Pumpkin carving is most dangerous Halloween activity, experts say
Every year at Halloween, parents and children are reminded not to wear masks that could obstruct their vision, to be careful when crossing streets, to carry a flashlight and to wear reflective tape on their costumes while trick-or-treating.
But the most common Halloween injury has nothing to do with any of that.
It has to do with pumpkins, knives and children and teens.
Pumpkin carving accounts for 44% of Halloween-related injuries, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
In a distant second place: Falling while putting up or taking down decorations, tripping on costumes or walking while trick-ortreating.
The falls accounted for 25% of Halloween injuries.
The carving mishaps are the result, in some cases, of “people just really not paying attention,” said Ryan Desgrange, a physician assistant specializing in orthopedics at Henry Ford Health.
Children and young adults ages 10-18 are the
most common patients with carving injuries, he said.
“The most common injuries from pumpkin carving are likely hand puncture wounds and cuts, although, if it’s a really serious injury, it could involve a severed tendon or fractured bone,” he said.
In some cases, pumpkin carvers have been known to lose a fingertip, Desgrange said.
He offers the following safety tips:
• Don’t put your hand inside the pumpkin to steady it.
• Cut away from yourself.
• Carve in a clean, uncluttered, well-lit space.
• Pumpkin carving kits are preferable, as they contain knives that tend to be dull.
• Bring your pumpkin inside at least a day before you carve it. Cold pumpkins are tougher to cut.
• If you have small children, let them draw an image on the pumpkin and have an adult do the carving. The children can then help scoop the insides out.
• If you cut yourself, apply pressure with a sterile dressing. Go to a hospital emergency department or urgent care center if you have numbness or tingling or can’t stop the bleeding.