TIP: 5 Tips To Make Your Halloween Safer

In many respects, Halloween gives people license to step out of their everyday persona and experiment with playing a new role or being a different character. When combined with alcohol and drug use, the risk for bodily injury skyrockets. Forbes put together this list of 5 tips to make your Halloween safer.

  1. Place Reflective Tape On Your Child’s Costume. One of the best ways to reduce your child’s risk of being struck by a motor vehicle is by placing reflective tape on the front and back of their costume. This will significantly increase their visibility to motorists at nighttime. This is especially important if they are wearing a dark costume. It’s also important to be careful with costumes that have full face masks or eye patches. These can impede vision and lead to an increased risk for falls, head and neck injuries, lacerations and extremity fractures.
  2. Make Sure Costumes Purchased Are Flame Retardant. Costumes with oversized sleeves and pants pose a risk for catching fire if lit jack-o-lanterns are sitting on porches or walkways when trick-or-treaters are approaching or leaving homes.
  3. Decorative Contact Lenses Should Only Be Obtained By Prescription From An Ophthalmologist Or A Licensed Optometrist. These lenses are properly fitted and sterile and are not fraught with an increased risk of eye infections and potential for visual compromise. Decorative or colored contact lenses purchased from a toy or novelty shop are not only illegal, but are poorly fitted and run a high risk for persons developing keratitis, corneal ulcers and potential visual loss.
  4. Don’t Carve A Pumpkin If You Are Drinking Alcohol. This is a sure-fire way to increase the risk of cutting your fingers or hands. Lacerations to fingers (index finger is the most common) are a common type of injury we typically see on Halloween. Consider using a magic marker instead of carving a pumpkin in order to reduce the risk of injury to your hands and fingers.
  5. Don’t Allow Your Children To Overindulge On Halloween. Ration candy so that they learn to enjoy it in moderation. Inspect the candy in their trick or treat bags to make sure it is safe and unadulterated.