Thanksgiving is a holiday embracing family, food, and traditions. However, Thanksgiving is a common time for minor injuries and illnesses. Read to learn some tips and tricks for this Thanksgiving to ensure you can enjoy the holiday season.

Common Thanksgiving Injuries

Thanksgiving is a time of gathering and celebration. However, the hustle and bustle of the holiday also make it a common time for minor injuries. With some awareness, preparation, and safety measures, you can ensure you’re able to enjoy the holiday in the comfort of your home instead of at urgent care.

Cuts & Lacerations: Thanksgiving is a time when we do more cooking than usual. This makes cooking accidents such as cuts and lacerations more common. To avoid these injuries, ensure that you are using the appropriate cooking tools for the task and that you are not letting children near sharp objects. If possible, purchase pre-cut ingredients and use caution carving meats by using a cut-proof glove.

Burns & Fires: Burns are a very common cooking injury. Avoid distractions in the kitchen to limit opportunities for touching hot objects and surfaces on accident. Always use caution when using hot oil as it can start dangerous kitchen fires easily, and ensure that someone is always watching the food while it cooks.

Falls & Strains: Straining your back from lifting a heavy turkey out of the oven or moving a big pot off of the stove is a very common Thanksgiving injury. Be sure that you have a helper in the kitchen to help with heavy lifting. Similarly, ensure that clutter is removed from walkways to reduce the risk of tripping and falling inside the house.

Food Safety Tips to Avoid Food Poisoning

With the chaos of gathering for the holiday and the amount of cooking that often occurs on Thanksgiving, it is no surprise that food poisoning is a very common unfortunate event following Thanksgiving. Not to be confused with indigestion, which can be caused by overeating, food poisoning symptoms start one to three days following eating contaminated food and can include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, body aches, and a fever. The symptoms can be intense and last for up to a week.

Food poisoning can occur as a result of a viral or bacterial infection that is the result of consuming contaminated food. Food can be contaminated by not being prepared correctly, improper storage, improper hygiene during food preparation, and cross-contamination.

Tips for Reducing the Risk of Food Poisoning:

• Wash your hands regularly during food preparation
• Always store meats in the fridge before preparing them
• Use a meat thermometer to ensure it is cooked through
• Use separate kitchen tools for meat to avoid cross-contamination

Food poisoning is not pleasant, but it usually resolves on its own after a few days. Seek medical care if you have severe symptoms or if your symptoms do not resolve on their own within a week.

Get Same-Day Illness & Injury Treatment at AFC Urgent Care Lyndhurst

Injuries and illnesses can take away quality family time on Thanksgiving. That is why it is important to use caution while cooking. At AFC Urgent Care Lyndhurst, we understand that accidents happen. That is why we offer fast medical care without compromising on quality. You never need an appointment to receive quality medical care from our board-certified medical staff. Simply walk into our clinic for medical care you can count on.

If you live in Lyndhurst, NJ, or one of the surrounding communities, AFC Urgent Care Lyndhurst is here to provide superior illness & injury treatment for non-life-threatening conditions. We offer low-cost care and accept most medical insurance plans. Simply walk into our clinic. For additional information regarding our clinic, please contact us directly.