Board-certified emergency room physician, Dr. Christopher Langan says Thanksgiving can go from fun to nightmare if you or your family end up in the emergency room.

HOUSTON, TX - Thanksgiving is a time to get together with family and friends for great food and lots of fun but it can easily turn into a nightmare if you have to spend the day in the emergency room.

Dr. Christopher Langan, a board-certified emergency room physician and Chief Medical Officer of Houston, TX-based SignatureCare Emergency Center said this week that Texas emergency rooms see a spike in the number of visitors during the Thanksgiving holidays due to a number of reasons including over indulging. 

“During Thanksgiving holidays, we tend to over indulge. We get excited to have family and friends around and we just stuff ourselves. The result is that we consume more calories than we should and end up in the emergency room for upset stomach,” said Dr. Langan.

The average American may take in 2,000 calories on a typical day but consume 3,000 to 4,000 on Thanksgiving Day without being aware of it.

“That alone is almost double what we would normally consume and those individuals that have gallbladder disease can worsen the pain associated with the fat they eat on Thanksgiving Day.

“Just eat small amounts throughout the day. The human body is not meant to handle 4,000 calories even though it is a fun thing to do on Thanksgiving.”

He said the answer is moderation and small portions. “Just eat small amounts throughout the day. The human body is not meant to handle 4,000 calories even though it is a fun thing to do on Thanksgiving,” he said.

Because of the way most Thanksgiving meals are prepared, a few items on the menu may be high in sodium and this could also lead to an ER visit for those already suffering from certain heart issues.

“High amounts of sodium may cause them to go into what we call heart failure. That is typically seen the day of Thanksgiving or the day after, so it is important to be aware of what you are putting in your mouth, even when you are having fun,” he said.

Dr. Langan said another issue ER doctors see during Thanksgiving is what is called “Holiday Heart”: “It’s an abnormal rhythm of the heart and it is caused by drinking too much alcohol.  It doesn’t happen only during the holidays. It can happen at any time of the year but we tend to see it more commonly in the emergency room around Thanksgiving and other holidays,“ he said.

During Thanksgiving holidays, doctors also see a few lacerations and burns that happen during meal preparations. “This is quite common actually. Grease burns from cooking especially from deep frying turkeys and cuts from knives or other sharp objects used in the kitchen. We see those as well,” he added

He advised families to be careful not to mix cooked and uncooked foods to avoid food poisoning and an unscheduled visit to the emergency room.

“Most people know they should not mix cooked and uncooked food but it still happens, sometimes by accident. That can easily result in food poisoning and a visit with the ER doctor. This is easily avoided,” Dr. Langan said. 

About SignatureCare Emergency Center

Houston, TX-based SignatureCare Emergency Center owns nine 24-hour emergency centers throughout Texas, including in Odessa, Killeen, Austin, Pflugerville, Midland, Texarkana, Paris, Lewisville, and College Station, TX.