Why Is Christmas the Most Deadly Time of the Year?

It's not for the reasons you might think

This story is a bit of a downer, but it's instructive. More Americans die over the Christmas holidays than at any other time. It's been shown in a recent large-scale study, with holiday-season heart attacks even receiving their own special name - the Merry Christmas Coronary.

The reasons are not, as you might think, the extra stress of the holidays, or overindulgence in food and booze, writes Kent Sepkowitz in a Daily Beast op-ed. So perhaps the higher death rate is caused by Americans' excessive considerateness, suggests Sepkowitz. People "opt to not call their doctor or visit the ER because it's Christmas and they don't want to bother anyone" - anyone being family members who'd be upset by an ER visit to resolve Dad's chest pains or Mom's blinding headache. And waiting just a few hours for medical treatment, especially for chest pains, can be deadly.

That means two things. One is that everyone should address health care emergencies during the holidays just like they would any other time. The other is that "timeliness saves lives" no matter what the time of year. And that's one place we should be investing more health dollars, Sepkowitz writes: Simply make sure people have access to timely care. "Overcrowded ERs that can't move patients through may result in lost lives. People who have a doctor to call when they feel ill do better than those with no one to call and nowhere to go."

Via the Daily Beast.

Do you think Americans avoid necessary health care over the holidays?

[bsking]

no.

[truthsayer]

You are without a doubt the only person on the planet that can make the word "no" hilarious. Keep up the good work.

[WMCOL]

Yes.

[ctc]

First of all, you dismissed those 2 other causes way to quickly, but I do agree excessive considerateness, as in being phony or out of character to people you might not normally relate to can be stressful in itself.

[truthsayer]

Yeah all that acting like you give a crap is a killer fore sure.

[PoliticalSpice]

@truthsayer lol

[Thegrif]

Well I think if I felt anything that is anywhere in the realm of servere pain, or hard time breathing my butt would be bothering whoever needs to be bothered.

[FFX_VA]

Maybe. It's a combination of factors, including all those mentioned in the story.

[tomincali]

in my area dui's hold the high #s .

[Romney_Rube]

What a great Xmas gift idea! Free tickets for helicopter ambulance rides with one guest included. Option packages include a photographer who can memorialize the entire event as a part of a keepsake photo album. An added plus would be discount packages for online obituaries and Find-a-Grave pics ONLY if needed

[PoliticalSpice]

See, proof obama has not killed the spirit of capitalism...

[Jeff_Woehrle]

Ban cookies! Ban booze! Ban not calling the doctor!

Sorry, I just want to get the liberal position front and center.

[PoliticalSpice]

Ban @jeff_woehrle would be the liberal position. Oh no, liberals are too supportive of the first amendment, but it would certianly qualify as a leftist position. They'd give you a white christmas indeed, i understand siberia has plenty of snow.

[Jeff_Woehrle]

@PoliticalSpice Sorry, not going anywhere. Not how it works. However, I DO view it as a badge of honor!***smirk***

[PoliticalSpice]

@Jeff_Woehrle cann't blame me for trying. They really do have great airfare this time of the year... :) merry christmas.

[Jeff_Woehrle]

@PoliticalSpice LOL! I'm always up for savings! Merry Christmas to you and yours as well.

[WMCOL]

For Christians it is like a double-edged sword. Christmas is a pagan celebration, which like any other sin, can lead to spiritual death if Christians don't rebuke Christmas and repent for following the sin filled tradition..

[DerivePI]

Do you consider yourself a Christian?

[WMCOL]

@DerivePI
>>>Do you consider yourself a Christian?<<<

Yes. Without a doubt.

[DerivePI]

@WMCOL - "Christmas is a pagan celebration" - the celebration of the birth of Christ is not a pagan ritual. The use (or misuse depending on opinion) of Dec 25th does not make it sinful (at the worst, I would compare it to the use of the unknown god by Paul in Athens). Going to church, wishing people Merry Christmas, sending Christmas cards, and giving people gifts are not pagan rituals (the jury is still out on lying to your kids about Santa Claus). Galatians 5 speaks clearly against being legalistic. When and how we celebrate can't compare with who and why we celebrate and the desire to rebuke other Christians for legalistic reasons is not in keeping with a life of faith.

[PoliticalSpice]

@DerivePI yea, but you are aware, are you mot, that the pagans celebrated with christmas trees decorated with hanging trinkets, and that aspect was incorporated into christmas, you know that, right? I think that is tge fact to which he might be refering...

[DerivePI]

@PoliticalSpice - Jeremiah 10 (smile). Pretty sure the pagans didn't celebrate with "Christmas" trees! The tradition is traced back through the Germans settlers, through Martin Luther, to the early Germans and Scandinavians. Yggdrasil is an ash tree and many sacred groves were oaks. I am still looking for an example of the use of an evergreen in ancient German/Scandinavian pagan traditions. The use of an evergreen tree to symbolize hope might be the early beginnings, but I'm not sure I would have a religious problem with adapting that custom. Symbols are OK, idols are not.

[DerivePI]

I'm not sure the study eliminates suspects such as stress, depression, and over indulgence (they even recommend further study to resolve these unknowns). However, the spike in natural deaths on Christmas and New Years is stunning and is probably in part due to the resistance to use health care on the holidays.

[PoliticalSpice]

Another cause would be the shock right wingers would get from having me wish them a merry christmas.

[Dan_Tien]

It sounds plausible. I wonder how many people have died from the shock of their Christmas credit card bill. Bit of a cliché, I suppossssssssss............

[Thunderchicken]

Having been to the ER for myself on both Christmas and Thanksgiving. And yesterday to a local hospital to spend Christmas with my Dad, I've been surprised how deserted the place was.And how accommodating the hospital workers were. The food was still bad though.

[ctc]

I for one try to stay healthy around the holidays.....don't want to be told I need some unneeded surgery just so doc's wifey can get a new Z-4 for Christmas.....and don't want to be diagnosed and operated on by some specialist called away from his New Years bash.

[Thunderchicken]

@ctc

I just have a problem with kitchen knives. It's a running joke that I've cut off the tips my thumbs three times. All while cooking a holiday dinner.

[dances-weebles]

@Thunderchicken everyone who cooks knows that cuts and burns are endemic to the job. wrap a paper towel around the boo-boo and you can forget about it until you're chopping onions... that'll remind you, i guess.

[Thunderchicken]

@dances-weebles

My wife insisted. Plus it got me a bunch of help.:-)

[dances-weebles]

@Thunderchicken if i went to the emergency room every time i cut myself nobody in the house, or at the church, or anywhere else i cook for would ever get to eat. that's why my wife stopped insisting.

[Fishbone345]

If the problem hasn't been building all year long, timing wouldn't make a difference. People are overweight and unhealthy, that's the problem.

[Coolvoter]

Yes, because they are greedy, and only care about getting stuff, and giving stuff to make themselves look better.
Xmas is a time of stuff, worshipping magic Santa, and traffic collisions

[dances-weebles]

no

[dances-weebles]

holiday stress is the big killer. people can't afford to live up to everyone else's expectations, so it effects them adversely.

tell me, why is the suicide rate at christmas higher than at any other time of year?

[twinertia]

I would've thought it'd be due to the rotten family proximity, crushing debt, and snow-shovelling heart attacks.

[jessejaymes]

I can't speak for anyone else but I would not go anywhere near a hospital on a Holiday. Last trip I spent 16 hours before even seeing a doctor yet they found it necessary to run up a bill of close to 20,000.00 for tests ordered by perhaps the meanest nurse since Nurse Rachett. I can't even imagine their attitude having to work on Christmas.

[seedtick]

This is a very stressful time of the year for many. Add to that increased crime, highway travel, and confrontations during family gatherings.

[KyleMFb]

people don't just avoid healthcare over the holiday they avoided healthcare all year long bc it's way to expensive to go to the doctor just for a routine check up god forbid the doctor has to break out a pen and wright a prescription you'll be paying that bill for weeks to come and if you have go to the ER you might as well stop at the bank before you get back home so you can declare bankruptcy health care in America sucks its way to expensive and the doctors are over paid while the nurses who actually work and not just give their medical opinion are over worked and underpaid but its America capitalism is everything profit before life it's the American way