Essentia Health shares safety precautions for holiday season

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) — It’s the start of the holiday winter season, and with the season, there is a rise in people getting sick and having accidents.

“With the winter holidays coming up, the really common things we see is, it is respiratory illness season, so a lot of colds and flu. And then we do see a lot more lacerations with cooking, so when you’re cooking, just be careful of those sharps and paying attention. And then we do see a lot more falls with the slipperiness and the ice and stuff,” said Melanie Hulm, Physician Assistant for Essentia Walk-In Clinic.

Essentia Health’s motto during the winter months is to walk like a penguin. Keep your hands outside of your pockets and take small, slower strides like a penguin to avoid falling.

The other recommendation is to be mindful of what you are carving and cutting.

“It’s a big time of year for just preparing all this food, so a lot of what we see will be knives, cutting turkeys, or like carving knives. There’s a lot more of that dicing that can be a lot more finer, quicker that people will slip a little bit and cut,” said Hulm.

Thirty percent of visits to emergency rooms and clinics consist of hand injuries, which especially rises during Thanksgiving. While the clinic said they haven’t seen as many people as they assumed they would, they say it’s better to be safe.

“Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving, try to avoid excessive alcohol intake, try to be safe on the roads driving, drink in moderation, don’t drink and drive,” said Rochelle Rieck, Family Nurse Practitioner at Essentia Walk-In Clinic.