These 5 things can put our health at risk at Christmas

I always thought that the statement that eating raw cookie dough causes a stomach ache was my mother’s invention, because she didn’t want my brother and I to eat all the dough while baking. Until I went guetzlet with my almost two-year-old daughter for the first time. As she nursed her little brother, I caught a glimpse of her burrowing into the raw dough. ‘It won’t be so tragic,’ I thought. Especially since I didn’t feel like dragging her away from the dough with the baby at her breast, nor putting the half-fed baby down screaming to intervene at such a trifle.

Well, the trifle gave me a puking kitchen a good hour later and a child with diarrhea and stomach cramps. I now know that not only the raw eggs in the dough pose a (salmonella) risk, but also the yeast and baking powder and even the flour. Leavening agents in raw form can release gases in the intestines, which cause bloating and cramps. E. coli bacteria can lurk in the flour and cause diarrhea, vomiting and stomach cramps. Baking at high temperatures makes all this harmless. Incidentally, the cookie dough that is popular today, for example in ice cream, was deliberately made to eat raw and contains no eggs or leavening agents, and usually some form of flour substitute.

I then delegated the baking of cookies with the children to the grandparents and gods and gods. Especially since they are all much more talented than me anyway. As far as I know there have been no health incidents since then.

I don’t have a green thumb at all. And after my rambling son got into the habit of digging out all houseplants with his bare hands and sprinkling potting soil all over the house, I largely avoided greenery in the house anyway. I even gave up my beloved poinsettias when the kids were little. These belong to the spurge family and contain poisonous milky sap, which can cause skin irritation when touched and abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting when eating.

Unfortunately, while shopping, I hadn’t considered how charming the pretty sparklers look as I brought the cart to a halt next to them in the floral department with my baby daughter on the perch. She already had her fingers on things and her hands on her face. Fortunately, the commercially available poinsettia hybrids contain only small traces of skin irritants. For a sensitive child like my daughter, whose skin reacts to just about anything with a rash, it was enough for itchy redness. And from that moment on I paid close attention to where I left the shopping cart and the child (it’s not so easy in this case, they always catch something).

If you have small children at home, you naturally decorate your Christmas tree differently. Real candles are just as taboo as Christmas lights and everything hangs so high that the gnomes can’t reach it. What I didn’t expect: a fallen Christmas tree ball, which had landed softly on the blanket under the tree and remained intact, but to the eyes of my one-year-old son it looked like a glittering apple or a very fine candy . I didn’t even really realize she was there when the little one grabbed her with both hands and bit into it. The scream from his mouth full of broken glass was blood curdling.

Fortunately, the thin bauble glass didn’t do much damage. We still spent the evening in an emergency. It wouldn’t be the last time we went there during my youngest’s childhood around Christmas.

Christmas gifts for children can be not only incredibly annoying, but also really dangerous. The remote-controlled car my son got when he was about three years old has become a legend in our family and circle of friends. Somehow he managed to stick the pigtail in his index finger twisted in there like a fishhook. Emergency, operation under general anesthesia, one night in hospital. At least not on Christmas Eve, but after.

Experts regularly warn about toy trends under the Christmas tree. This year, the trendy water pearls are a thorn in their side. The balls, originally developed for watering plants, consist of super-absorbent polymers and are used for various (educational) games. They are not poisonous, but they can swell many times, if they are swallowed. There are already cases where children had to undergo surgery to remove water globules the size of tennis balls from their stomachs. Not quite what you want for Christmas.

We love it and wouldn’t want to trade it for another menu at Christmas: fondue chinoise or table grill. Of course we know that we have to cook the meat well in the soup or on the grill, to kill the germs that germinate in the raw meat that is on the table. The problem: We grab the raw cuts of meat by hand or spear them on a fork, and there’s a good chance that both hand and fork will end up in our mouths at some point. The meat can still be so through if the germs are hanging on the fork! Incidentally, the risk of diarrhoea, vomiting and the like is greatest with chicken. And yes, I also experienced a nice meat fondue Christmas after which half the family was flat.

Incidentally, according to a new study by the University of Zurich, the danger also lurks when washing up after the feast. After washing in the dishwasher, rinse aid residues remain on the dishes, which can damage the protective lining of the gut. This can contribute to the onset of chronic diseases. Not exactly exciting prospects either.

I wish you all happy and especially healthy holidays. And if you want to share an anecdote or two in the comment column, go for it.

source: watson