Travel Safety Tips

Getting ready to head out of town for the Thanksgiving holiday?  Be sure to follow these safety tips for travelling.

BEFORE YOU GO

• Research basic information about your destination
• Leave a copy of your itinerary with a trusted family member or friend
• If you are driving, make sure your vehicle is in good working order
• Get copies of maps of your destination to locate routes, attractions, and essential services
• Consider joining AAA or another travel club for roadside assistance or other travel assistance

INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL TIPS

• Did you know that you need a current, valid passport if you are traveling anywhere outside of the U.S., including Canada and Mexico? If you don't have a current, valid passport, visit the U.S. State Department's Web site to apply for or renew your passport.
• In addition to a passport, you may also need a visa to visit some countries. Check with either the U.S. State Department's Web site or your host country or countries' tourism or foreign affairs Web sites.
• Plan to drive in another country? Check to see if your driver's license is valid abroad. You may also need an International Driving Permit or a translation of your U.S. driver's license. Visit AAA's IDP web site to apply.
• Find the local U.S. consulate or embassy's address and phone number.
• Research basic information about the country or countries you plan to visit to help you become familiar with local laws and customs. Your library or travel agent are valuable resources here. Also, check with the U.S. State Department to see if there are any warnings or advisories for special considerations for the country or countries you plan to visit.
• Become familiar with some basic words and phrases in the language of the country or countries you plan to visit.
• Register with the U.S. State Department to make it easier for the U.S. government to help you in an emergency abroad.
• Make photocopies of your passport, airline tickets, visa, Carry one set of copies in a safe place and leave another set of copies at home with a trusted family member or friend.
• Your health and accident insurance may not be valid outside of the U.S. Check with your insurance provider to see if you need additional travel health/accident insurance.
• Some countries have restrictions on things you can bring with you or take home with you.
• There may be restrictions on bringing certain things back to the U.S. with you. Check with U.S. Customs and Border Protection for more details.

GETTING PACKED

• Travel light.
• If you need any prescription medication, bring enough to last you the duration of your trip. Also, if you wear glasses, bring an extra pair.
• Keep medicines in their original containers. You may also need a letter from your doctor explaining why you need certain medicines.
• Don't pack or bring any prohibited items, such as weapons, sharp objects, or dangerous substances.
• Don't bring a lot of cash or credit cards. Instead, bring travelers' checks, one or two credit cards, and only a small amount of cash.
• Don't pack or bring valuables, such as a jot of jewelry.
• Make sure your baggage is labeled with your name and phone number, but use a luggage tag. You may also consider using your work address and phone number on your luggage tags.
• Remember the rules for what you can carry on and what needs to be checked when flying. Visit the Transportation Security Administration web site to learn more about these rules.

AT THE AIRPORT AND IN THE AIR

• Don't leave your baggage unattended
• Don't let anyone other than airport staff members handle your luggage
• Don't accept any packages from strangers
• Report any suspicious activities
• Follow all safety and security rules and instructions

ON THE ROAD

• Wear your seat belt
• Don't drink and drive, and don't ride with anyone who has been drinking
• Make sure that your children are in approved child safety seats
• Don't drive if you feel drowsy
• Don't use cell phones or other electronic devices while driving
• Don't hitch hike, and don't pick up hitch hikers
• Be aware of road conditions and your surroundings
• Park in well-lit and well-traveled areas
• Keep your car's doors locked
• Don't place your baggage or other valuables in a place where criminals can easily see them
• If you are having car trouble, only accept help from police or other authorized personnel

IN YOUR HOTEL

• Find the nearest fire exits, fire alarm, fire extinguisher/hose to your room
• Keep your hotel room door locked at all times
• Ask visitors to meet you in the lobby or other public spaces in your hotel
• Use the hotel safe to store valuables
• Don't get into an elevator alone with suspicious strangers
• Ask hotel staff about safety and security policies if you are unsure

OUT AND ABOUT

• Pay attention to your surroundings
• Don't take more cash, travelers' checks, or credit cards than you need
• Don't accept rides from strangers
• Avoid large crowds, demonstrations, or public confrontations
• Keep a low profile
• Don't have too much alcohol to drink
• Stay in well-lit and well-traveled places
• Don't "flash" your cash or other valuables
• Don't discuss travel plans with strangers
• Find the location of the nearest police station, hospital, and other safe places .
• Report any suspicious activities to the police
• If you are robbed, don't resist

Fall Health and Safety Tips for your Family

Fall into good habits this autumn! Follow these tips to help you and your family stay safe and healthy.

Keep your kids safe and healthy.

Get involved with your kids’ activities at home and at school to help ensure they are safe and healthy.

• Autumn Games and Health Tips for Kids and Parents
• Autumn Tips to Help Keep Your Kids Safe and Healthy
• Safe and Healthy Kids and Teens
• Adolescent and School Health
• Learn to Prevent and Recognize Concussions
• Parent Portal
• Child Passenger Safety
• Ways to Engage in Your Child's School to Support Student Health and Learning 

Take steps to prevent the flu.

The single best way to protect against the flu is to get vaccinated each year in the fall. Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Wash your hands often. Stay home if you get sick.

• Flu Season Is Around the Corner
• Seasonal Flu Vaccination
• Take 3 Actions to Fight the Flu

Get smart about antibiotics.

Antibiotics can cure bacterial infections, but not viral infections. The common cold and the flu are viral infections, so avoid using antibiotics if you have one of these. Using antibiotics when they are not needed causes some bacteria to become resistant to the antibiotic, and therefore stronger and harder to kill. See your doctor or nurse to find out if your illness is bacterial or viral.

• Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work

Test and replace batteries.

Check or replace carbon monoxide batteries twice a year: when you change the time on your clocks each spring and fall. Replace smoke alarm alkaline batteries at least once a year. Test alarms every month to ensure they work properly.

• Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention
• Fire Deaths and Injuries: Fact Sheet

Keep food safe.

Food is center stage during the holidays. Be sure to keep it safe by following basic food safety steps. Clean hands and surfaces often. Separate foods to avoid cross-contamination. Cook to proper temperatures. Chill promptly.

• Recipes for Disaster: Keep Safe from Food Poisoning
• Fruits and Veggies
• Fruit and Veggie Recipes
• It’s Turkey Time: Safely Prepare Your Holiday Meal

Learn your family history.

National Family History Day is observed on Thanksgiving Day. Over the holiday or at another family gathering, talk about and write down the health conditions that run in your family. Learning about your family's health history can help you take steps to ensure a longer, healthier future together.

• Family Health History
• My Family Health Portrait (US Surgeon General)

Be prepared for cold weather.

Exposure to cold temperatures can cause serious health problems. Infants and the elderly are particularly at risk, but anyone can be affected. Know how to prevent health problems and what to do if a cold-weather emergency arises. Remember that using space heaters and fireplaces can increase the risk of household fires and carbon monoxide poisoning.

• About Winter Weather
• Stay Safe and Healthy in Winter Weather

Don’t drink and drive.

Alcohol use impairs skills needed to drive a car safely. It slows reaction time and impairs judgment and coordination. Alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes kill someone every 48 minutes. Don’t drink and drive, and don’t let others drink and drive.

• Alcohol: Frequently Asked Questions
• Motor Vehicle Safety
• Impaired Driving: Get the Facts

Wash your hands.

Keeping hands clean is one of the most important steps you can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. It’s best to wash your hands with soap and clean running water for 20 seconds. If that’s not possible, use alcohol-based hand rubs.

• Clean Hands Save Lives
• Wash Your Hands

November is National Diabetes Month

More than 29 million Americans have diabetes, and about 86 million more are on the verge of the disease. People with diabetes are nearly two times more likely than people without diabetes to die from heart disease, and are also at greater risk for kidney, eye and nerve diseases, among other painful and costly complications.

This year, in observance of National Diabetes Month, including World Diabetes Day on Nov. 14, The National Institutes of Health asks people to take to heart the lessons learned from our research. Type 2 diabetes can be delayed or prevented, and both types 1 and 2 diabetes can be managed to prevent complications.

In type 1 diabetes, the body does not make insulin. In type 2 diabetes — the most common type, which has increased along with the obesity epidemic — the body does not make or use insulin well. A third type, gestational diabetes, occurs in some women during pregnancy. Though it usually goes away after the birth, these women and their children have a greater chance of getting type 2 diabetes later in life.

As the number of people living with type 2 diabetes grows — and the disease has begun to affect young people — identifying safe and effective treatments is key to improving the health of people with diabetes and its complications and those at high risk for the disease.

Research has shown that losing a modest amount of weight — about 15 pounds — through diet and exercise can actually cut your risk of getting type 2 diabetes by as much as 58 percent in people at high risk.

For the approximately 1.5 million children and adults with type 1 diabetes, studies have already found that tight control of blood sugar can prevent diabetes complications. Now researchers are at work to identify genetic and environmental causes of the disease, to create and sustain islet cells to produce insulin, and to advance technology to make the daily lives of people with type 1 diabetes safer, healthier and easier.

There are steps we can take now to protect our health and the health of the people we love. Choose healthy foods to share. Take a brisk walk together every day. Talk with your family about your health and your family’s risk of diabetes and heart disease. If you smoke, seek help to quit. The National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP) can help you make positive, lasting changes to improve your health.

This National Diabetes Month, make changes to reduce your risk for diabetes and its complications — for yourself, your families and for future generations.

Halloween Safety Tips

Halloween is an exciting time of year for kids, and to help ensure they have a safe holiday, here are some tips from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Feel free to excerpt these tips or use them in their entirety for any print or broadcast story, with acknowledgment of source.

ALL DRESSED UP:

• Plan costumes that are bright and reflective. Make sure that shoes fit well and that costumes are short enough to prevent tripping, entanglement or contact with flame.
• Consider adding reflective tape or striping to costumes and trick-or-treat bags for greater visibility.
• Because masks can limit or block eyesight, consider non-toxic makeup and decorative hats as safer alternatives. Hats should fit properly to prevent them from sliding over eyes.
• When shopping for costumes, wigs and accessories look for and purchase those with a label clearly indicating they are flame resistant.
• If a sword, cane, or stick is a part of your child's costume, make sure it is not sharp or too long. A child may be easily hurt by these accessories if he stumbles or trips.
• Obtain flashlights with fresh batteries for all children and their escorts.
• Do not use decorative contact lenses without an eye examination and a prescription from an eye care professional. While the packaging on decorative lenses will often make claims such as “one size fits all,” or “no need to see an eye specialist,” obtaining decorative contact lenses without a prescription is both dangerous and illegal. This can cause pain, inflammation, and serious eye disorders and infections, which may lead to permanent vision loss.
• Teach children how to call 9-1-1 (or their local emergency number) if they have an emergency or become lost. 

CARVING A NICHE:

• Small children should never carve pumpkins. Children can draw a face with markers. Then parents can do the cutting.

• Consider using a flashlight or glow stick instead of a candle to light your pumpkin. If you do use a candle, a votive candle is safest.
• Candlelit pumpkins should be placed on a sturdy table, away from curtains and other flammable objects, and should never be left unattended. 

HOME SAFE HOME:

• To keep homes safe for visiting trick-or-treaters, parents should remove from the porch and front yard anything a child could trip over such as garden hoses, toys, bikes and lawn decorations.
• Parents should check outdoor lights and replace burned-out bulbs.
• Wet leaves or snow should be swept from sidewalks and steps.
• Restrain pets so they do not inadvertently jump on or bite a trick-or-treater. 

ON THE TRICK-OR-TREAT TRAIL:

• A parent or responsible adult should always accompany young children on their neighborhood rounds.

• If your older children are going alone, plan and review the route that is acceptable to you. Agree on a specific time when they should return home.

• Only go to homes with a porch light on and never enter a home or car for a treat.

• Because pedestrian injuries are the most common injuries to children on Halloween, remind Trick-or-Treaters.
• Stay in a group and communicate where they will be going.

•  Remember reflective tape for costumes and trick-or-treat bags.

• Carry a cellphone for quick communication.

• Remain on well-lit streets and always use the sidewalk.

• If no sidewalk is available, walk at the far edge of the roadway facing traffic.

• Never cut across yards or use alleys.

• Only cross the street as a group in established crosswalks (as recognized by local custom). Never cross between parked cars or out driveways.

• Don’t assume the right of way. Motorists may have trouble seeing Trick-or-Treaters. Just because one car stops, doesn't mean others will!

• Law enforcement authorities should be notified immediately of any suspicious or unlawful activity.

 HEALTHY HALLOWEEN:

• A good meal prior to parties and trick-or-treating will discourage youngsters from filling up on Halloween treats.
• Consider purchasing non-food treats for those who visit your home, such as coloring books or pens and pencils.
• Wait until children are home to sort and check treats. Though tampering is rare, a responsible adult should closely examine all treats and throw away any spoiled, unwrapped or suspicious items.
• Try to ration treats for the days following Halloween.

Yard Work Safety Tips for Fall

Yard Chore Safety Tips

The following safety precautions and tips will help keep you safe and injury free while you are working in your yard.

• Take 5 to 10 minutes to warm up your muscles by doing light exercises orstretching before starting your yard work.
• Dress properly for working outside in the yard by wearing long pants, a long sleeved shirt and sturdy comfortable shoes.
• Keep children and pets away from the area when you are doing yard work.
• Have the right tools for the job you are doing.
• Rakes should be comfortable and the right size for your height and strength.
• Wear gloves while you are doing any type of yard work to help prevent your hands from blistering.
• Yard work such as raking involves repetitive motions. Changing your position often helps to prevent muscle pains and cramps from occurring.
• Always watch for low branches, large rocks and tree stumps.
• Be aware of uneven ground surfaces and slopes.
• When you pick up leaves, do not bend over from the waist. Bend from the knees.
• Do not overfill leaf bags.
• Do not carry full bags of leaves over your shoulder.
• When you are weeding, a half kneeling position is safer than bending forward.
• Wet leaves are very slippery. Make sure to wear boots or shoes with soles that are slip resistant
• When you are using a ladder make certain it is firmly on the ground. Never climb to the top of a ladder.
• When you are pruning hedges, hold the pruning shears close to your body.

Power Equipment Safety Tips

• Be careful when pouring the gas into the lawn mower and power equipment.
• Always make sure all of your power yard work equipment such as lawn mowers, edgers and trimmers are in good working order. Make sure to review and follow the recommended instructions for lawn mowers and power lawn and garden equipment.
• Wear protective goggles when you are mowing the lawn or working with other power outdoor equipment.
• Wear hearing protection when operating loud equipment.
• Never use your feet or hands to clear anything from underneath a lawnmower.
• If you must leave the lawn mower for any reason, turn it off. Never leave a lawn mower running unattended.
• Do not mow the lawn in sandals or with bare feet.
• Never drink any alcoholic beverages when you are mowing the lawn or working with any other power yard equipment.
• Never run a lawn mower or gas powered lawn or garden equipment indoors.

Eye Injury Prevention at Home

October is eye injury prevention Month and the American Academy of Ophthalmology reminds the public that nearly half of all eye injuries occur in the home.

Nearly 2.5 million people suffer eye injuries each year in the United States, and nearly one million people have lost some degree of vision as a result. Most could have been prevented with protective eyewear. These are some of the most common places that eye injuries happen and prevention tips for both indoor and outdoor activities:

• In the house – When using household chemicals, read the instructions and labels carefully, work in a well-ventilated area and make sure to point spray nozzles away from you. Many chemicals are extremely hazardous and can permanently destroy the surface of your eyes, resulting in blindness. For this reason, it is very important to use appropriate eye protection to prevent blinding consequences from chemical splashes. 

• In the workshop – Think about the work you will be doing and wear protective eyewear to shield your eyes from flying fragments, fumes, dust particles, sparks and splashing chemicals. Many objects can fly into your eyes unexpectedly and cause injury. 

• In the garden – Put on protective eyewear before you use a lawnmower, power trimmer or edger and be sure to check for rocks and stones because they can become dangerous projectiles as they shoot from these machines. 

• In the garage – Battery acid sparks and debris from damaged or improperly jump-started auto batteries can severely damage your eyes. Learn the proper way to jump-start an automobile, and keep protective goggles in the trunk of your car to use for those emergencies and everyday repairs. 

In an effort to combat household eye injuries, the Academy recommends that every household have at least one pair of ANSI-approved protective eyewear to be worn when doing projects and activities at home to safeguard against eye injuries.

ANSI-approved protective eyewear is manufactured to meet the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) eye protection standard. ANSI-approved protective eye wear can be easily purchased from most hardware stores nationwide and can be identified by the mark "Z87" placed on the eye wear. ANSI-approved protective eyewear is not approved for use in sports. To locate appropriate eyewear for specific sports or to learn more about eye injuries visit www.GetEyeSmart.org.

October is Eye Injury Prevention Month

Each day about 2000 U.S. workers have a job-related eye injury that requires medical treatment. About one third of the injuries are treated in hospital emergency departments and more than 100 of these injuries result in one or more days of lost work. The majority of these injuries result from small particles or objects striking or abrading the eye. Examples include metal slivers, wood chips, dust, and cement chips that are ejected by tools, wind blown, or fall from above a worker. Some of these objects, such as nails, staples, or slivers of wood or metal penetrate the eyeball and result in a permanent loss of vision. Large objects may also strike the eye/face, or a worker may run into an object causing blunt force trauma to the eyeball or eye socket. Chemical burns to one or both eyes from splashes of industrial chemicals or cleaning products are common. Thermal burns to the eye occur as well. Among welders, their assistants, and nearby workers, UV radiation burns (welder’s flash) routinely damage workers’ eyes and surrounding tissue.

In addition to common eye injuries, health care workers, laboratory staff, janitorial workers, animal handlers, and other workers may be at risk of acquiring infectious diseases via ocular exposure. Infectious diseases can be transmitted through the mucous membranes of the eye as a result of direct exposure (e.g., blood splashes, respiratory droplets generated during coughing or suctioning) or from touching the eyes with contaminated fingers or other objects. The infections may result in relatively minor conjunctivitis or reddening/soreness of the eye or in a life threatening disease such as HIV, B virus, or possibly even avian influenza.

Engineering controls should be used to reduce eye injuries and to protect against ocular infection exposures. Personal protective eyewear, such as goggles, face shields, safety glasses, or full face respirators must also be used when an eye hazard exists. The eye protection chosen for specific work situations depends upon the nature and extent of the hazard, the circumstances of exposure, other protective equipment used, and personal vision needs. Eye protection should be fit to an individual or adjustable to provide appropriate coverage. It should be comfortable and allow for sufficient peripheral vision. Selection of protective eyewear appropriate for a given task should be made based on a hazard assessment of each activity, including regulatory requirements when applicable.

NIOSH Eye Safety Resources

Eye Safety Checklist
A five point checklist of good eye safety practices with printable flyer.

Eye Safety - Emergency Response & Disaster Recovery
Provides an overview of eye hazards and injuries, plus information on types of eye protection, safety for prescription lens wearers, and first aid.

Eye Protection for Infection Control 
Provides background information and specific details on eye protection used to supplement eye protection recommendations provided in current CDC infection control guidance documents. It is intended to familiarize workers with the various types of eye protection available, their characteristics, and their applicable use.

Eye Safety Tool Box Talk 
Provides an example tool box talk on eye protection for construction workers.

Contact Lens Use in a Chemical Environment
NIOSH Publication 2005-139 (June 2005)
Provides safety guidelines for contact lens wearers working in chemical environments.