YORK, Pa. — Nothing brings Thanksgiving dinner to a screeching halt like a trip to the emergency room.
"This is the time of year people are making lots of hams, turkeys, and big meats....and there is a lot of cutting involved," said Dr. Anna Muzio with UPMC. There are also a lot of distractions on Thanksgiving Day, and if you're not careful, they could cause you a trip to the emergency room!
"There's not a lot of space between the world and our tendons... you know our skin on our hand is pretty thin and those knife blades are sharp, so it's pretty easy to get a tendon injury to the hand," Dr. Muzio explained.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that hundreds of thousands of people are injured by knives each year. While some injuries may be minor, Dr. Muzio cautions that some signs can't be ignored.
"Injuries can be so bad from the cutting, you can get associated injuries to the bones, such as fractures or chips to the bone," she said.
But don't worry, there are simple tips you can use to stay safe this Thanksgiving.
At the top of the list is avoiding distractions.
"Make sure that you're not intoxicated, you're not not trying to watch a football game as you're carving... make sure that you don't have your children around while carving the turkey and you're really on the task at hand," the orthopedic surgeon warned.
Doctors also recommend making sure your knife blades are sharp, keep your opposite hand out of the cutting field, never cut towards yourself and to make sure your carving surface is clean, dry and flat.
If you have a carving accident this Thanksgiving, Dr. Muzio says to start with immediate first aid at home.
Wash your hands with soap and water and apply pressure with a moist paper towel.
If the bleeding doesn't stop within a few minutes, get to the nearest emergency room for an evaluation.