Unfortunately, Covid-19 is rising in numbers all across the United States and has made the holiday season, and particularly Thanksgiving, a dangerous time.
However, when thinking about how to survive Thanksgiving, there is more than just the coronavirus to consider. Thanksgiving is arguably one of the most dangerous holidays of the year even without the pandemic. It’s a time for feeling thankful, lots of food and family, but it also comes with a lot of safety hazards.
These are the things that you should be aware of when learning how to survive Thanksgiving:
1. Thanksgiving is the biggest cause of house fires
There are more in-home fires during the holiday season than any other time of year, and Thanksgiving is the single worst day for them according to the Nation Fire Protection Association. This can happen because of unattended cooking and also from people deep frying their turkey.
To help avoid a house fire, always make sure that your smoke detectors are up-to-date and that you never leave a stove unattended. If there is an open flame involved, keep all towels, potholders or anything flammable away from it. Most importantly, if a fire does happen, turn off the heat source, smother it, and avoid dumping water on top of it. Dumping water on a grease fire is one of the worst things you can do because it can make the fire worse and accidentally spread the fire to other areas as well.
2. Car accidents increase big time
A lot of people travel to see their family for Thanksgiving, so it makes sense that there would be a lot of cars on the road. This can also lead to a high number of road fatalities. In 2017, 528 people were killed over the Thanksgiving weekend in a motor vehicle accident, and it is estimated that around half were not wearing seatbelts. If you are traveling to see family, always buckle up, travel at a safe speed and drive sober.
3. Food Poisoning
When it’s a holiday that is focused on food, it's not surprising that food poisoning can also be a major concern when learning how to survive Thanksgiving. The biggest culprit when it comes to food poisoning during Thanksgiving is the turkey and stuffing. Turkey is poultry which means that it has to reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. to kill any bacteria and be considered safe for consumption.
Since a lot of people like to make their stuffing inside of their turkey, this then means that the stuffing has to reach the 165 degree Fahrenheit temperature also. Many people just focus on the turkey getting cooked all the way and forget about the stuffing which leads to food poisoning. The best way to avoid this is to cook your stuffing outside of the turkey.
4. Heart attacks
Having an extremely heavy meal filled with turkey, mashed potatoes and pie can actually quadruple an individual's risk of having a heart attack. Eating a heavy meal triggers a heart attack in the same way that heavy exertion can. It does not help that a lot of the food traditionally served at Thanksgiving is filled with salt, fat and sugar. People with heart medication may also forget to bring their medication with them while traveling and visiting family for the holiday season.
The best advice is to make sure that you do not overdo it and always remember your medication if you are on some.
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