Keep Your Holidays Merry and Bright with Holiday Decorating Safety Tips

Urgent Care Blog

While hanging holiday lights can make your house look good, it can also be bad for your health. Every year during the holidays, doctors see a steady stream of people injured from stringing lights. In fact, an average of 200 people a day get hurt from decorating during this time of year, with about 13,000 people last year going to the emergency room due to decorating accidents. To save you from falling on dark times while lighting up your holidays, MD Now offers these bright ideas for holiday decorating safety.

See the Light About Hanging Holiday Lights

Some of the most dangerous holiday injuries are slips and falls from hanging lights on the roof. In addition to causing pains and strains, the worst cases have led to traumatic brain injuries, life-limiting damage, and even death. To keep yourself safe while making your house merry and bright, follow these safety tips for the holidays when stringing your seasonal lights:

  • Go to a pro: If you’re planning to do a lavish light display or are nervous about climbing on the roof, consider hiring a professional to avoid slipping or falling.
  • Know your light-hanging limits: Do not climb on ladders and roofs if you have balance issues or take blood-thinning medication, which increases your risk of bleeding.
  • Don’t weather bad weather: Avoid installing lights in wet weather. If the weather looks bad, decorate another day.
  • Get a leg up on your ladder: Choose the right-sized ladder for the job and your weight, plus make sure it’s on stable ground. If possible, ask someone to hold the ladder while you work.

Get Enlightened About Safety Tips for the Holidays

In addition to the dangers of hanging lights, there are many risks related to simply using lights and candles. The most frequent accidents result in slips, falls, fires, and even electrocution. But by using a little common sense and these safety tips for the holidays, you can keep your family safe and keep your season bright:

  • Be very careful and wear slip-resistant shoes when searching for stored holiday decorations.
  • Get new light sets if your current sets are broken, damaged, frayed, or have any loose connections.
  • Keep your Christmas tree watered well to prevent its tinder from causing a house fire.
  • Make sure candles are far away from trees, other decorations, children, and pets.
  • Only place candles on stable, heat-resistant surfaces.
  • Always extinguish candles when leaving a room and going to bed.

MD Now is Your Source for the Highest-Quality Care

Discover the caring, convenient, and cost-efficient treatment that can always be found at MD Now. All of our locations operate on a walk-in, no-appointment basis with hours to conveniently suit your schedule. With 22 locations throughout Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties, quality care is always within your reach. For the Florida locations nearest you, visit https://www.mymdnow.com/locations.

To learn more about our urgent care centers, visit www.MDNow.com.

MD Now® Urgent Care Walk-In Medical Centers is the leading provider of fast and affordable urgent care to adults and children in Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties. Our state-of-the-art, walk-in medical centers are open seven days a week to deliver an affordable and convenient alternative to long emergency room wait times and the limited hours of family physicians. No appointment is necessary and major insurance plans are accepted. In addition to providing a comprehensive range of urgent care services to treat a variety of illnesses and injuries, our multiple locations offer digital x-rays, EKG, lab testing, physicals, immunizations, vaccines, occupational medicine, travel medicine and selected primary care services. Find the medical care you need with the convenience you want at MD Now. Online: www.MDNow.com.

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