Medical Minute: Halloween Safety

It's Halloween week! Time for all the ghosts and goblins to head out and load up on candy.  But safety is important and there are ways families can keep everyone safe before, during and after.

Ben Bring, DO, family medicine and sports medicine physician with OhioHealth Dublin Methodist Hospital says a lot of of it comes back to planning ahead.

"Make sure that the costumes are well-fitting, allowing the child to see easily, and that it is not too loose where the child could trip over it," Dr. Bring said. "Additionally, you want to plan out your route ahead of time and have a plan of action just in case someone in your group gets separated, so you can meet somewhere, and reconnect."

Of course, we are also in the middle of the fourth COVID-19 surge. That means it's important that you are doing your part on each end of the candy exchange.

"Thankfully much of what happens is happening outside, so the risk of transmission is low there," Dr. Bring said. "However, if you are in poorly ventilated areas like a garage or inside, try and keep your social distance and masking too. If you can package open candies into zip bags, that will help keep kids safer from reaching into a big pile of candy. Remember, many of our kids are still not vaccinated, so we can all do our part to keep them safe too."

After everything is said and done, Dr. Bring suggests eating candy in moderation. "We worry about eating too much candy at one time," Dr. Bring said. While it might be tough to get kids to pull back on eating a good amount, especially on that first day, Dr. Bring says smaller size bars and spacing out the intake can help those young stomachs avoid the dreaded belly ache.