Oy, That Passover Gives Jews Such Tsuris!

April 18, 2008 — During Passover, which begins tomorrow night, Jews gather in their homes and synagogues to observe the holiday – and in emergency rooms to recover from it.

Doctors have noticed a surge in emergency-room visits over “Pesach” as people feel the effects of the heavy eating, cooking and cleaning that comes with the holiday, a physician at Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn said yesterday.

“We know it’s because of Passover,” says Dr. Tucker Woods, chairman of LICH’s emergency department. “There’s definitely an uptick in total patient volume during Passover.”

Plastic surgeon Gary Kimmel said he’s seen Passover injuries like knife wounds from cutting food, burns from stovetops, and even fingers chopped up in blenders.

But it’s not just cuts and burns. The ritualistic cleaning of the home before Passover – to rid the home of leavened products – leads to chemical injuries, as well.

“We see a little bit of everything,” said Woods. “Dizziness from fumes, slips from highly buffed floors or wet bathroom tiles.”

Woods also sees an influx in food-allergy cases on the night of the Seder, he said.

In pediatrics, hospital rooms are full of children whose parents were too distracted with holiday preparations to keep an eye on them.

“Moms are busy cooking and cleaning and kids get too close to stairs,” Woods said.