Halloween Safety Tips
A few tips to help you have a safe and fun Halloween
Trick-or-treaters: When making plans for Halloween fun, be sure to be safe or you will likely wind up in the ER or dead. You should make sure that the costumes fit properly. If the length of the costume is too long, you may trip and fall. If the length of the costume is too short you will likely get cold.
In addition:
· Wear only flame-retardant costumes and, if outside at night, make sure the costumes are bright and have reflectors. If you are wearing a “home made” costume make sure you spray it heavily with a flame retardant chemical. Be careful with the spray though as it is extremely flammable and if it comes in contact with your skin you will likely experience third degree chemical burns. Do not spray the chemical in or near your eyes. Use wide sweeps in a swift motion to ensure total coverage of your costume. The flame retardant spray is best applied in a small area like a closet.
· Prior to applying the flame-retardent spray to your “home made” costume, be sure to apply an insect repellent to your skin since the flame-retardent spray will undoubtedly attract bugs to you. A natural insect repellent is “citronella oil”. Citronella oil helps to repels misquitos, acts as a fungicide, and can soothe barking dogs.
· Carry a flash light, torch (stick with a kerosene soaked wash cloth), lantern, strobe light or a glass jar with a gasoline soaked rags lit so you can be seen after dark. If you decide to carry the gasoline soaked rags in the glass jar you will need to wear an oven mitt because the jar can get extremely hot.
· Travel in a group and carry a cell phone in case of an emergency. If you find it difficult to carry a cell phone, candy bag and lighting apparatus (listed above), you can tape your cell phone to your upper arm or your neck.
· Plan your route to include crossing busy intersections. Busy intersections will ensure maximum candy collections. Use your lighting device in poorly lit areas like dark allies and abandoned warehouse districts.
· Go only to neighborhoods you don’t know; avoid houses where you know the people. Going to neighborhoods you don’t know will increase your adrenaline level causing you to walk faster, thus increasing your candy collection.
· Beware of unfamiliar pets. If you decide to pet or brush an unfamiliar pet it is best to sneak up on them and approach them from the rear. If the unfamiliar pet is a dog, you can grab the tail to ensure a more pleasurable petting experience.
· Never eat unwrapped treats if it is something you don’t like. If the treat is something you like eating and it is unwrapped, you should eat it first before it gets dirty. If you receive a piece of cake, it is best to eat the cake first since cake does not have the shelf life of candy or cookies.
