Carnival time is a marathon, not a sprint. If you want to hit all your favorite parades, it’s important to stay safe. Just in time for the biggest krewes to show their stuff, check out these 5 Mardi Gras parade safety tips from Ochsner Health System – see below!
Five Mardi Gras Safety Tips
Are you sidewalk side or neutral ground? Regardless of where you catch the parade, make sure to factor in these five safety tips from Ochsner Health System for avoiding common parade injuries.
1. Respect the boundaries
Parade barricades are there for a reason. They are meant to protect you from the floats, which can be especially dangerous as it’s impossible for drivers to see everything. It is your responsibility to avoid running in between floats while chasing for beads and throws. If a band chaperone asks you to step back, make sure you and your kids step back.
Meg Marino, MD (Pediatric Emergency Medicine Attending with Ochsner Hospital for Children) shares, “The floats, bands and marching clubs are colorful and exciting, so kids are naturally drawn to them. If you are attending a parade with a little one, discuss the importance of respecting boundaries before you head to the route and make sure to designate a spot to meet up in case someone gets lost.”
2. Protect Your Head
From getting hit in the head with a bag of beads to tripping and falling while walking on uneven ground, concussions are common around Mardi Gras.
Aaron Karlin, MD (director of the Ochsner Concussion Management Program) cautions, “Should you sustain a head injury during Carnival season, it is important to alert those celebrating with you of the injury, so they can monitor your overall mental and physical state and if necessary, help you maintain consciousness. If there is depression of consciousness, difficulty in maintaining alertness and/or other common concussion-related symptoms such as weakness, slurred speech, confusion, nausea and vomiting, light/sound sensitivity, or trouble maintaining balance, then an evaluation at an urgent care or emergency facility is encouraged.”
3. Watch out for your Eyes
There’s a lot flying around during parades – hands, beads, stuffed animals, toy spears, and much more. Be mindful of what’s in the air around you and cover your eyes if something is headed your way. Wear sunglasses during day parades to help prevent beads or other items from scratching your eyes.
Jeanne Herman, OD (an optometrist with Ochsner Medical Center – Jefferson Highway) says, “You only get one pair of eyes, so be sure you do everything you can to protect yours! If you experience an eye injury that is associated with pain or blurred vision, seek medical attention to get checked out.”
4. Protect Your Ears
From the bands to the cheering crowds to the fire trucks, parades can be really, really loud. Kelly Jones, AuD (an audiologist with Ochsner Medical Center – Jefferson Highway) recommends, “Be proactive about protecting your hearing. Once your hearing is damaged by loud noise exposure, you may not be able to get it back. You should consider wearing custom fit noise plugs or disposable foam plugs to reduce your risk of hearing loss. And don’t forget about your little ones – you can order a pair of child sized earmuffs for them to wear too!”
5. Practice Ladder Safety
Before you head out to the route, be sure to check your ladder for any repairs it might need. Once you find the perfect spot on the route, make sure your ladder is level and stable when you set it up. Remember to designate a sober adult to be responsible for kids while they are in the ladder and to check that children are well-secured with a sturdy bar across the front.
“Even if you didn’t bring a child to the parade route, it’s important for parade attendees to be aware of the presence of small children on the route. If you are jumping up and down for beads, make sure you don’t accidently bump into any little ones or knock into their ladders,” said Katherine Dureau, MD (Pediatrician, Ochsner Health Center for Children – Metairie).
