Halloweens safety for children and adults

PSA from Piedmont Walton in advance of Trick or Treating

Monroe, Ga. (Oct. 25, 2024) – Halloween is an exciting time of year for children and adults to dress up and get creative. As the streets fill with spooky and cute trick-or-treaters, everyone should keep safety in mind to avoid unwanted accidents and injuries.

Over the past three years, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that an annual average of 3,200 Halloween-related injuries were treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments. 

Of those, 55% were related to pumpkin carving and 25% were due to falls while putting up or taking down decorations, tripping on costumes, or walking while 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 Tangel Smith, N.P. a family medicine nurse practitioner at Piedmont Physicians of Monroe. “Be sure that your child can see clearly out of any masks that they plan to wear, again to reduce the risk of falling.”

Smith also urges everyone to be cautious when crossing streets and to use crosswalks where 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,” she explained.  “You can put reflective tape on their costumes to make them more visible to drivers. And if you are driving on Halloween night, especially in neighborhoods, but sure to slow down and pay attention.”

The CPSC reports that an additional 20% of Halloween-related injuries include cuts and scrapes, other injuries associated with costumes, decorations, or pumpkins, allergic reactions and rashes, and adverse reactions to things being ingested.

“Always check candy or other treats that have been collected while trick or treating, if anything is open or looks tampered with, don’t eat it and throw it away,” Smith 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 going out without a parent or adult should stay in a group, checking in regularly with an adult. Drivers are reminded to wear their seatbelt, to slow down and be hands free if using a cell phone or other mobile device.

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

Costume Considerations

• Use non-toxic makeup or face paint versus a mask to see better, especially in the dark. Before applying, 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.

• Remove makeup, adhesives, and other potential irritants before going to bed.

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 when driving.

Prepping Your Yard for Halloween

• Check your yard for any tripping hazards.

• Pets should stay inside until all visitors are gone for the night.

• Rake away leaves from your steps, mats, and driveway.

• Use battery-powered candles instead of flame.

• Turn on your porch lights.

About Piedmont: Piedmont is empowering Georgians by changing health care. We continue to fuel Georgia’s growth through safe, high-quality care close to home through an integrated health care system that provides a hassle-free, unified experience. We are a private, not-for-profit organization with more than 12,000 donors annually that for centuries has sought to make a positive difference in every life we touch in the communities we serve. Across our 1,755 physical locations we care for more than 4 million patients and serve communities that comprise 85 percent of Georgia’s population. This includes 25 hospitals, 75 Piedmont Urgent Care centers, 25 QuickCare locations, 1,875 Piedmont Clinic physician practices and nearly 3,200 Piedmont Clinic members. Our patients conveniently engage with Piedmont online, as they scheduled more than 612,000 online appointments and over 163,000 virtual visits. With more than 47,000 care givers we are the largest Georgia-based private employer of Georgians, who all came for the job, but stayed for the people. In 2024 and 2023, Piedmont has earned recognition from Newsweek as one of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Diversity and also as one of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Women. In 2022, Forbes ranked Piedmont on its list of the Best Large Employers in the United States. In addition, Piedmont provided nearly $390 million in community benefit programming and uncompensated care in Fiscal Year 2023.

For more information, or booking your next appointment, visit piedmont.org.