'TIS THE SEASON FOR SLIPS AND FALLS

A wintry wonderland might appeal to romantic types and the folks at Currier and Ives, but snow and ice also can lead to a trip to the emergency room.

'Tis the season for slips, falls and fender benders, say those who treat the victims of winter's assault.

"I think most of the time people slip and fall on the ice, they're dealing with a bruise or sprain," said Deanna Bennett, the assistant nurse manager at Southeast Missouri Hospital's emergency room. "But we do see a few of them every time we have a winter storm."

Bennett said the elderly should be particularly careful when trying to get around in the snow and ice.

"If you or I fall down, the most we'd probably get is a bruise or strain," she said. "But when older people fall, they'll break something."

Valerie Watters-Burke, a clinical nurse specialist in emergency services at St. Francis Medical Center, said most people have the good judgment to stay in during inclement weather.

"Our biggest problem is elderly people who think they have to get out and shovel their driveways or sidewalks off," Watters-Burke said. "They need to realize that it's not worth slipping and hurting themselves.

"They should try to get a family member or neighbor to do it for them."

Watters-Burke said that when the Cape Girardeau area was hit by more than 8 inches of snow in January, the emergency room was quiet during the storm.

But as people braved getting out of the house two or three days after the storm, hospital traffic picked up considerably.

"On the second and third days afterward, we began seeing more and more slips, falls and fender bender accidents," she said.

Watters-Burke said the most common injuries related to ice are sprained ankles and fractured hands and wrists -- injured as a person tries to catch himself in a fall -- and muscle strains.

"The elderly are more susceptible to fractures, of course," she added. "It's probably the most common injury we treat when there's any kind of an ice problem."

Frost bite also is common in the winter. Watters-Burke said frost-bite victims often are low-income elderly residents who are unwilling to turn up their furnace.

Bennett said Southeast also sees a lot of victims of minor traffic accidents when it snows.

"It's a bigger problem when it rains or there's fog, though," she said. "I think with the snow and ice, people realize the conditions are hazardous and they slow down.

"When there is an accident, it's usually pretty minor because they're driving so slow."

Both Bennett and Watters-Burke said the best advice to avoid bumps, bruises, sprains, or worse when it snows is to stay home, if possible.

But if forced to brave the elements, common sense and caution are necessary.

"When it's slippery out, people need to wear boots and change into their shoes when they're at work," said Watters-Burke. "High-heeled pumps just aren't going to get it when it's slick out."