Halloween Safety

With witches, goblins, and super-heroes descending on neighborhoods across America, here are some safety tips to help prepare children and parents for a safe and enjoyable trick-or-treat holiday.

Costume Designs: Purchase or make costumes that are light and bright enough to be clearly visible to motorists.

• For greater visibility during dusk and darkness, decorate or trim costumes with reflective tape that will glow in the beam of a car's headlights. Bags or sacks should also be light colored or decorated with reflective tape. Reflective tape is usually available in hardware, bicycle, and sporting goods stores.
• To easily see and be seen, children should also carry flashlights.
• Costumes should be short enough to prevent children from tripping and falling.
• Children should wear well-fitting, sturdy shoes. Mother's high heels are not a good idea for safe walking.
• Apply a natural mask of cosmetics rather than have a child wear a loose-fitting mask that might restrict breathing or obscure vision. If a mask is used, however, make sure it fits securely and has eyeholes large enough to allow full vision.

Since October is also Eye Injury Prevention Month, here are some additional vision-related costume preparation tips to keep in mind:

• Always wear hypoallergenic or non-toxic make-up. Only adults should apply the make-up to children and remove it with cold cream or eye make-up remover instead of soap.
• False eyelashes should only be applied and removed according to the manufacturers instructions on the products package.
• Avoid props or accessories that have sharp edges or pointed ends such as pitchforks, spears, knives, swords or wands. Use accessories made from soft, flexible material.
• Only use decorative contact lenses if they are prescribed by an eye care professional after a proper lens fitting.

Flame Resistant Costumes: When purchasing a costume, masks, beards, and wigs, look for the label “Flame Resistant.” Although this label does not mean these items won't catch fire, it does indicate that the items will resist burning and should extinguish quickly once removed from the ignition source. To minimize the risk of contact with candles or other sources of ignition, avoid costumes made with flimsy materials and outfits with big, baggy sleeves or billowing skirts.

Pedestrian Safety: Young children should always be accompanied by an adult or an older, responsible child. All children should WALK, not run from house to house and use the sidewalk if available, rather than walk in the street. Children should be cautioned against running out from between parked cars, or across lawns and yards where ornaments, furniture, or clotheslines present dangers.

Choosing Safe Houses: Children should go only to homes where the residents are known and have outside lights on as a sign of welcome.

• Children should not enter homes or apartments unless they are accompanied by an adult.
• People expecting trick-or-treaters should remove anything that could be an obstacle from lawns, steps and porches. Candlelit jack-o'-lanterns should be kept away from landings and doorsteps where costumes could brush against the flame. Indoor jack-o'-lanterns should be kept away from curtains, decorations, and other furnishings that could be ignited.

Treats: Warn children not to eat any treats before an adult has carefully examined them for evidence of tampering.

Halloween should be filled with surprise and enjoyment, and following some common sense practices can keep events safer and more fun.

This article is reprinted in part from the American Red Cross (www.redcross.org), the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (www.cpsc.gov) and Prevent Blindness America (www.preventblindness.org) as part of an ongoing series of health and safety articles aiming to raise awareness among Temple University employees, faculty and students about a range of health and safety issues. This is an initiative developed by Temple’s Health and Safety Committee, comprising members from across the University community. If you have health and safety questions, suggestions or concerns, please e-mail the Health and Safety Committee at healthandsafety@temple.edu.