Prevent These Common Household Hand Injuries

Did you know that many of the most common hand injuries can happen from accidents at home?

If you spend time in the kitchen or working in the yard or doing projects at home, you may be putting yourself and your hands at risk without even realizing it. Thankfully, some extra added awareness and a few precautions can help you avoid some major traumatic hand injuries, as well as a few trips to the urgent care or hand surgeon.

Here are some common household hand injuries and how to prevent them.

LACERATIONS

One of the most common household hand injuries is when one cuts oneself with a knife. Often this type of injury happens in the kitchen. To prevent it from happening, always tuck your fingertips in and under when chopping vegetables. Better yet, look for kitchen tools that hold vegetables while you cut them so that you don’t put your fingers at risk. Never handle knives by the blade, especially when loading them into the dishwasher — and point them down when you do.

[Learn more about fingertip injuries ]

AMPUTATIONS

If you are working at a workbench or in the yard with power tools, following a few basic guidelines will help you avoid a major traumatic injury such as an amputation. As simple as it sounds, always be sure to pay attention to what you are doing when working with rotating blades, whether it is a power saw or a lawnmower. Never put your fingers in the way of a rotating blade. Also, be sure to unplug and/or turn off your power tool or lawn mower prior to servicing or cleaning it. Better safe than sorry.

OTHER INJURIES

Working out at home or with workout equipment can put you and your family in danger around machines, especially if you have little ones that might become curious about how things work. To be safe working out at home, remove rings and bracelets prior to lifting weights or using workout machines to prevent them from getting caught in moving parts. Keep little ones away from weights and machines to prevent them from getting their fingers smashed (in things like weights) or caught (in things like treadmills). Staying aware of the job at hand, as well as protecting kids in your household from accessing dangerous items are two major things you can do to prevent common household injuries.

However, if the worst does happen and you or someone you love does experience a major hand injury at home, Dr. Yospur can help. Contact us today.