With the new year just days away, it's a good time to review basic safety tips before celebrating to ensure everyone has a bright New Year's Eve.
Dr. Nels Rose is an emergency medicine physician with BayCare Clinic.
Most of the tips offered should be kept in mind not just during New Year's Eve, but year round.
* Drinking: Drink in moderation. Many ER incidents begin with alcohol. Being drunk impairs your critical thinking and decision-making skills. That can lead to poor decisions and costly results, legally and in terms of your health. Spending New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day in the ER over something that could easily have been avoided is not the best way to start off the new year.
* Driving: Do not drink and drive. There is nothing more that needs to be added to that piece of advice. Do not drink and drive. Have a designated driver to transport you around. Call a taxi. Use Uber. Just don’t drink and drive.
* Public Events: When attending public events, beware of your surroundings. Make sure you have a communication device such as cell phone just in case anything negative occurs. Have fun, but be prepared.
* Watch your glass/bottle: Keep an eye on your drink when you’re out on the town: A lot of times people are too trusting within their surrounding and tend to put their drink down where anyone can get to it. Keep your drink with you. Even if you have to go to the bathroom, either take it with your or give it to a close friend. Don’t leave your drink unattended. Ever.
* Friends: If you plan on going anywhere for New Year’s Eve, take friends with you. It’s safer to travel in groups.
* Watch your step: While we don’t have snow or any major ice patches around, just be cautious out there and watch your footing in case you do happen to find that one ice patch as you’re running from spot to spot. Wear appropriate footwear and generally pay attention to where you are walking or stepping.
Dress warm. You might be club-hopping or going from venue to venue and may feel it’s unnecessary to wear a jacket or hat. But it is important to dress appropriately for the weather. Alcohol can make you think that you’re warm. But the warmth that comes with a drink are deceptive. When you drink, it dilates the peripheral blood vessels near your skin, which means more blood – and heat – flows to these vessels. That takes blood and heat away from the core of
your body. So while it feels like you’re warm because your skin is warm, your vital organs aren’t as warm as you might think they are. If you then go out in the cold after drinking, because you’ve got a lot of heat on the periphery of your body, you can lose heat very easily and quickly. And that can be dangerous and can easily usher in ailments like frostbite and hypothermia.
Yes, each year, nearly 10,000 people are killed in drunk driving crashes. The risk of sharing the road with a drunk driver is even higher on holidays like New Year’s, because of parties and get-togethers. In fact, New Year’s Day is the most dangerous days of the year for drunk driving on our nation’s roadways. So we have to reiterate this: Don’t drink and drive.
In addition to all the celebrations of New Year’s Eve and such, take some time to check your smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector batteries for home safety and make it a point to look after your personal health and well-being by scheduling an annual physical. Do these things and you’ll be sure to stay out of the ER as we celebrate the dawning of a new year and you’ll be in better control of your long-term health following your annual physical.
