Winter brings snow, cold and ice that can create hazardous conditions leading to serious injury. In this Mayo Clinic Minute, Dr. Sue Cullinan, a Mayo Clinic emergency medicine physician, discusses some of the most common winter-related injuries that she sees and offers tips on how to keep you and your family safe.
“Shoveling is a big one. We see a lot of patients here in the ER,” says Dr. Cullinan.
To avoid a trip to the emergency department, when shoveling it’s best to push the snow instead of hoisting and dumping it, which can be a big workout on your heart.
Another winter emergency that sends more than 20,000 people to the emergency department each year is carbon monoxide poisoning.
Dr. Cullinan says making sure you have working detectors is key to protecting you and your family from the colorless, odorless gas.
But the most common injury that emergency departments see in the winter is falls.
