NEW YORK -- Apart from shopping for the latest Harry Potter costume and baking that perfect pumpkin pie, are you and your kids playing it safe this Halloween?

The reality is that each year more than 100 million patients are treated in emergency rooms in the United States, and Halloween is an especially risky time of year.

Choking on candy corn, cuts from pumpkin carving, burns from candles in pumpkins and even allergic reactions from peanuts or other unknown ingredients found in candy are real medical emergencies that happen every year, and kids are more susceptible.

Diabetic emergencies are very prevalent around Halloween since a large percentage of children have diabetes or are at risk due to obesity plus the very high levels of sugar in most candies.

What you should look for in case of a diabetic emergency:

Excessive drinking of water, excessive urination or fatigue after too much Halloween candy, the inability to walk or move (may indicate low glucose in diabetics who have taken too much medication), rapid breathing, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

And if somebody is choking, "helping" them might not be the best thing to do.

In a partial obstruction, the person can talk and breathe on their own ... and should not be touched. They need to try to clear the obstruction unassisted. "Help" can sometimes turn a partial obstruction into a potentially deadly total obstruction. This is true for kids too.

The treatment for a partial obstruction? Leave the person alone and call 911 at once.

Halloween is a great time of year but it is also the time of year when medical emergencies largely increase. Remaining calm and focused in an emergency will not only prevent unnecessary stress but can help save someone's life.