According to many, the kitchen is the most dangerous room in the house.
Think about it. What other room requires concentration at the risk of your safety? Sure, accidents can happen anywhere in the house but what other room has such a collection of things that can injure you? Even the pros in the kitchen have a plethora of stories of losing focus and getting hurt because of it.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the survey they maintain, the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, 2011 had almost 330,000 hospital visits that were due to knife accidents at home. A study of 8,000 of these incidents revealed that more than 66% of these injuries occurred to fingers.
With numbers such as those listed, it’s no wonder that we’ve received several calls from various restaurants that need our help cleaning up an accident scene. We’ve seen calls ranging from a knife dropped onto a foot all the way to a complete severing of a finger (or two) and most of them had a common thread: They could’ve been prevented if the victim was focused on what they were doing.
The NEISS survey indicates that a lot of times, these knife injuries are caused when cutting round foods such as onions, avocados, tomatoes, etc.. The round shape of these foods can make it difficult to maintain a grip on them which could cause your knife to slip. It’s also been noted by the NEISS survey that knife injuries happened a lot when the knife was used to pry things apart (like frozen burger patties) or open things (like boxes or wine bottles).
Facts like these emphasize the point that you need to focus when you’re in the kitchen. It’s not always easy to focus though, especially if you’re cooking at home. Between pets, partners, kids, the ringing phone and the endless list of things that we have going on it can be easy to get distracted.
Since accidents are going to happen, some kitchen experts offered some advice on things you can do to help minimize your risk so hopefully your kitchen doesn’t end up looking like the one pictured from Knoxville, TN.
- Sharpen your knives. Not only will they cut your food better but a cut from a sharp knife will actually heal better and quicker than those made from a duller blade.
- If a knife is dropped, let it fall. Do not try to catch it. Attempting to catch it will likely end in injury.
- Use a cutting board. Don’t try to slice something while it’s in your hand or lap.
- Cut on a flat surface. If what you’re trying to cut is round, cut it in half first.
- Cut away from the body, not towards it. If the knife slips, you don’t want to stab yourself.
- Don’t use a knife to open packages. Scissors are a safer option and your knives will last longer for not having to pull double duty.
- Let frozen food thaw. Don’t use the knife to pry things apart.
No matter how safe you are, accidents will inevitably happen. Once that does remember that cleaning up blood is a very dangerous matter that should only be undertaken by trained professionals. Blood can contain many dangerous pathogens that could risk the health of others if not cleaned properly.
Advanced Bio Treatment is the company you should call for your clean up needs. We are certified to clean commercial, residential and industrial areas and use only EPA approved, hospital grade cleaners while following OSHA guidelines on every job. If you need our services, guidance or have questions feel free to call us at 800-295-1684.
We are available all day, every day.
