TTUHSC Surgeon Warns of Holiday Accidents

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) -The holidays are supposed to be a time for family gatherings and fun times together.

Dr. John Griswold is a burn surgeon and Texas Tech Physician. He says you’d be surprised how often our holiday decorations are the reason families end up spending time together in the Emergency Room. He explains, “Toddlers often get electrical injuries. And it has to do with electrical cords, the extension cords for the tree lights, or whatever. And either the power cord isn’t safe. It’s got a tear in it or something. We actually have kids crawling around on the floor. They chew on those cords and break through the insulation and get a bad electrical burn to their mouth.”

Dr. Griswold also warns that the holidays tend to make us climb to new heights… literally.

He says the perfect decorations are not worth a devastating injury after a fall from a ladder.

“A lot of people start doing things they wouldn’t normally do”, he says, “like climbing way up on a ladder or trying to get up on the roof, kind of crazy things.”

His message: Don’t take on anything that might put you in harm’s way.

The CDC reports that during the holiday season between November 1st and January 31st, there are typically about 5800 fall injuries and 43 percent of those falls are from ladders.

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