It’s Halloween soon! How to prevent “mummy” injuries?

2 people died and 4000 suffered personal injuries during Halloween activities last year. 40% of the injuries were lacerations from pumpkin carving. People, especially children, tripping in their costumes and falling caused many injuries as well. Candle fire is also a common cause of injury during Halloween.

Below are a few tips to keep your Halloween celebration fun and prevent it from turning into a real nightmare:

Do not give carving knives to children but have them helping you by tracing the design with a marker or scooping big chunks with spoons. Be careful yourself when using the carving knife!
Make sure costumes are not too long and are well adjusted to your children’s size so they don’t trip and injure themselves
When you buy a costume check for a flame resistant label. Flame-resistant fabrics will resist burning and extinguish quickly
Prefer costumes of bright or light colors to be more visible to motorists
Always have a flashlight if you or your children walk near a roadway
Make sure that hats and masks do not obstruct children’s vision and also make sure that your child can proprely breath through the mask
Make sure accessories such as swords and knifes are made of soft and flexible material
make sure an adult checks treats before children eat them
Use glow sticks or battery operated candles instead of real candles to prevent fire
If you are using real candles make sure to keep them away from landings and doorsteps where costumes could brush against the flame
Remove obstacles so trick-or-treaters don’t trip

For more info and tips visit the CPSC website