Christmas is a jolly season but festive follies might cause emergency calls. Various situations during the holidays might make people call your medical office to seek redress. This season is filled with various activities including food preparation, decoration, and merry-making. It is important to have your doctors’ answering service prepared to handle emergency calls during the season. Some of these situations are highlighted below.

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Decorating the house

Everyone wants their home to look their best at Christmas. However, decking the halls with holly boughs might cause injuries in the process. Some of the dangers that might happen when decorating a house during Christmas include:

• Electric shocks when putting up the lights
• Falls when hanging a garland over the door
• Cuts from broken figurine or ornament

There is also a possibility of kids or pets swallowing tiny ornaments, tripping over decorations on the ground, or hurting themselves over stocking holders. In case such accidents happen, the first thing to do is to call a reliable medical office.

Hanging Christmas lights

Hanging lights inside and outside the home is a time-honored tradition. However, this task comes with various hazards including falling off the ladder or roof ending up with bruises, a concussion, or broken bones. There is also risk of throwing out the back when reaching high or blowing out a knee when climbing a ladder. Additionally, there is a risk of cuts on a broken bulb or electric shock when plugging in the lights. Medical offices should look forward to patients with injuries resulting from such situation and need to talk to a physician urgently.

Trimming the Christmas tree

There is no Christmas without a Christmas tree. This requires trimming with related dangers including when putting up decorations and hanging lights. Some of the likely injuries might result from circumstances including:

• Throwing out the back
• Cut from a burst ornament or broken bulb
• Falling off the ladder when draping the lights
• Electric shocks when plugging in the lights
• Pulling a muscle bring the Christmas tree into the interior

Have your medical answering service ready to make patients understand the severity of the condition. This should include appropriate advice regarding first aid and when to see a physician.

Cooking food

Expect calls from patients who just finished their Christmas dinner preparation. Some of the common food-related injuries during the season include knife lacerations. Cooks get distracted while chopping causing injuries or getting pressed while cutting vegetables. Other people get burns from splattered gravy or oil including brushing against the stove burner or hot pan unknowingly. There is also a chance of full-on cooking fires. All these forms of accidents likely to happen when cooking Christmas food warranty calling a trusted physician.

Eating food

Even after preparing Christmas food without burns or lacerations, there is a chance for injuries that might warranty calling your medical practice. Undercooked meat exposes everyone to salmonella or leaving dishes at room temperature for quite some time encourages growth of nasty bacteria. These might cause food poisoning leading to conditions including:

• Fever
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Abdominal cramps

Other people might experience mild gastrointestinal distress with symptoms including bloating, severe gas, abdominal pain, and constipation. Favorite Christmas dishes usually include too many spices, oils, sugars, fats, and other irritants. To a medical office, you can’t rule out the possibility of people calling in to inquire about the serious stomach upset after enjoying their sumptuous dinner.

Over drinking

Indulging in eating various food and alcohol are part of Christmas celebrations. There is a risk of taking too much. This explains the various alcohol-related incidents, especially on New Year’s Eve. Drunk driving is a big concern including other mishaps like slips, injuries, and falls resulting from sluggish reflexes. Many of the calls to expect at your practice during this season are likely going to be from injuries and other issues related to over drinking.

Gift wrapping and unwrapping

With Boxing Day dedicated to gift unwrapping, equally important is understanding the potential injuries that might result from gift wrapping and unwrapping. This might require using scissors, knives, or box cutters that might slip to catch skin on the jagged edge. Lacerations might also result from cutting paper when wrapping gifts. You are likely to receive a number of calls from people having such issues to mark the Christmas festivities.

Getting the flu

With December falling into the flu season expect calls from people looking for a quick fix. The flu virus circulated faster during Christmas. Stress during the season wears down on the immune system to increase the chances of catching the flu. Expect a number of calls throughout November to the end of December from people looking forward to enjoying Christmas without the irritating condition.

Wrapping up

Your answering service should always come in handy to handle calls to your medical practice during the festive season. Knowing what to expect is very important and the above are some of the possible causes for emergency calls to your office.