That means both kids and adults are buckled up properly, with small children in car seats and children up to 12 years of age in the back seat," she urges. "Remember that a seatbelt is your only defense against a drunk driver."
Too often, ED nurses see patients only after an accident has occurred. "We see the end results after the crash, and you can’t do anything at that point," says Foley. ED nurses can contact EN CARE to find out how to raise awareness about drunk driving and alcohol abuse, she recommends. (See source box, page11.)
Sources
For more information on holiday hazards, contact the following:
• Earl Siegel, PharmD, Drug and Poison Information Center, 2368 Victory Parkway, Suite 300, Cincinnati, OH 45206. Telephone: (513) 636-5053. Fax: (513) 636-5069. E-mail: [email protected]
• December is National Drunk and Drugged Driving Awareness Month. This year, the National 3D Coalition is sponsoring three national events: Thursday, December 17, 1998: A National 3D Prevention Month news conference to call attention to the consequences of impaired driving. Friday, December 18th, 1998: National "Lights on for Life" day during which motorists and motorcyclists are encouraged to drive with their headlights on in the remembrance of those who have been killed or injured in an impaired driving accident. December 18-20,1998: National Holiday Lifesaver Weekend to encourage increased enforcement of impaired driving laws during the December holiday season. Additional information about these events is contained in a Resource Guide. For more information, contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street SW, NTS-20, Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: (202) 366-2683. Fax: (202) 493-2062. World Wide Web: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov
• EN CARE, the injury prevention arm of the Emergency Nurses Association offers the following programs: Learning to Care, an interactive slide presentation for 3rd-5th graders that addresses the use of alcohol, helpful and harmful drugs, decision making, and peer pressure; Take Care, aimed at the population of 55 and above, this slide program focuses on the safe use of medication and also highway safety issues; Dare to Care, a 45-minute slide presentation that discusses the consequences of underage alcohol use, drinking and driving, and safety belt noncompliance. This program is shown to teens, college students and adults; and A Crash Course in Motor Vehicle Injury Prevention, which educates nurses and others about injury prevention in order to empower them to work in the community as advocates for vehicle passenger safety. For more information, contact: EN CARE, 205 S. Whiting Street, Suite 403, Alexandria, VA 22304. Telephone: (703) 370-4050. Fax: (703) 370-4005. E-mail: [email protected]
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