Holiday Hazards You Should Know About

Here’s how to protect your family from some little-known holiday health hazards

As parents, we don't want to make like the Grinch and steal all the Christmas cheer, but we don't want our children to get hurt during the holidays either. Unfortunately, holiday hazards can creep up where you least expect them. Here are four surprising holiday health hazards and how to protect your children from them:

1. Trim your Holiday Foliage
Contrary to popular belief, poinsettias aren't poisonous. So while you don't necessarily want your child to munch on a red leaf for lunch, an accidental nibble won't kill him. The same can't be said for other holiday plants. Holly, Jerusalem cherry, boxwood and various species of yew are all poisonous, so keep them out of reach. As for mistletoe, we suggest giving it a miss until your children are at least three years of age. If eaten, mistletoe can cause severe stomach cramps, diarrhea and can even be fatal. And it doesn't take much–just three mistletoe berries can be toxic to your child.

2. Lights Out
Strings of Christmas lights can be a choking and strangling hazard and most are also coated with plastic that contains lead. Keep lights off the lower branches of your Christmas tree and warn your toddler not to touch.

3. Natural Selection

Older artificial trees and those made in China often contain lead. If you choose an artificial tree, buy new and check the packaging. Unfortunately, real trees aren't always safe either. The needles can cause painful cuts in the mouth and throat of a child who swallows them. Warn your child not to put any needles in her mouth and clean up loose needles daily. (Watering your tree every day will also help keep the needles from dropping.)

4. Baking Hazards
While your kids may love to help out with holiday baking, make sure spices and extracts are kept out of reach. Children can get high from nutmeg and become intoxicated and extremely sick from ethanol-containing products, such as vanilla and almond extracts. Ethanol causes Central Nervous System depression, which can lead to respiratory compromise when ingested. It may also result in dilated pupils, flushed skin, gastrointestinal distress, hypothermia and hypotension. Vanilla extract can be harmful even in small doses, as it contains up to 70 percent ethanol by volume (compared to beer, which contains between two and six percent ethanol). If you suspect your child has helped themselves to vanilla extract, contact your doctor immediately.