Safety in the New Year, or how to keep health and life

New Year’s holidays bring with them not only fun, joy and general jubilation, but sometimes the risk of getting various injuries or seriously undermining their health.

So that happy holidays are not overshadowed by problems, we advise you to study in advance all the dangers that may lie in wait in the New Year and avoid them.

What New Year and Christmas traditions are good for health?

Ice on winter streets

Ice is dangerous on any winter day. But on holidays we seem to forget about this danger, and we can afford to run, have fun on slippery streets, skip up the icy steps of the porch. Our holiday shoes with slippery soles and high heels are also a high risk factor for injuries due to ice.

Security measures:

• For the holidays choose the right shoesb. For winter walks, boots with medium heels or flat soles are suitable (a platform is always preferable because it is more stable on slippery roads).
• The sole and heel should be made of a material that has good grip on slippery ice surfaces and does not slip.
• When moving along the winter sidewalk, road, steps, do not rush. Place your foot on the entire foot, and then transfer the weight of the body onto it.
• Be extremely careful on New Year’s ice slides and rides, since there is a great risk of getting various injuries.

Road traffic injuries

Carelessness during the holidays is the reason why many drivers allow themselves to drink before driving. In turn, careless pedestrians, who also took it on their chests in honor of the holidays, pose a danger to themselves and others on the New Year’s roads.

Security measures: they are extremely simple for both drivers and pedestrians, but they must not only be observed, but also observed with particular care: comply with all traffic rules. Pedestrians on New Year’s Eve should not drink too much alcohol before going out, and drivers should not refrain from drinking alcohol at all.

Hypothermia and frostbite

Long walks on the street on New Year’s Eve, as on all holidays, very often end with general hypothermia or various frostbite.

See also: How to help with hypothermia?

Most often, the cheeks, nose, fingers and toes suffer from frost. Alcohol drunk on holidays significantly reduces sensitivity, and a person may simply not feel the beginning of the frostbite process.

We are not even talking about those who drink excessively on New Year’s holidays and will be ready to fall asleep on the street in the nearest snowdrift, in this case hypothermia and frostbite are just the smallest of those problems that can cost lives.

Security measures:

• Do not drink alcohol before a walk, while walking with companions, often examine each other’s cheeks for frostbite – it manifests itself as white spots.
• Dress appropriately for the weather and the duration of the walk. Warm shoes, warm mittens or gloves, a hat, windproof outerwear, preferably with a hood, are required. It is better for women not to flaunt in nylon tights, but to wear warm trousers or leggings.
• If you feel that you are freezing, it is better to immediately go into any room and warm up, drink hot tea.

Burns, fires

On New Year’s Eve, candles are traditionally lit, New Year’s garlands (often of poor quality), and fireworks are used. Poor quality pyrotechnic products or improper handling of flammable objects and fire can lead to thermal burns and fires.

Security measures:

• To decorate the interior and the Christmas tree, buy only quality garlands…
• If you light candles, there should be no flammable materials around them, and you should not leave burning candles unattended.
• The choice of pyrotechnic toys should be very careful and rational, and their use – exactly according to the instructions, in compliance with all safety precautions.

Noise trauma

At festive events, it is customary to turn on loud music. A sound of 100 decibels can cause damage to the eardrum – the so-called noise injury. The same consequences can occur after the sound of exploding firecrackers somewhere nearby.

Security measures:

• In a club or public places stay away from speakers and speaker system…
• If the noise in the room is too loud, insert regular headphones or earplugs into your ears – they will help preserve hearing.

Allergic reactions to previously unknown foods or food ingredients

For the New Year, housewives try to cook the most delicious dishes, sometimes something that they never allowed themselves to cook. Having tasted a previously untested product, a person prone to allergies may experience an acute allergic reaction, sometimes – Quincke’s edema, which is a direct threat to life.

Young children are especially at risk – there are many temptations around them on holidays, and control over what and how much they eat is often not enough.

Security measures:

• Try exotic foods in small amounts.
• If you have already had any allergic reaction, then it is better for you to refrain from using exotic foods.
• People prone to allergies should always have with them drugs that stop an allergic reaction, and refrain from drinking alcohol – with it, allergies can develop more strongly.
• Do not feed children caviar, seafood, new soda, fruit, or sweets if they have not tried it before.

Food and alcohol poisoning

Oh, these holidays! They force us with great efforts to prepare and store a lot of dishes, alcohol to the table, and then, with the same efforts, try to eat and drink the annual norms of these products.

The risk of poisoning also exists on the holiday itself, if the food was initially of poor quality or the dishes were prepared for a long time, and, especially after the holidays, when the leftovers from the table are eaten.

Alcohol poisoning is a special article of New Year’s problems, which arises either from an excessively drunk amount of alcohol, or from low-quality drinks and fakes.

Security measures:

• Do not drink moonshine and others questionable alcoholic beverages…
• Keep track of the amount you can drink and do not deviate from the norm.
• Prepare meals with fresh ingredients just before the holiday…
• After the holidays, ruthlessly throw away leftover food and prepare new meals.
• We recommend placing perishable dishes and salads on the festive table in two salad bowls inserted one into the other. At the same time, pour crushed ice into a large salad bowl, it will not let the dishes go bad on the table and will keep them cold.
• Do not put pastries, cream cakes in the room in advance, but remove them from the refrigerator before serving the dessert.

Criminogenic injuries

Inflamed by alcohol and festive euphoria, people often get into fights and fights, which can end, for example, with a blow to the head of a bottle or cut injuries.

Criminal injury also implies the risk of becoming a victim of robbers if you decide to walk alone through uncrowded streets and poorly lit alleys.

Precautionary measures:

• Never get into a skirmish on holiday parties, try to resolve conflicts peacefully.
• Don’t walk the deserted streets – The safest place is where there are more people, preferably near the police squad.
• During the festivities look around and look around more often – Caution can save you from the actions of intruders.

Take care of yourself! Happy and healthy New Year!