'We see a lot of knife injuries': An emergency medicine consultant on common Christmas accidents

CHRISTMAS IS WHEN we enjoy spending time with family and friends at home – but hospital emergency departments see certain injuries every year.

That’s according to John Cronin, an emergency consultant at St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin. 

Injuries often result from people falling while putting up decorations like Christmas trees and festive lights. 

“We always see people who injure themselves putting up decorations and then taking them down again,” Cronin said.

Some of these injuries can be from a significant height if people have climbed a ladder.

“It’s commonly wrist or upper limb injuries or head injuries, sometimes significant enough ones,” Cronin said.

Christmas dinner – and drinks

Preparing the Christmas dinner also leads to accidental injuries, according to Cronin.  

“People go all out with cooking, cutting this and cutting that. We see a lot of…knife injuries from people cutting themselves because they’re suddenly making a massive feast and chopping every fancy vegetable known to man.”

The festive season usually sees people socialising and drinking more than they usually do. This often leads to a spike in alcohol-related injuries.

“Maybe at a Christmas party or over the course of a whole day, they might just imbibe more than they usually would, and then you have falls, people slipping or bringing out bad behaviours, leading to fights,” he said. 

“This can happen particularly if it’s someone who doesn’t drink that much during the year, or in an older person, you’re more common to get a fall.”

Cronin said he has not worked a Christmas Day in a few years, but Christmas Eve and St Stephens’ Day are also “really busy”.

A significant percentage of those who present to St Vincent’s Hospital’s Emergency Department are older people, and Cronin said this is still the case over Christmas.

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Injuries in older people

“Somebody who might be used to alcohol maybe takes a little bit more, and then you get slips and falls. People are moving around a little bit more, maybe going visiting in ways they wouldn’t have before, there’s disruption to the normal routine,” he said. 

“The classic one on Christmas Day is not just when older people have drunk too much, but eaten too much. You get this postprandial syncope, a sort of collapse after dinner which can get all the relatives worried.”

Postprandial syncope – or hypertension - is a drop in blood pressure after eating a large meal that can cause dizziness, nausea, chest pains, fatigue and fainting.

Battery risk for children

On the other end of the spectrum, there can also be a spike in children presenting to Emergency Departments during this period. While St Vincents’ is an adult only ED, Cronin said batteries and small toys can be an issue for children. 

“Particularly small children, they can ingest a battery or a small toy part,” he said, adding that eye injuries can also occur if a part of a toy snaps up and hits them. 

A spokesperson for the HSE urged people to keep button batteries out of reach of children “as they are harmful if swallowed and are a choking risk”.

They can be found in musical cards, books, novelty decorations like singing Santas or light-up ornaments, flameless candles and other small electronics.

Toys can also be a hazard for adults. Cronin shared how one man was putting together his child’s trike on Christmas Eve.

“He finally got it together and then stood up after doing it and didn’t clear it. He went flying and whatever way he landed, the trike hit him under his chin and he got a nasty laceration under his chin.”

E-scooter warning

For older children and teenagers, there is a particular concern around E-scooters this year. Both the Road Safety Authority (RSA) and Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) have urged parents not to buy them for their children this Christmas.

More than 25% of paediatric neurosurgical admissions to CHI at Temple Street in the last year have been e-scooter-related brain injuries.

“It would be a concern that people start flying out around on their e-scooter on Christmas Day, and we expect maybe that we might see a few of those this year. I’d certainly be wary,” Cronin said.

The doctor urged people to “look out for each other” over the festive season. 

“We don’t want to be telling people not to have fun or enjoy themselves. People live stressful lives, and suddenly Christmas comes and they want to have a bit of a blowout,” he said.

“It’s just about being a little bit mindful, particularly when there’s alcohol involved and doing unusual things, whether it’s overdoing it at a party, putting up decorations, being up ladders, just look out for each other.”

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