Alcohol Poisoning
Alcohol poisoning is not a condition to take lightly. It is important to remember that the liver can only filter out around one unit of alcohol per hour. The more and the quicker you drink, the riskier it is for your body.
Food Poisoning
Cramming the oven full of food on Christmas morning comes with its dangers. Raw and undercooked meat, particularly turkey and chicken, is a major cause of salmonella poisoning. The best way to avoid food poisoning is to make sure everything you serve is cooked through.
Allergic Reaction
The traditional Christmas dinner certainly presents hazards for those with severe food allergies. Prawn cocktail (shellfish allergies) and sprouts roasted with chestnuts (nut allergies) are just two potential triggers.
Frostbite
Skiing is a popular choice during the festive season for those looking to spend some time away. Common signs are the extremities turning red or purple, and feelings of pain or numbness in the affected area.
Hypothermia
Another condition which may occur as a result of being exposed to cold temperatures for too long is hypothermia. This is characterized in mild cases by shivering, tiredness, shortness of breath. In more severe cases, the condition can be very serious and even fatal.
SAD
Also referred to as the ‘winter blues’, SAD is a condition characterized by feelings of depression during the winter months. It is only recently that seasonal affective disorder has become recognized as an illness, and is thought to be caused by a lack of natural light affecting melatonin production.
Stress
Shopping-related stress is more prominent during December than at any other time of year. Getting the Christmas shop out of the way as early as possible is one way to circumvent the stress of rushing around. Another is to try and complete it in small short bursts, visiting the shops when you know they are not going to be busy.
Obesity
It is natural that we consume more on this special occasion than we normally would. It is easy for overeating to become a habit over the Christmas period, and it is when a person continues this into the New Year and beyond that diet-related disease becomes a risk.