Even health concerns will take a back seat to Super Bowl XLII.

Many Eastern Connecticut residents are sure to have their eyes glued to the television Feb. 3 as the New England Patriots and the New York Giants face off. Dr. Robert Sidman, chief of Emergency Services at Backus Hospital, said because of the high interest the hospital’s emergency room is sure to be quiet during the game. However, once the game is over, the rush is on.  

“It’s a predictable flow,” Dr. Sidman said. “People will have a minor injury or they are just not feeling well for a couple of days and once the game is over they decide they want to take care of it.”

Waiting until after the game likely means waiting longer for care, Sidman said, because you will not be alone.

Anyone who is in the emergency room during the Super Bowl likely has no interest or has had a serious accident or illness, Sidman said.  

Dr. Sidman’s observations are backed up by research. In the October 2005 “Annals of Emergency Medicine,” researchers reported a correlation between emergency room visit declines in the Boston area and the Boston Red Sox’s 2004 World Series run.

“The public health finding here is people use discretion in deciding when show up in the emergency department,” said senior study author Dr. Kenneth Mandl, an attending physician in Children's Department of Emergency Medicine and a faculty member of the Children's Hospital Informatics Program at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, at the time of the report.  

An earlier study by the same researchers also showed an increase in driving fatalities on Super Bowl Sunday after the game has ended.

With the Patriots and Giants having the No. 1 and No. 2 football fan bases in Connecticut, Super Bowl festivities are sure to be in full swing. But even those who have a designated driver should reconsider alcohol consumption if they are feeling ill.  

The National Institute of Health has published numerous studies examining the negative interactions prescription drugs and alcohol can have together. Alcohol can make antibiotics ineffective, according to one 1999 study. In the most severe situations, the interaction of alcohol and medications can cause organ damage or even death, the study showed.

Dr. Sidman said the emergency room can still give care to individuals who had consumed alcohol, but they may not leave as quickly or be as comfortable as the patient who has not had alcohol.  

Dr. Sidman said Backus has rarely seen a case where waiting until the Super Bowl — or any other big game  — has ended has caused significant problems. However, anyone experiencing the symptoms of a heart attack, such as chest pains or shortness of breath, or the symptoms of a stroke, such as numbness in any body part, should seek immediate medical care, Sidman said.