In mywork-tub refinishing- i have sliced the heck out of my hands.Blue paper towel to soak up blood with pressure followed by a gob of super glue and more glue as needed. Bleeding is stopped and I am healed 4 days later
Kia - 13 years ago
Years ago I sliced off the tip of my thumb while working. Terribly gross and bloody but, to the point of your article, we were so busy I wouldn't even think of stopping to seek medical treatment. Instead we cleaned, bandaged, wrapped, etc. until dinner service was over. At the ER, nearly 8 hours after the damage was done, I was politely scolded by the doctor for not coming in sooner to have it stitched up as the injury was now too old to repair correctly. After such a long period of time all he could do was give me drugs and send me home. Lesson learned.
shelburne - 13 years ago
During my apprenticeship in Switzerland (tiny town in the Alps) I removed a decent hunk of my index finger-print on the commercial slicer during lunch service. I wrapped the bloody mess in a towel, walked to the pharmacy down the street, came back with a bandage and finger cot (which subsequently filled w/blood) and finished cooking lunch.
Also, while cooking lunch at the Cafe at Chez Panisse, a fellow cook put a clean, very hot saute pan on top the stack of cold pans ready for use. I grabbed the white-hot pan handle and immediately raised a two-inch high blister across my palm (second going-on-third degree burn). Continued to work the shift until a local doctor, a house regular, stopped by the line to say hello. I showed him my hand and he gave me marching orders then and there. A week off work (disability paid) and the miraculous silver sulfadiazene cream to stanch the pain and keep me from scarring. (I now keep a stash of said cream - it eases pain and prevents scars like magic.)
Mike - 13 years ago
I've cut, burned, and scalded myself many times, along with falls and other injuries. I try not to leave the kitchen, but occassionally have had to. I always keep a supply of crazy glue, hydrogen peroxide and finger cots near by. Now I also use a cutting glove more often than not. I once splashed grill cleaner in my eyes, thought I was going to be blind, now when cleaning the flat top or grill I wear goggles.
Anonymous - 13 years ago
I am a complete klutz (trip over my own feet walking down the hall), but haven't had a serious kitchen injury while cooking mostly constantly for six people over the last 10 years or so. This is because I am paranoid and assume I am going to do something stupid, so I take several measures to prevent it (ex. wear glasses, wear long sleeve coat and oven mitts while putting things in/out of over or stir frying over high heat, always cut away towards the cutting board assuming the knife might slip and cut me, etc), put all the knives point down in the dishwasher, etc. Please be careful -- if a klutz like me can be safe with the measures, then anyone can.
Dr Bob - 13 years ago
As a surgeon, I've seen elderly patients with severe carpal tunnel syndrome brought in for evaluation by family members. These patients have complete numbness of the thumb, index, long and ring fingers due to the compression on the median nerve at the wrist. They're brought in to be seen because they've been cutting off the tips of their fingers while preparing food in the kitchen and do not realize that this has happened until they see the blood. Surgery that releases the pressure on the median nerve can result in "protective" sensation in the fingers in 3 to 6 months., Getting normal sensation back often does not occur due to the amount of nerve damage that has already occurred.
This would be considered an extreme form of a cooking injury.
In mywork-tub refinishing- i have sliced the heck out of my hands.Blue paper towel to soak up blood with pressure followed by a gob of super glue and more glue as needed. Bleeding is stopped and I am healed 4 days later
Years ago I sliced off the tip of my thumb while working. Terribly gross and bloody but, to the point of your article, we were so busy I wouldn't even think of stopping to seek medical treatment. Instead we cleaned, bandaged, wrapped, etc. until dinner service was over. At the ER, nearly 8 hours after the damage was done, I was politely scolded by the doctor for not coming in sooner to have it stitched up as the injury was now too old to repair correctly. After such a long period of time all he could do was give me drugs and send me home. Lesson learned.
During my apprenticeship in Switzerland (tiny town in the Alps) I removed a decent hunk of my index finger-print on the commercial slicer during lunch service. I wrapped the bloody mess in a towel, walked to the pharmacy down the street, came back with a bandage and finger cot (which subsequently filled w/blood) and finished cooking lunch.
Also, while cooking lunch at the Cafe at Chez Panisse, a fellow cook put a clean, very hot saute pan on top the stack of cold pans ready for use. I grabbed the white-hot pan handle and immediately raised a two-inch high blister across my palm (second going-on-third degree burn). Continued to work the shift until a local doctor, a house regular, stopped by the line to say hello. I showed him my hand and he gave me marching orders then and there. A week off work (disability paid) and the miraculous silver sulfadiazene cream to stanch the pain and keep me from scarring. (I now keep a stash of said cream - it eases pain and prevents scars like magic.)
I've cut, burned, and scalded myself many times, along with falls and other injuries. I try not to leave the kitchen, but occassionally have had to. I always keep a supply of crazy glue, hydrogen peroxide and finger cots near by. Now I also use a cutting glove more often than not. I once splashed grill cleaner in my eyes, thought I was going to be blind, now when cleaning the flat top or grill I wear goggles.
I am a complete klutz (trip over my own feet walking down the hall), but haven't had a serious kitchen injury while cooking mostly constantly for six people over the last 10 years or so. This is because I am paranoid and assume I am going to do something stupid, so I take several measures to prevent it (ex. wear glasses, wear long sleeve coat and oven mitts while putting things in/out of over or stir frying over high heat, always cut away towards the cutting board assuming the knife might slip and cut me, etc), put all the knives point down in the dishwasher, etc. Please be careful -- if a klutz like me can be safe with the measures, then anyone can.
As a surgeon, I've seen elderly patients with severe carpal tunnel syndrome brought in for evaluation by family members. These patients have complete numbness of the thumb, index, long and ring fingers due to the compression on the median nerve at the wrist. They're brought in to be seen because they've been cutting off the tips of their fingers while preparing food in the kitchen and do not realize that this has happened until they see the blood. Surgery that releases the pressure on the median nerve can result in "protective" sensation in the fingers in 3 to 6 months., Getting normal sensation back often does not occur due to the amount of nerve damage that has already occurred.
This would be considered an extreme form of a cooking injury.