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Tuesday's Health Report: Safety first when decorating for Christmas
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BATON ROUGE — Many people are decorating their homes for the holidays this week. If you’re one of them, it’s important to keep safety in mind.
"We see falls related to holiday decorating every year in the emergency department. Ladder safety is probably the biggest one that I can stress. When you climb ladders, make sure that it is firmly planted on the ground and ideally have somebody with you to make sure that that ladder's secure,” emergency medicine doctor Carole Parsons said.
Experts say another easy way to fall is by reaching out too far while you are up on the ladder trying to hang Christmas lights. It is best to get down and move the ladder over to the next spot.
When it comes to lights, be sure to inspect them first. Anything with frayed wiring or broken bulbs should be thrown away since they can pose a fire hazard.
As for Christmas trees, artificial trees should be 'fire resistant' and live ones need to be watered.
"They tend to dry out as you get closer to the holiday season. So, you do want to make sure that you water it very frequently and make sure that you keep your live trees away from fireplaces or other fire sources in your house,” Parsons said.
The Consumer Safety Product Commission says there were nearly 15,000 people treated in emergency departments last year due to holiday decorating-related injuries.
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