Then, with one slip of the knife, you've gone from Julia Child to a Dan Aykroyd impression of her on Saturday Night Live, with your spurting blood rapidly turning your alfredo sauce pink. Not too appetizing. Kitchen safety is no joke. Valley emergency rooms frequently see patients who have been injured in the kitchen, said Lorna Maxson, who oversees nurses at Arrowhead Community Hospital and Medical Center in Glendale. Most kitchen injuries are cuts, she said.
Burns are less likely to be serious enough to merit hospital care.
Kitchen injuries frequently can be treated at home. However, if a cut won't stop bleeding or a burn breaks the skin, professional medical attention may be needed, said Kay Zimmerman, a registered nurse with Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Phoenix. Prompt treatment will minimize the chances of infection and speed healing time, she said. If it does blister, resist the urge to pop it, Zimmerman said. Kids tend to get the worst burns, usually because the burns are spread over a larger percentage of the skin.