How to Keep Halloween Free of Boo-Boos

As Halloween approaches, hospital emergency rooms brace for the inevitable. The cut from the razor in the apple? No, the injuries from people carving that great pumpkin and sprains and strains from kids trick-or-treating in the dark.

Tales of razor blades in treats and sweets laced with poison permeate neighborhoods every Halloween, but rarely are such stories substantiated, officials said.

In fact, although three county hospitals offered free X-ray checks of candy last year, only a dozen or so families showed up. And in the 10 years they have offered the service, none of the hospitals have found a blade, pin, nail or other object among the treats.

That’s not to say parents shouldn’t carefully inspect their children’s goods on Halloween, which is Thursday. But neither should they rely on X-rays or metal detectors.

Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center this year decided not to offer such screenings because it is not a “foolproof method” to detect dangerous treats, said hospital spokeswoman Kathleen O’Brien. Instead, parents should check candy wrappers for other signs of tampering, such as torn paper or small holes in the covering, she said.

Columbia Huntington Beach Hospital and Medical Center and Garden Grove Hospital and Medical Center will offer X-ray screenings, though officials recommend parents themselves also check for signs of mishandled treats.

The National Confectioners Assn., a Virginia-based trade group that monitors candy tampering nationwide, has no record of evil objects showing up in goody bags in recent history. Spokeswoman Sheila Heath couldn’t recall the last case.

“Worries with tampering have been blown out of proportion,” said Heath, who attributes at least some of the paranoia to the 1982 Tylenol case in which seven people were killed by cyanide that had been planted in the capsules. “There are certainly things you can do to be safe, but you can go overboard too. Halloween is supposed to be fun.”

The best advice: Use common sense, something some adults let die on the scariest night of the year.

“Whatever they know about safety can disappear when the sun goes down on Halloween,” said Judy Iannoccone, spokeswoman for the Orange County Red Cross. “We have to be very cautious all of the time.”

One overlooked safety issue is the handling of knives when carving the jack-o’-lantern.

The Fountain Valley hospital, one of many in the county that saw dozens of mostly minor carving injuries, put out a public advisory Friday warning residents not to “drink and carve. . . . Appoint a designated carver.”

“The seeds and insides of a pumpkin can make things slimy and slippery. Add a sharp knife to the picture and it can quickly lead to cuts and punctures, sometimes with severe consequences,” according to the advisory, which recommends keeping hands dry and forbidding children from doing the cutting.

For the most part, Halloween in Orange County has been fairly uneventful in recent years, police said.

“You get your usual water balloon throwers, house eggings and vandalism,” Newport Beach Police Sgt. John Desmond said. “But those are usually older kids who cause problems anyway, Halloween or not.”

But parents still need to take precautions. When it comes to trick-or-treating after dark, police urge parents to make sure they or their children carry a flashlight.

“More light, that’s so important,” said Lt. Tom O’Donnell of the Anaheim Police Department. “It’s an inexpensive way to have a little extra insurance for the kids. They’re out there in the dark, walking on unfamiliar properties, and they need to see and be seen.”

Children should only walk established routes and never enter strangers’ homes or venture into unfamiliar neighborhoods.

“The kids should know where they’re going and be alert,” Irvine Police Lt. Tom Hume said. “They shouldn’t be running or darting out into the street.”

Several malls offer trick-or-treating on their grounds, an alternative that “takes the risk of being out on the streets away,” Hume said.

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Having a Happy Halloween

Here are a few things you might want to keep in mind when Halloween arrives Thursday:

On the Route

* Make sure children know to never enter a stranger’s home.

* Have an adult go along with younger children.

* Make sure unaccompained children have change in case they need to phone you before they get home or in case of an emergency.

* Have trick- or- treaters carry a flashlight so they are more easily seen and can see where they are walking.

* Discuss a route children will take and set a time limit for how long it should take.

About Those Treats

* Inspect all treats before they are consumed.

* If children are very young, get rid of anything that might cause choking: gum, peanuts, hard candy, etc.

* Thow away any unwrapped treats, homemade items or any with ripped wrapper.

* Give children a good meal before they leave so they will be less tempted to eat treats before they get home.

Sources: Child Quest International, the Penny Whistle Halloween Book, Zia’s Hallowed Home Page, Times reports

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Additional Halloween Concerns

Pumpkin Patch

* Do not allow children to carve; let them draw the face and you do the carving for them.

* If you want to use a real candle in the pumpkin, use a votive candle. Put in on a sturdy base or table and keep it away from curtains and other flammable materials.

* Do not leave a candle burning unattended in a pumpkin.

Costume Ball

* Buy costumes that are labeled “fire resistant” but keep in mind even these might still catch fire.

* Lower fire risk by avoiding baggy outfits or those with billowing clothes.

* Increase visibility with light- colored clothing; if a dark costume must be used, try decorating it with reflective tape.

* Make sure costumes are short enough so children do not trip.

* Use face paint instead of masks, which can obsure vision; if a mask is a must, make sure it fits snugly and the eyeholes allow full vision.

* Wear costum accessories such as swords, knives and other pointed items that are made of soft, flexible material.

* Have children wear their own shoes for both comfort and to avoid falling.

Around the House

* Remove anything trick- or- treaters might fall over; hoses, toys, lawn ornaments, etc.

* Make sure your outdoor lights work and turn them on just before dark.

* Keep pets inside, particularly black cats.

* Have your treats ready so you won’t need to spend time finding them when the doorbell rings. Sources: Child Quest International, the Penny Whistle Halloween Book, Consumer Product Safety Commission, Zia’s Hallowed Home Page, Times reports.