The most common problems that rescuers deal with at Christmas are difficulty breathing and abdominal pain. The President of the Emergency Medical Service Association, Matej Polák, appeals to people to indulge in food in moderation during the holidays. It also recalls the difficulties caused by excessive alcohol consumption. However, according to him, psychological problems such as depression, anxiety states and sadness are hidden under the abdominal pains and difficulty breathing. Therefore, he calls for people to take care of their loved ones.
“The cause of abdominal pain at Christmas is often an inappropriate combination of food or overeating, or a combination of food and alcohol, so I’m appealing to people to indulge in moderation at Christmas and not spoil Christmas by ending up alone in hospital after making a serious dietary mistake.” said the head of the emergency medical service association.
Abdominal pain is also often the result of inappropriate and excessive alcohol consumption, or the combination of alcohol with food. “In the most severe forms of drunkenness, a person may no longer be able to get up from the ground at all, and it is his own life. Here I am appealing to people, if someone in your neighborhood gets into a state where he is so heavily drunk that he cannot walk or talk, please do not leave him alone, especially not at Christmas, and try to help him.” asked the Pole. At a minimum, he should be placed in bed in a stabilized position on his stomach so that he does not suffocate on his own vomit. “So that celebrating Christmas does not end in death,” he emphasized.
Psychological problems are often hidden under abdominal pain and difficulty breathing. “As rescuers, we deal with these even more often during Christmas than at any other time during the year,” stated Polák. In the run-up to Christmas, rescuers often encounter people feeling great anxiety about the approaching Christmas. “They feel depression from broken relationships in the family, from loneliness,” he concluded.
Rescuers therefore appeal to people that it is never too late to take the first step towards normalizing relationships. “And to call a loved one who we know will otherwise spend Christmas alone, and if possible, call them to your home. You can help much more than ordinary people can imagine. And then those anxiety states, chest pains, difficulty breathing, abdominal pains will be much less.” concluded the Pole.
