Winter and holiday safety: Simple ways to protect yourself

Nothing puts a dent in holiday plans like a trip to urgent care – especially if it means being laid up through the winter. 

Follow these useful reminders to help your family enjoy the chilly season and its many celebrations:

Winter safety

• Dress in layers.Layering is important for staying warm and comfortable. If you feel too warm, you can take the outer layer off. 
• Take breaks. If you’re outside for long periods, take breaks to warm up. Being out in the cold can reduce your awareness and senses.
• Prevent frostbite and hypothermia. Keep your fingers and toes covered and warm to keep away from frostbite in freezing conditions. If you notice signs of mild hypothermia such as shivering, numbness or slurred speech, take immediate action to get warm.
• Stay hydrated. Even in cold weather, it’s easy to get dehydrated. Make sure to drink plenty of water.
• Warm up before exercising. Before any physical activity, warm up your muscles to prevent injuries.
• Beware of invisible ice. Light frost can be very slick. Step with caution to avoid falls. Be mindful of falling while walking your pets in winter weather.
• Wear the right shoes. Footwear with good traction will help steady you on slippery surfaces. If you can, stay indoors when it’s icy. If you must go out, consider crampon-style slip-ons for improved traction.

Prep for winter travel: 

• Clear snow and ice from your windshields before you head out. 
• Check your tires to ensure gripping traction.
• Carry “just-in-case” supplies such as cat litter (for traction), shelf-stable food, water, a flashlight, spare batteries and blankets.

Holiday safety

Check your décor:

• If you put up a live Christmas tree, keep it watered. Secure it far from heat sources.
• Use stable surfaces: Decorate areas you can reach without climbing.
• Lighting safety: Wrap lights around railings or shrubs instead of rooflines.
• If you hang lights, replace strands with frayed wires. Be aware that some holiday plants are poisonous. Holly, mistletoe, amaryllis and poinsettias can be toxic to people and pets. 
• If you light candles, snuff them when you leave the room. Or try battery-powered candles instead.

Watch food safety habits:

• Keep raw food separate from cooked food. 
• Keep cold food cold and hot food hot.
• Wash hands frequently.

Think about guest safety:

• Lock medications away from curious eyes and hands.
• Remove trip hazards such as cords and throw rugs. Keep towels handy to mop up spills or melted snow puddles.

Practice fireplace safety:

• Have your chimney checked or cleaned before using it. 
• Set up a screen to keep sparks contained.
• Don’t burn wrapping paper. When burned, the chemicals in the paper stick to the inside of your chimney. That increases the danger of chimney fires.

Even when you’re cautious, accidents and illness still happen. If you or your loved ones need care unexpectedly, PeaceHealth offers urgent and emergency care.

How to stay healthy while traveling for the holiday season

The holiday season is always a busy time of year for the travel industry, and 2025 figures to be no exception. A November report from CNN indicated that the aviation analytics firm Cirium reported that passenger booking on major airlines for Thanksgiving were up by two percent from a year earlier, when holiday travel reached a record high.

Traveling is indeed a key component of the holiday season for millions of people, and long lines at airports, crowded train stations and trains, and even heavily trafficked roadways are among the challenges such individuals must navigate as they aim to spend time with loved ones between late November and the first week of January.

Finding ways to stay healthy while traveling is another challenge such individuals face. While that can be difficult, travelers can look to various strategies to stay healthy when taking to the rails, roads or friendly skies this holiday season.

• Take some creature comforts to ensure a good night’s rest. The Clayton Sleep Institute reports that as much as 80 percent of travelers report sleeping worse while traveling than they do at home. Jet lag, general weariness and unique sleeping environments can compromise travelers’ ability to get sufficient and quality rest while away from home.

When possible, taking some creature comforts along, such as the pillow you sleep on at home, can facilitate better rest on the road. That can promote a healthier holiday season, as the Mayo Clinic notes people who don’t get enough sleep are more likely to get sick after exposure to a virus, including the common cold.

• Do some homework on nutrition. Healthy food and the holiday season are not exactly synonymous, and it’s easy to overindulge in unhealthy fare like baked goods when visiting loved ones between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. It’s also more difficult to eat healthy when traveling, regardless of the time of year. Some pre-travel homework can help travelers find restaurants that offer healthy fare on the road to their destination and locate restaurants with nutritious foods once they arrive. Travelers also can pack healthy snacks to enjoy during their travels.
• Stay somewhere you can exercise. Many hotels now feature on-site fitness facilities and/or swimming pools so guests can exercise during their stay. Travelers can book stays in these facilities rather than staying in hotels with no such offerings or in loved ones’ apartments. Some hotels may include access to a local fitness facility with each booking in lieu of an on-site exercise room. Travelers who want to stay healthy while on the road can take advantage of these offerings during their stay.
• Take something along to calm the stress. Even the most seasoned travelers can succumb to travel-related stress, especially during the busy holiday travel season. Take along an engaging book, a tablet pre-loaded with films and television shows, a smartphone with a full array of podcasts to listen to, or additional items that might help you remain calm should a stressful situation arise during your travels. Stress can compromise the immune system, so having a distraction during travel delays can help people get through their holiday travels in a healthy way.

Staying healthy when traveling during the holiday season can come down to some simple planning.