Hand Surgeons Describe How to Safely Carve a Turkey & Avoid Holiday Injuries

When you think of Thanksgiving, inevitably one of the first things that comes to mind is turkey. One of the last things that you'd think of is a hand injury, and so this year the American Society for Surgery of the Hand is cautioning carvers to take steps to carve their main course turkey, and not their own hands.

Hand injuries are a common injury around the holidays, often stemming from cutting open pumpkins or carving up turkeys. But according to Reid Abrams, member of the ASSH, danger lurks elsewhere, and hand injuries are the result of more than just carving turkeys, hams, and roasts:

"Many hand injuries also occur during post-meal clean-up. Care needs to be taken when washing dishes--particularly soap-covered, slippery glasses. I've also treated many tendon and nerve injuries that were caused by crystal breaking while washing glasses by hand," said Abrams.

But fortunately, most of these injuries are avoidable with a little precaution. To avoid an unpleasant holiday injury, the ASSH is recommending that everyone follow these tips:

-- Never cut towards yourself. One slip of the knife can cause a horrific injury. While carving a turkey or cutting a pumpkin your free hand should be placed opposite the side you are carving towards. Don't place your hand underneath the blade to catch the slice of meat.

-- Keep your cutting area well-lit and dry. Good lighting will help prevent an accidental cut of the finger and making sure your cutting surface is dry will prevent ingredients from slipping while chopping.

-- Keep your knife handles dry. A wet handle can prove slippery and cause your hand to slip down onto the blade resulting in a nasty cut.

-- Keep all cutting utensils sharp. A sharp knife will never need to be forced to cut, chop, carve or slice. A knife too dull to cut properly is still sharp enough to cause an injury.

-- Use an electric knife to ease the carving of the turkey or ham.
-- Use kitchen sheers to tackle the job of cutting bones and joints.

-- Leave meat and pumpkin carving to the adults. Children have not yet developed the dexterity skills necessary to safely handle sharp utensils.

-- Lastly, should you cut your finger or hand, bleeding from minor cuts will often stop on their own by applying direct pressure to the wound with a clean cloth. Visit an emergency room or a hand surgeon if: continuous pressure does not stop the bleeding after 15 minutes; you notice persistent numbness or tingling in the fingertip; you are unsure of your tetanus immunization status or you are unable to thoroughly cleanse the wound by rinsing with a mild soap and plenty of clean water.