Kitchen Injuries (warning - read at your own risk, esp. if you get queasy easy) (frozen, chef)

[jtur88]

How often do you injure yourself in the kitchen, cuts and burns, etc?

I'm extremely careful, I keep my knives very sharp, and I still never have an accident. My wife is the opposite, she keeps an ambulance on retainer.

Once while camping in Montana, miles from any human, she was preparing supper, and I heard the ubiquitous "ouch" and said "what is it this time?" She said "oh-oh, this one is really bad". But she is getting good at playing through the pain, and was only disabled for a few days. Needless to say, no medical attention.

My theory is that you never cut yourself on a really sharp knife, because it goes where you want it to go. But you have to be careful when it's not in use, and just lying around.

[Fontucky]

I slice open a digit no less than 3 times a year, and only when using my extremely sharp carbon steel chef's knife. My mind sometimes wanders somewhere around the 6th or 7th onion for onion soup, then the carnage happens.

A couple times a year I'll scalp the top of my first thumb knuckle while peeling carrots or taters.

The usual spatter burns from grease and hot water scaldings because my tap water is so hot. Handle burns from my cast iron pieces. Rack burns from hot ovens.

[Miaiam]

Oh, you name it!

I love to cook and now and then will have the occasional burn, bruise cut, etc. My worst one, I guess, was a second degree burn with boiling water.

[Opyelie]

^^^ yup, yup and yup to Fontucky

Worst kitchen accident though was to a friend not myself. While washing dishes barefoot, she dropped a glass which broke and sliced through the tendon in one of her big toes.


Oh okay,that's if you discount the time I scalded myself with steam when refilling a kettle that had burned dry on the stove (in my defense I WAS about 15 at the time)

[Fontucky]

Oh, that reminds me, I forgot one. I dropped a chef's knife and it speared my foot, right through the tongue of the shoe.

[Ohiogirl81]

^^Been there, done that! I had a knife stick straight up in my toenail once. Ow.

The most painful: sliced up my left index finger learning to debone a chicken breast. It's a good thing you can get them already boned and skinned these days.

The most expensive: Cut open the meaty bits between my thumb and index finger trying to slice the cap open on a two-liter bottle of pop. If I"d have ditched that bottle and opened a bottle that wasn't so stubborn, I would have been out 99 cents. Instead, the urgent care co-pays and antibiotics cost me $150.

[sidrah]

Haven't had a serious cut, except in 3rd grade I was cutting an orange with a sharp knife and it slipped and almost sliced my finger off (the section under my nail where it crinkles). It was okay though. Went about 1/2 way to the other side of the finger/

Since then the worst (painful) was a deep papercut with aluminum foil. Don't know how much that hurts til you can't pick the aluminumn out..OWWWWWWWW

[Beretta]

Once I was put on blood thinners I purchased a cutting glove. It has given me a peace of mind.

[RamblinRoseRanch]

Not counting the occasional burn and spatter, my only serious injury was whilst making salsa. And it wasn't even GOOD salsa- turns out.

Managed to stab my thumb, slicing through the nerve. The pad feels funny and I have a wee scar, but that's about it.

[ivanabacowboy]

My worst injury had nothing to do with a knife. I was making an appetizer recipe for sauerkraut balls that used the corned beef that comes in like a spam can. The can has a thing you pull off to open it, like the thing on cans of frozen orange juice. It was being stubborn and I wasnt really thinking. So I grab the pull and do what I would do to get more leverage on an orange juice can-wrap the pull it around my hand then pull with all my strength. Problem: the pull on this can was not plastic like orange juice cans, it was METAL. That puppy sliced right through my entire hand. Ouch.