Preventing Doctor Visits on Halloween

Halloween is an exciting holiday. With activities like trick-or-treating, carving pumpkins, and wearing costumes, the entire day is bound to be one for the books. While Halloween is meant to be fun, there can also be some real-life scares. Here are a few common Halloween frights and how to prevent them.

Lice

Every year around Halloween, costume shops begin to appear selling all sorts of dress-up items. From makeup to masks, these shops have it all–including lice. Before you try on the mask lying on the ground, think of all the kids who have probably tried it on. Instead of poking your head inside and risking head lice, ask a store employee to grab you one from the back that probably hasn’t been tried on. If there isn’t any option but to buy the one in hand, put it in an air-tight bag for two days to kill any creepy crawlies that may be inside.

Eye Damage

It is exciting to see how people will dress up every year and how far they’ll go with their costumes. Occasionally, you might notice someone wearing colored contacts to take their cat costume to the next level, or to look demonic. As cool as these contacts are, unless they are prescribed by an optometrist, they can be incredibly harmful to your eyes. Contacts sold at costume shops are typically “one size fits all” and can injure the parts of the eye that “protects the pupil and iris, leading to ulcers and infection.” Poor-fitting contacts may even go as far as to cause blindness. So, if your costume really needs colored contacts to make it perfect, make sure you visit an optometrist for a pair that will fit and protect your eyes.

Allergic Reactions

As many parents know, Halloween candy is often full of nuts, milk, and soy. If children with allergies consume any of these candies, it could end in disaster. If your child has a food allergy, be sure to communicate to them that they shouldn’t eat any of their candy until you have looked through it. If they do eat some candy and have an allergic reaction, visit a family doctor near you. Some family doctors are even available on-call for emergencies at night or on holidays.

Overindulgence

Another problem parents face when it comes to candy is their child’s passionate desire to eat it all immediately. Overindulgence from your children will most likely create a spike in energy you cannot keep up with and may result in them feeling sick and throwing up. To prevent overindulgence, help your children monitor how much they consume by organizing their candy and agreeing on a timeline for when the rest of the candy must be thrown out. A good practice to implement in your family is eating a healthy meal before trick-or-treating so your kids won’t want to fill up on candy.

Burns

The eery glow of candlelight makes for a spooky Halloween setting, but it also creates a major fire hazard. While teaching your children to be careful around any type of flame is important, it’s also important to take preventative measures by picking a costume for your child that is fire-resistant. Many popular child costumes are made from 100% polyester and only take about 90 seconds to burn up. While looking out for your children, you can also help protect others by using battery-powered candles to create a firelit glow in your jack-o-lanterns.

Obstructed Vision

Masks are perhaps one of the most dangerous pieces of a Halloween costume. While they may complete the Spiderman look, they also obstruct children’s vision and make it hard for them to see potential hazards. The most popular hazard, cars. Every Halloween cases of children being hit by cars are reported. To protect your kids, try to find costumes that don’t need a mask, or make sure their mask doesn’t limit their vision. Teach all your children not to run in the road, no matter how excited they are to get to the next house.

Be on the lookout for these Halloween scares, you don’t want to end your night at the doctor’s office!