Trick-or-Treat Safety
Courtney Carter
/ Categories: WELLNESS, 2024

Trick-or-Treat Safety

As you ready your little ghouls and goblins for trick-or-treating, it’s important to review basic safety rules to help ensure their holiday is scary in the best possible kind of ways.

Here’s a terrifying Halloween fact: Two times as many child pedestrians die on Halloween compared to other days. Thanks to a too-often deadly combination of being out after dark and wearing vision-limiting costumes, what should be a fun evening of mischief and merriment, Halloween can quickly become an actual nightmare.

However, by taking a few simple precautions and following practices, trick-or-treaters and their escorts can safely navigate their way home with plenty of candy in tow.

Here’s where to start:

COSTUMES

Make sure costumes, wigs and accessories are all fire-resistant.

Make sure costumes and footwear don’t create built-in tripping hazards.

Attach reflective tape to the sides, front and back of costumes and bags or use glow sticks to keep trick-or-treaters visible after dark.

If possible, use make-up instead of masks, which can limit visibility. Be sure to test make up on a small area of skin before applying to a child’s face and remove all makeup before bed to prevent skin and/or eye irritation.

TRICK-OR-TREATING

Always accompany young children around the neighborhood. Older trick-or-treaters should only venture out in the company of at least one other.

Caution children against entering homes or cars for treats.

Only cross the street at corners, using traffic signals and crosswalks.

Keep to sidewalks and designated pathways. If there aren’t sidewalks, walk facing traffic and as far off the road as possible.

Encourage children to walk and not run between houses.

Plan your route to keep road crossings to a minimum.

Only go to homes where a porch light is on.

Keep your eyes on the road and not on phones or other electronic devices.

TREAT EATING 

Do not allow children to eat treats before they get home where you can inspect candy.

Do not allow children to eat anything that is not commercially wrapped or any treats with torn or damaged wrappers, including pinholes. Any treats that appear unusual or discolored or suspicious in any way should be thrown out.

If you have young children, remove any small candies, including hard candy, peanuts, or gum, as they may present a choking hazard.

If your child has a food allergy, be sure to read all labels carefully to make sure allergens aren’t present.

DRIVING SAFETY

Drive with your headlights on, even before dusk.

Be alert for kids, especially at intersections, medians and on curbs

If you’re transporting trick-or-treaters, make sure they’re buckled up appropriately in a car seat or with a seat belt each time they get in the car.

If a costume makes it difficult to buckle a car seat or belt correctly, remove the costume or problematic portion of the costume each time they get in the car.

Try to park in spot where you do not need to back up.

Enter and exit driveways, parking spots and side streets with extreme caution.

By being cautious and mindful of safety, you can make ensure Halloween is a treat for all.

Jaclyn Lozier, MD, FAAP, is the Chair of Pediatrics, Southwestern Vermont Medical Center and the Medical Director, SVMC Pediatrics.

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OB/GYN Care in a New Age

I am a strong believer in preventive care. Our patients are healthiest and OB/GYN physicians are most successful when we see each other at least annually and as soon as concerns arise. While this hasn't always been possible throughout the pandemic, I am happy to report that it is slowly getting easier to provide and receive care in the ways we had been used to, with a few adjustments for added safety.

I am especially concerned about patients who may have delayed care. While some concerns can safely wait a short while, putting off care in other situations may worsen the condition or the outcome. I encourage both new and returning patients to call the office to discuss resuming regular care and discussing any concerns that may have come up.

Here's what you can expect, including some of the innovative ways we are meeting patients' needs safely.

When you call the office, the receptionists will schedule an appointment for you. An easy telehealth option is great for reviewing results, developing care plans, providing contraceptive and fertility counseling, and consulting about weight management. For these purposes, the receptionist will likely recommend a televisit. It is very easy to connect and so convenient; while we love seeing you in person, we have to wonder why we haven’t been using telehealth appointments all along! Complete information about telehealth visits can be found here.

As you might expect, OB/GYN care often requires a physical examination, so many of our patient visits—including those for patients needing annual exams, testing, and therapeutic appointments—are still happening in person and in the office. The receptionists are working to stagger visits to decrease the number of people in the office at any one time.

Those coming to the office in person will notice a check-in station at the entrance to the Medical Office Building. The attendant will ask you a few questions about any symptoms you have and lend you a cloth face covering to use, if you don't have one. Wearing the mask over both your mouth and nose for your entire visit is required. For your safety and theirs, you will notice that all staff are wearing masks, too, along with either goggles or a shield. Hopefully you can still tell that we are all smiling, even under our masks!

If an outpatient elective surgical procedure is a part of your care plan, your OB/GYN and other staff will walk you through the process. A few changes, including COVID-19 testing in advance and intensified monitoring after the procedure, increases patient safety.

For those expecting to deliver a baby at SVMC, we are focused on maintaining all of the wonderful things our patients have come to expect from their experiences on the Women's and Children’s unit. Caring medical staff and nurses, individualized attention, and compassionate support are all in abundant supply.

Like when coming to the office, growing families will notice the check-in at the hospital's main entrance and staff wearing protective equipment. Our visitor’s policy indicates only one support person. We recognize that this is so challenging, and we are working to provide all of the support we can to bring your birth experience safely in line with what you had hoped, right down to the cheering support squad provided by a family via video chat during a delivery I attended earlier this week.

In the case that a family has had any exposure to COVID-19, the Women's and Children’s Unit has its own negative-pressure room. Extensive infection-prevention policies—consistent across all of the medical professionals involved with care for growing families, including OB/GYNs, pediatricians, midwives, and nurses—keep moms, babies, families, and staff safe. In fact, SVMC recently got a perfect score on a rigorous survey specifically designed to judge our infection-prevention measures.

Our ongoing commitment—pandemic or no pandemic, no matter your OB/GYN need—is to work through your concerns and deliver safe, individualized, and effective care for you. We hope that new and returning patients will call on us to help them maintain or regain their health. We are open, ready, and safe to provide the care you need.

Kimberley Sampson, MD, is the medical director of OB/GYN at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center.

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