A trip to the ER probably isn’t on your to-do list over the Fourth of July, but it happens more than you’d think.

“Emergency room doctors often brace themselves for a surge in injuries around the Fourth of July,” says Nicholas Kman, MD, emergency medicine physician at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. “It’s a well-documented and predictable trend,” agrees Daniel I. Shpigel, MD, assistant professor of emergency medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

Jay Ladde, MD, emergency medicine physician and vice chair of emergency medicine at Orlando Health Orlando Regional Medical Center, also says he and his co-workers expect that the ER will be packed around the holiday. “We tend to stay very busy,” he says.

Sure, odds are high you’ve made it through celebrating the Fourth this far without a trip to the ER. But emergency room physicians say it’s crucial to be aware of potential hazards to keep things that way. Here’s what they want you to keep in mind.

: Nicholas Kman, MD, emergency medicine physician at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center; Daniel I. Shpigel, MD, assistant professor of emergency medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences; Jay Ladde, MD, emergency medicine physician and vice chair of emergency medicine at Orlando Health Orlando Regional Medical Center; Ryan Marino, MD, emergency room physician and assistant professor of medicine for Case Western Reserve University; Ronald San Juan, MD, director of the Mercy Pediatrics Hospitalist Group and clinical associate professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine

A lot has to do with fireworks and sparklers. In 2024, an estimated 14,700 people were treated for fireworks injuries in emergency rooms and 1,700 of those injuries involved sparklers, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

“ER staff often describe this period as a predictable wave of preventable trauma, with injuries peaking in the days surrounding the holiday,” Kman says. “Unfortunately, folks also mix in alcohol, which impairs judgment and makes dehydration more likely. Along with firework related injuries, we tend to see heat related illness, drowning, and motor vehicle and motorcycle accidents more as more people take to the road.”

That’s not all. “There are far more falls, broken bones, head injuries, and car accidents, just to name a few,” says Ryan Marino, MD, emergency room physician and assistant professor of medicine for Case Western Reserve University. “People are outside and more active—which are good things—but that makes them more prone to accidents and injuries.”

You’re probably aware of the risks of fireworks, but sparklers seem pretty harmless. According to ER docs, they’re definitely not. "Sparklers are dangerous in their own right,” Ladde says.

Sparklers are especially dangerous for kids, says Ronald San Juan, MD, director of the Mercy Pediatrics Hospitalist Group and clinical associate professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. “Sparklers can reach very high temperatures—well over 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit—and children can suffer significant burns within seconds of coming in contact with the sparkler. In addition, the sparks coming off have the potential of causing eye injuries and even igniting clothing.”

Sparklers "pose a high risk of burns, especially to the hands and face,” Kman says.

There’s no need to put yourself in a bubble over the holiday, but taking a few key steps can help lower the odds you’ll run into an ER doctor this Fourth of July. Here’s what they suggest:

Have fun—but stay safe out there!