Before you send your little ghouls and goblins out on Halloween night, be sure they’re prepared for a safe and fun evening.

The CDC offers a list of best Halloween safety practices, including:

• Fasten reflective tape to costumes and bags to help drivers see you.
• Hold a flashlight while trick-or-treating to help you see and others see you. WALK and don’t run from house to house.
• Never walk near lit candles or luminaries. Be sure to wear flame-resistant costumes.
• Wear well-fitting masks, costumes, and shoes to avoid blocked vision, trips, and falls.

Also, with all the bite-sized treats that fill our store shelves for the autumn and winter holidays, it’s a good time to re-educate ourselves about the causes and emergency care techniques for choking.

Choking can occur when a solid foreign object enters a narrowed part of the airway and becomes stuck. On inhalation, the object can be drawn tighter into the airway and block air from entering the lungs. A forceful thrust beneath the ribs and up into the diaphragm can compress the air in the chest and build enough pressure to “pop” the object out of the airway. Direct compression of the chest over the breastbone can also create enough pressure to expel an object.

For more Halloween safety topics, check out these posts from our HSI blog archives:

• Driving & visibility issues
• Costume safety and pumpkin-carving safety
• House decoration safety

Have a safe and fun Halloween!