Survey: 1 in 4 vacations will include trip to ER

If you’re going to visit family this holiday season, new research gives us all new reasons to pack a little prudence.

A nationwide survey from Orlando Health finds 1 in 4 vacations will include a trip to the emergency room.

The survey included responses collected from more than 2,000 people nationwide.

“I’m really not surprised,” Dr. Mike Murphy said, speaking about the survey. “I think we see an increase in the weekends of holidays and certainly around the holidays themselves.”

Dr. Murphy is an emergency physician at Peninsula Regional Medical Center (‘PRMC’) in Salisbury.

According to Dr. Murphy, the emergency room at PRMC generally sees a bigger uptick of patients in the summertime; however, similar to the survey results, he says PRMC does see its fair share of injuries around the holidays.

“If someone is going to come out on Thanksgiving, it’s probably related to the family football game or maybe they’ve cut themselves while cutting the turkey and the other thing, we’ll see a lot of motor vehicle accidents,” he explains.

If you are traveling, Dr. Murphy says it’s essential to remember packing medications that are needed everyday but easy to accidentally leave behind. Examples include ones for blood pressure or blood thinners.

He also says while it’s fine to be adventurous and indulge, it’s important to know your limitations.

“People I think, when they get around family…they’ll be more likely to take risks so do things that they’re not used to doing,” he explains. “If you haven’t exercised in sometime, maybe running around and playing football with the family isn’t the best idea.”

A key takeaway from researchers is to speak up when you’re not feeling well, even if you’re worried about ruining other people’s fun.

It also doesn’t hurt to bring your medical information with you, especially if you have a chronic condition.

According to the survey, Americans ages 65 and up are more likely than those under 65 to have had to visit or had someone in their family who has had to visit an emergency room for treatment of an injury or illness while on vacation away from home.