Halloween is just around the corner. Celebrating this holiday usually includes buying candy, costumes, pumpkins and scary decorations. However, here are a few real ‘scary’ things to worry about as the holiday approaches.

Drunken drivers
Halloween is a risky day for young pedestrians, with twice as many deaths as on a typical day. Kids aged 12 to 18, the ones often roaming the streets without parents and with distractions like friends and cellphones, are most at risk. As Halloween has become a more adult holiday, it also has become a major drinking occasion, says the National Highway Safety Administration. About 20% of pedestrian deaths on Halloween involve a drunken driver.

Last Year’s Costume
Before you borrow your best friend’s costume from last year, make sure that it is free of leftover bacteria. According to Dr. Pat Basu, ”Wearing an unwashed costume from last year – whether your costume or your friend’s – brings a risk of skin infection (or, if it’s a leotard, a yeast infection).”

Mask Hazards
A poorly fitted Halloween mask can result in skin irritation that may lead to acne or a skin infection. In addition, masks can also restrict vision and cause headaches.

Safety hazards
Make sure that kids trick or treat in groups or are chaperoned by parents until they are old enough. Additional preventative measures such as monitoring candy intake and reassuring your child’s costume fits are also important.

Cuts, falls and other injuries
About 4,400 people in the United States visited emergency rooms in 2013 for Halloween-related injuries, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. More than half were adults. The most common mishaps, accounting for 56% of cases are pumpkin carving injuries.

Sticky dental disasters
Halloween candies do more damage to the teeth than soft chocolates, dentists say. The sticky stuff is capable of pulling out crowns and fillings and damaging braces and other dental work.

So, as you and your children begin to plan your Halloween Trick or Treating, it is important to consider the dangers lurking in various places. Keeping an eye on safety while you enjoy Trick or Treating can help keep you and your children safe