Consumer columnist and West Hartford resident Harlan Levy has more than 20 years of experience writing stories about everyday experiences that anyone could encounter. 

Harlan Levy. Courtesy photo

By Harlan Levy

My favorite holiday – Halloween – is coming, and I have some tips for parents of trick-or-treaters.

But first, if you haven’t seen or heard on TV or received online pitches telling us that Medicare’s Annual Enrollment Period starts on Oct. 15 and runs to Dec. 7, it’s time to start thinking about your health plan needs. And if your needs have changed, you can consider other plan options. Meanwhile …

• Unless you take action during this period you’ll be automatically enrolled in your 2025 plan.
• Your 2025 benefits will start Jan. 1, whether you stay in your current plan or switch. Your current benefits expire on Dec. 31, 2024.

Halloween safety

Our three grandchildren ages 2, 3, and 5, have been obsessing about their costumes in anticipation of the Great Pumpkin’s arrival and the once-a-year explosion of candy they know their little baskets will receive on Halloween. That’s the happy part. But these days, Halloween has risks that parents (and grandparents) should recognize, problems that never existed back in my trick-or-treating days.

West Hartford Halloween Stroll. Oct. 22, 2023. Photo credit: Ronni Newton (we-ha.com file photo)

So, here are important tips you may or may not already know from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

• Wear costumes that say “flame resistant” on the label. If you make your costume, use flame-resistant fabrics such as polyester or nylon.
• Kids should wear bright, reflective costumes or add strips of reflective tape to be more visible. Make sure the costumes aren’t so long that they could trip.
• Test the makeup you’ll  use at least 24 to 48 hours in advance, dabbing a small amount on the arm of the kid who’ll wear it. If a rash, redness, swelling, or other signs of irritation develop that’s a possible allergy to avoid.
• Only use FDA-approved makeup color additives. See the very long list at fda.gov. Click on Color Additives and Cosmetics. Be careful using colored makeup around the eyes.
• Don’t wear decorative colored contact lenses. They can cause eye injuries.
• In case of a food allergy, check the cosmetics’ label to ensure the allergen isn’t present.
• Don’t let kids eat candy until you inspect it at home.
• Tell children not to accept or eat anything not commercially wrapped. Inspect commercially wrapped treats for signs of tampering – unusual appearance or discoloration, tiny pinholes, or tears in wrappers.
• Parents of very young children should remove any choking hazards such as gum, peanuts, hard candies, or small toys from Halloween bags.

Recalls

I was checking the FDA’s most recent recalls – the last being Mercury Medical’s Neo-Tee T-Piece resuscitators, because their pressure relief valve controllers can come apart, causing serious injury or death. The list was shockingly long, with 82 company recalls so far in 2024.

They include items from such well-known names as Philips Respironics (ventilator software and nerve monitoring system), Medtronic (laryngoscope [used on me]), Baxter (lung therapy component and ventilator recall), Abiomed (heart pump recall [Yikes!]), Bausch + Lomb (eye injection kit), among others.

That’s some serious stuff. I wonder how many of you readers are affected.

Anyone using these products should keep up to date on all such notices, which can be easily buried in the huge number of emails we get every day.

Don’t do this: What I reluctantly do is spend an hour or more every month or so checking and deleting thousands. Yeah, I know – I’m stubborn. I resent the interminable flood, and I’m awed at the burgeoning pile-up in my inbox. But I guess it’s time to curb the flow before my computer explodes.

Now you know.

NOTE: If you have a consumer problem, contact me at [email protected] (“Consumer” in subject line), and, with the power of the press, maybe I can help.

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