It is beginning to look like we need an ER Forum or a Doctor's Corner on this board.

[Live_to_cook]

mofo1: I appreciate your concern. I should have mentioned that the tourniquets remained on long enough to let the clotting set up, about 15-20 minutes. Certainly, more time will eventually damage the tissue through lack of oxygen.

If I could just avoid banging the %$%#@@ thing against stuff it would be quite far along the road to healing by now.

[Nick.Shu]

ok, LTC tournequets are a bit of a no-no. Especially if you end up with a gangrenous extension.

Anneke - accidents happen, sometimes its carelessness, sometimes its fatigue, sometimes lack of training. You cant always prevent all accidents.

LTC,
It isn't just oxygen loss to worry about. Think about your state of mind when you cut yourself real good. It hurts, blood flowing, etc. If you tie the tourniquet too tight, you can crush tissue, veins, and create all sorts of nasty problems. Besides, it does not take too long for oxygen deprivation to do very real damage to offending digit. Please understand, I'm not scolding or lecturing, I just don't want anyone hurt. Bottom line: If you need a tourniquet, you need a doctor. My 2 cents.
Anneke,
As was said above, chefs are constantly cutting something; veggies, meat, fish, themselves. Pro kitchens are stressful, busy places with lots of movement and distractions. They are also usually slippery. I hope that your teachers are emphasizing proper safety techniques along with the different cuts you are learning. If you use bad technique, I GUARANTEE you will cut yourself badly. Safety (both for yourself and others) must be in your mind AT ALL TIMES. Lecture over.

[This message has been edited by mofo1 (edited 02-03-2001).]

You're right and NO, they don't emphasize it enough. Just last Tuesday, a distracted student came right at me with a pile of pots pans and a board in his arms; he was holding a 10" knife in one hand pointing straight at my heart! I was about 12" away from him at the time. I was too startled to say anything and he just walked right by me - and right by the teacher too!!

ANyway, I'm cutting myself about twice a week. I've been using 8-9" knives all my life and I'm just starting to get used to my 10". I never cut myself too badly, I just shave my nail enough to draw blood but it's all healed within 36 hours. I have trouble cutting with my knuckles fully tucked in because I have particularly small hands and I cannot gather as much product to chop as most people. I was curious to know how you guys cut yourselves so I could learn and avoid these situations myself. Thanks for all the great tips and take care!!

[Nick.Shu]

ok, the first thing is: someone comes towards you with a knife and a whole heap of junk in their arms. Yell "stop and dont move" so even the teacher hears. Then admonish them over their stupidity. Why, because if you factor into your explanation that "yes you could of injured me" and then explain that what would happen if that was their hard earned externship etc and the person they could of punctured was the chef.

Im not saying to belittle yourself, but if you put things in the big picture by describing it as such, you will make more of a impact.

In regards to tucking your fingers in, just do it sometimes prep might take you longer but so what. Or take some zip lock sandwhich bags to school.

1 thing especially in this industry to be aware of: Occupational Health and Safety. Not just because it concerns you, but also, it may just earn you extra marks,,,...just like hygiene.

[This message has been edited by Nick.Shu (edited 02-05-2001).]

[Nick.Shu]

post-script

The unusual thing is that the way to hold a knife when walking was actually in an American knife manual - could be the printed CIA one.

Good Lord!!!!
I'm going to start calling all of you "Stumpy!"
The trick, and only trick, to keep from cutting yourself is to train yourselt to keep your eyes on the blade. No matter what happens around you, crashing pots and pans, chef screaming "order up!" or anything, if your eye is on the blade, you will not stick your finger under it and press down.
Proper body mechanics and postition in front of the bench will also help. But learning to hear, but not be distracted by, environmental noise is the key.

We had our demo class today. I spoke to the teacher privately at the end of class to report the incident and a few others too. Thanks for the advice. Now I just hope I can stop cutting myself. The last couple of times was because I was chopping veg at home on a board way to small for a 10" knife. I only cut myself once in lab while washing my knife (there was a lot of pushing and shoving as it was the end of class...Grrrrr!) I'll take your advice about tucking those fingers in. I think I am destined to chop small quantities at a time unfortunately. Is that why so many women opt for pastry instead?

Regards,

Stumpy

[CWK]

It's kinda funny but I go through a cycle of
accidents.First it's the nasty burns on the underside of my forearm then we progress to
footwork;rare but entertaining to those who witness me drop dancing all the way.
I start to worry.Then it happens.Right in the middle of some big deal run on the line
I cut myself like a blood offering to the Chef Gods and I can't for the life of me get things under control.Trip to ER.Bummer.Bummer because I know that untill the cut heals, that part of my body will be called upon to bump hit or bang into anything and everything from start to finish
all day long.Just another day.The cycle hasn't started yet...But I know it's out there...So I guess what I'm trying to say is
I expect to have a boo-boo and unless it's a bad one I just hit the sink,size up the cut and go from there.First aid should never take a back-seat when we deal with potentialy serious infections.It's just not a laughing matter anymore.I'm not a crybaby or anything like that but I think that given recent health concerns a cut is not just a cut untill that cut affects others.sorry to ramble but I'm tired.You did the right thing.

[ 02-08-2001: Message edited by: CWK ]

[ 02-08-2001: Message edited by: CWK ]

[Anneke]

WOOHOOO!
I haven't cut myself in TWO WEEKS!!

Thanks for all your tips! (not the fleshy tips you leave on your boards...!)

[CWK]

Originally posted by Anneke:
WOOHOOO!
I haven't cut myself in TWO WEEKS!!

Thanks for all your tips! (not the fleshy tips you leave on your boards...!)

You...are asking for it.Knock on wood.HaHaHa.

[CulinaryGeek]

Everytime I cut myself, its always right after a server has asked me a stupid question. I don't know if there is a coorelation or not. I also don't recommend self-cardorizing the wound on the flat top either (one really dumb cook did this where I worked several years back... passed out from hitting his pain threshold).

chefyossi.com carries the best burn cream and cut cream though. has antibacterial and numbing agents. There hand lotion is great too.

[100folds]

Something was shown to me when you need a cut to stop bleeding fast. Put white pepper on it and it helps clot the wound. It doesn't seem to infect it but the fact of the matter is, you are putting a foreign substance into a cut. But it does work, I would just use it as a last resort, say you need to plate 50 billion plates and you don't have time to deal with a cut. Slap some good old white pepper on it, a bandage and a finger condom. Always a golve or finger condom. And if you find your bandaid and coming off, use duck tape around the bandaid. It keeps the cut protected and dry. Another use for duck tape.

[mudbug]

100folds,
Just to be on the safe side of a public forum...

While you may not have experienced any negative results from intentionally putting white pepper directly on a wound, this does not mean it is recommended. Wound clotting will start in any average human being within a few minutes regardless of whether the wound has been disinfected properly or not. Any normal working kitchen should have hydrogen peroxide on hand which is sterile and consistent. Sources of white pepper however, will vary from manufacturers, distributors, containers, etc and there is little to no evidence that it is widely accepted as a blood clotting accelerator. My guess is that it would take essentially the same amount of time for two identical cuts to start clotting - pepper or not.

Anneke,
Please don't short change yourself by using small hands as an excuse. You may feel you can't cut as much quantity per mound but if you use proper techniques (that don't create cuts every two weeks), gain confidence in technique and rhythym, then there is no reason your speed should not increase resulting in being able to cut more than your "male" counterparts.