Everyday gestures that are not so trivial. When we think of oysters, pumpkins of all kinds and other avocados, the first thing we think of is good dishes. But from the kitchen to the emergency room, sometimes there’s just one move that goes wrong. The knife slips and there is the wound.
When the pumpkin season begins and the oyster season arrives, for the end of year holidays, we ask the medical specialists what are the good reflexes to have when faced with a cut.
“It is true that the classic cases are rather injuries related to shucking oysters at the end of the year, shellfish or even cutting avocados!” says Dr. Philippe Pradel, hand and neck surgeon, senior member of the service. SOSMain. of the Médipôle de Savoie and member of the European Federation of Hand Emergencies.
Whatever vegetables we cook, for Dr. Michaël Benassayag, the risk of suffering domestic accidents is frequent, because we carry out tasks mechanically without paying attention to them.
“I remember a patient last year who, while trying to cut a pumpkin, had put her hand in the path of the knife. The blade had buried itself in her finger,” says Dr. Benassayag, also a surgeon in the department. SOS Principal of the Médipôle de Savoie.
This seemingly minor injury (5 to 8 mm) required the patient to spend six weeks in a splint and six months of rehabilitation. The woman had severed a nerve, an artery and a tendon. During the operation, the surgeon had to perform a suture under the microscope, “which allowed a good recovery of the function of the hand”, despite a “reduction in the sensitivity of the pulp of the finger”, explains the specialist.
To cut a pumpkin safely, it is important to choose a clear workspace and “above all, use the correct gestures,” explains Dr. Philippe Pradel. It’s best to cut the squash in half for more stability, “use a solid knife and remember to point it toward the cutting board and not your hand.”
Recommendations that may seem obvious but are often overlooked. Enough to push Dr. Benassayag to use educational photographs as prevention, during Halloween, for example.
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Despite all precautions, accidents occurred quickly.
“The first thing to do is clean the wound well by running your hand under tap water, then stop the bleeding by applying strong pressure,” insists Dr. Benassayag.
Once the first aid measures have been carried out, the surgeon recommends consulting a doctor or going directly to the nearest SOS Main service. If a wound may appear benign on the surface, doctors warn of possible deeper injuries that remain invisible to the naked eye.
“The mistake that many people make is not consulting a health professional,” laments Dr. Benassayag.
“Very often, after getting a cut, most people notice that they can move their hand, so they say, ‘it’s okay!’ But when we do clinical examinations, we find that there is partial damage to the nerves or tendons.” he adds.
An infectious risk
And that is not the only danger. “Any sharp object that is used is rarely clean,” emphasizes Dr. Houvet, surgeon at the French Institute of the Hand (IFCM). “Therefore, the knife will deposit bacteria at the bottom of the wound” and it will come out immediately, “without us worrying.”
However, the surgeon insists, the risk of infection is greater than that of damaging the nerves or tendons.
Doctors recommend systematically consulting a healthcare professional capable of evaluating the severity of the injuries and the possible injuries present. Among the 150,000 hand injuries treated by FESUM (all profiles combined), the majority have serious injuries that can leave more or less serious consequences.
Source: BFM TV
