Halloween safety for children and adults

Halloween is an exciting time of year for children and adults to dress up and get creative. As the streets fill with cute trick-or-treaters, everyone should keep safety in mind to avoid unwanted accidents and injuries.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that Halloween-related injuries are common. Over the past three years, emergency departments treated an annual average of 3,200 injuries.

Of those injuries, 55% involved pumpkin carving, while 25% resulted from falls during decorating, tripping on costumes, or trick-or-treating.

"Plan your costumes carefully to ensure that they are not too long, which causes a trip hazard. Long costumes are also a hazard around bonfires," said Patrick Railey, M.D., Chief, Primary Care, Piedmont. "Be sure that your child can see clearly out of any masks that they plan to wear, again reducing fall risk."

Dr. Railey urges everyone to use caution when crossing streets and use crosswalks whenever available.

"If you are trick or treating, do not let your children run across roads unsupervised, they are small and a driver might not see them," he explained. "You might even want to put reflective tape on their costumes. If you are driving on Halloween night, be sure to slow down and pay attention."

The CPSC reports that 20% of Halloween-related injuries involve cuts, ingestions, costume or decoration incidents, and allergic reactions or rashes.

"Always do a check of any candy or other treats that have been collected, if anything is open or looks tampered with, don’t eat it," Dr. Railey said. "If you or someone in your group has food allergies be sure to check labels. Some ingredients may not be overly obvious."

Young children should always be in the presence of a responsible adult. Teenagers should stay with a group, follow a set curfew, and regularly check in with an adult. Drivers are reminded to wear their seatbelts, slow down and be hands free.

Piedmont Urgent Care also offers the following tips for best practices for Halloween safety:

Costume considerations

• Use non-toxic makeup or face paint for better vision in the dark. Perform a patch test to check for any irritation.
• Choose costumes marked "flame resistant."
• Use flashlights and bright materials such as glow sticks and glow-in-the-dark paint or clothing for higher visibility.
• Make sure accessories (canes, swords, etc.) have dull edges to avoid injury if your child accidentally slips.
• Only use decorative contact lenses approved by an eye doctor.
• At the end of the day, remember to remove makeup, adhesives, and other potential overnight irritants.

Driver safety

• Stay alert and drive slowly through residential areas.
• Take extra precautions near crosswalks, curbs, and sidewalks.
• Keep your headlights on at all times, and stay mindful when using your indicator lights.

Prepping your yard for Halloween

• Check your yard for any tripping hazards and move objects accordingly.
• Rake away leaves from your steps, mats, and driveway.
• Shy away from open flames in your pumpkins or other decor (try battery-powered instead).
• Turn on your porch lights – and make sure your bulbs are working!
• Pets should stay inside until all visitors are gone for the night.