Tricks, Treats and Safety Feats: A Pediatrician’s Guide to a Spooktacular Halloween

Photo courtesy Kaiser Permanente

With Halloween approaching, children across Southern California can hardly wait to dress up for a trick-or-treat experience full of fun, sweet treats and high anticipation of a fun-filled holiday.

For many parents, their main priority will be to keep their little ghosts and goblins safe without taking the fun out of this fall favorite.

Before their night of spooky fun begins, Dr. Lisa Luu, a pediatrician with Kaiser Permanente Downey Medical Center, has some simple but important tips to help keep your children safe.

Examine Treats

Before your child eats any treat, parents should read the label if their children suffer from food allergies. Children should not eat any treats without labels. It’s also a good idea that in case your child suffers a severe allergic reaction, you should have easy access to an epinephrine auto-injector if prescribed. If labels aren’t available or allergen information is not readily available online, then consider switching out known safe treats or non-food items. It’s also critically important to only eat factory-wrapped treats and candy, as that’s a safer practice.

Avoid Hand Injuries

For many parents, carving a pumpkin for Halloween is a treasured family tradition shared with their kids. However, many children suffer from carving knife injuries each year that can lead to severe, but preventable, injuries. To avoid an unwanted and scary visit to the emergency room, it’s advisable that parents have young children draw the pattern on the pumpkin, clean out the inside pulp and seeds with a spoon, but leave the knife work to the adults. Another tip for parents is to consider using a cookie cutter instead.

Beware of Fire hazards

Many parents and children love decorating their home for Halloween with spooky decorations that also may include lighted ornaments. Unfortunately, this can result in some truly scary fire safety hazards. As such, to be safe, it’s better to light up your jack-o-lantern with glow sticks or electric candles instead of candles. This is advisable because many decorations are very flammable and can result in injury and property damage. According to FEMA, the top five causes of most Halloween fires include careless actions and electrical malfunctions.

Selecting Safe Costumes

On Halloween, every child wants to wear a costume that’s second to none. But some costumes can pose a hazard, so it’s important to follow some guidelines. For instance, if a mask is worn, it should have large enough eye holes for a child see clearly. It’s also advisable that children wear bright and reflective costumes so that they are more visible. Parents should also be on the lookout for small parts on costumes that could cause young children to choke. Lastly, costumes should not be too big or too long as that may result in a child tripping and injuring themselves.

Face paint/Costume contact lenses

Before you apply makeup near your child’s eyes, it’s important to know it could contain harmful chemicals, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology. If makeup is applied, it should be applied in small amounts to the arm or back of the person who will be wearing it to test safety. The appearance of a rash, redness, swelling or other signs of irritation could indicate an allergic reaction and use of the products should be avoided. Additionally, the American Academy of Ophthalmology warns that though wearing costume contact lenses on Halloween can be a real scream, the scare from non-prescription contact lenses can be all too real when chemical exposure or potentially blinding infections take place. As such, they should be avoided.

Pedestrian safety

Since trick-or-treating can take place when it’s dark, parents are encouraged to provide children with flashlights or glowsticks for lighting and greater visibility, which can be incorporated into the costumes. Another option is sticking reflective arm bands or reflective tape to bags or costumes to ensure your child can be seen. It’s recommended that parents review street safety ahead of time with their children.

Dr. Luu also noted it’s never too late to get your flu shot to better protect your health.

“Following these tips will help make Halloween safe and fun for everyone,” said Dr. Luu. “This holiday is about building memories, but we also want to ensure good health and minimize the chance of injury.”