News
Don't buy into the hype, Friday the 13th might not be so unlucky
Story Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2012 20:24:00 EDT
Watch out! This week is Friday the 13th — deemed the unluckiest day of the year — and millions 
of Americans will be carefully avoiding walking under ladders, spilling salt, falling down stairs, or flying in airplanes. In fact, an estimated 17 to 21 million Americans suffer from a fear of Friday the 13th so extreme that many choose to stay home rather than run the risk of a bad luck streak.
They might not, however, have that much to worry about. Bruce Lo, MD, Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at EVMS, has debunked the myth that people are more likely to end up in the ER on Friday the 13th.
Dr. Lo's study was published this month in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine. Dr. Lo compared emergency room visits at six different hospitals over a seven-year period, and determined that average ER visits for Friday the 13th were not increased compared with the Friday before and after, and the month before.
Dr. Lo also evaluated 13 different conditions and determined that only penetrating traumas were seen more often on Friday the 13th. So perhaps you should put down the scissors and head out of the house!