Cooking Burns and Scars

[maggiethecat]

Long sear mark on left forearm -- dropped the dacquoise and my arm hit the rack. Two years ago, but still there.

My hands are a mess, not from knife wounds but from oven scars. You may protect your palms by using potholders, but if the tops of your hands brush the rack you understand how that steak feels when it hits the grill! I'm trying to avoid perfect quadrillage.

[Ling]

I just got a new burn on my right forearm yesterday. Now my forearms match.

[avocado]

10-inch chef's knife fell off the magnetic strip and hit the back of my ankle. Nicked my achille's tendon. Didn't walk for three weeks.

[M.X.Hassett]

10-inch chef's knife fell off the magnetic strip and hit the back of my ankle. Nicked my achille's tendon. Didn't walk for three weeks.

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You win.

I like many others have many many forearm oven burns, chest burns from shirtless cooking, a few knife nicks, severed nerves in one hand,etc............

[Megan Blocker]

Mine are not very exotic...mostly burns from the side of the oven and so on. I did get a new one last night (obviously, not a scar yet, but I have faith!) taking the apple tart I made for my puff pastry experiment out of the oven. Right on the knuckle of my right index finger. Slick, Blocker. Slick.

I have lots of other, non-cooking-related scars. I'm notoriously clumsy.

[judiu]

As a teenager, (mumble) many years ago, I cut the side of my thumb off using a meat slicer to cut tomatoes in a sub sandwich stand where I worked. My thumb is still slightly asymmetrical, and the fingerprints have never returned to the amputated portion.

Also my right arm has numerous little pin point scars from running a popcorn machine in the same amusement park (the spattering oil will do a number on ya every time.)

[I_call_the_duck]

I have a few boring cuts and burns, mainly because I'm either careless or my mind wanders as I'm cutting (note to self: pay attention).

The most memorable scar came one Thanksgiving. I burned my forearm while taking a dish out of the oven. Now I’m usually good if I’m in the kitchen by myself, but there were people in the kitchen, and being the the youngest of four I demand attention, so I jumped and yelled in pain. My BIL, who was hovering, just stands there staring for a moment or two, says, “it looks like you’re in pain,” then backs away. Now the ironic part of this story is that he’s the head of the ER at a hospital in the Northeast. (In all fairness, this was a very minor injury compared to what he's seen. And he wasn't working. But please, have a little sympathy!)

Edited because I didn't proofread properly.

Edited November 7, 2005 by I_call_the_duck (log)

[vanderb]

I've been good at home and only have a few little knife nicks, most notably when I got a new french chef's blade for Xmas many years ago. I'd been so accustomed to the dull old knives I'd been using for years that the new sharp one was unexpected... as was the very deep gash to the thumb print. Bled for a couple of hours, but that's standard I bleed like a stuck pig on the best of occasions.

When I was working my way through University as a pizza/line cook I burned the living hell out of my forearms, pizza ovens at an awkward height are somewhat dangerous. Strangley these burns left almost no scars... but maybe that's just the passage of time, it's been a few years since University.

Obviously I'm paying way to much attention at home, I'll have to learn to be more distracted/aggresive in the kitchen.

[gingerfreak]

I've burned myself numerous times (surprisingly few scars; must not scar too easily), but most recently grated my thumb to bits while overzealously grating some orange peel for a carrot-orange soup.

Curious to see what kind of lasting impression that will leave..

[beccaboo]

I have all kinds of burn scars (I have one in progress right now from when the back of my left hand touched the broiler element), but I've never done anything too terrible with a knife. One time, though, I was peeling some kind of really hard winter squash with my new peeler and somehow my hand slipped and I peeled off half of my thumb knuckle! I had to go lie down for a while, so as not to faint, and then my mother the nurse made a nice dressing for my thumb so I could finish fixing dinner. We were having visiting-from-out-of-town relatives over, so I couldn't just bag dinner. The scar's not too bad now, but for a couple of years it looked kind of like a pink extra knuckle pasted onto my thumb.

[JanMcBaker]

Among my various cuts and burns, one that left a lasting scar was from years ago when I was cutting up a chicken. I forget now how I was holding it at the time, but I was thinking that I probably shouldn't be holding the chicken the way I was. And you know what happened next-- the knife slipped and hit my left index finger on a slight, finger-tip saving angle just behind the first joint. Felt it thunk against the bone, too. It needed all of one stitch since it wouldn't stay closed because of the finger bend.

I seem to be dangerous with sharp items slipping. I just thought of another one from ancient history, when I waitressed at a seafood restaurant on Friday evenings after school. Just a small neighborhood place run by a couple, but the husband opened fresh clams and oysters to order. So one evening I asked to try opening a clam. Al's oyster knife looked like it was hammered out of a solid piece of metal-- thick and heavy. So he's showing me what to do and Lee, his wife, says "Don't cut yourself", which of course was my cue for the knife to slip and jab into my hand. I still have a small, oval scar on my hand from that one.

[Country Cook]

My worst scar is my first scar. I was 8 or 9 years old trying to cut a piece of watermelon. I managed to cut the watermelon and the flesh between my thumb and fore finger. It required at trip to emergency and 3 stitches. Still visible today over 30 years later.

[sassybat]

i have numerous burn scars and cuts on my hands from cooking. SO calls me a hazard to myself. my nails are my best defense. they've saved me from slicing my fingers off so many times....

Edited November 8, 2005 by sassybat (log)

[I_call_the_duck]

Yesterday, I got a nasty little scrape from my new box grater. The funny thing is that I got it as I was trying to take out the little cardboard piece that was in the center. Could only happen to me.

[markabauman]

Got an interesting parallel triple liner, from-you guessed it- a mandoline. Wimped out and now use a glove.

[Zach Holmes]

i have numerous burn scars and cuts on my hands from cooking. SO calls me a hazard to myself. my nails are my best defense. they've saved me from slicing my fingers off so many times....

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I keep my knives far too sharp for a flimsy piece of nail to stop it, just recently cut off half of my thumbnail along with a sizeable hunk of flesh, one of many I'm afraid.

Never said I was coordinated...

[Marlene]

Yesterday, I got a nasty little scrape from my new box grater.  The funny thing is that I got it as I was trying to take out the little cardboard piece that was in the center. Could only happen to me. 

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Well at least I was using mine when I grated my knuckle off tonight.

[Kent Wang]

Which tools do you find to be the most dangerous? I think mandolin, followed by box grater. Even more dangerous than knives or burners.

[Marlene]

Well, with my mandoline at least there is a guard so it offers protection. With a box grater your fingers and knuckles are wide open.

Having said that, just about any sharp object in a kitchen is dangerous for me.

[Zach Holmes]

Which tools do you find to be the most dangerous? I think mandolin, followed by box grater. Even more dangerous than knives or burners.

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Definetely the mandoline, once got six parallel cuts on my palm, one every quarter inch from julienning sweet potato, not fun...

[Zach Holmes]

Well, with my mandoline at least there is a guard so it offers protection.  With a box grater your fingers and knuckles are wide open.

Having said that, just about any sharp object in a kitchen is dangerous for me.

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I got the japanese mandoline, the safety guard is "watch your fingers" printed on the front

[PaoPao]

I've got a nice 2"x1/2" one on my inside forearm. This was from Broiling Unagi but I like to tell people it was from a surfacing tape worm and watch them gasp.

[Timh]

2nd and 3rd degree burn on my right forearm to my hand, got a skin graft on my hand. Was pan frying soft shelled crabs at my place in the quarter, tight line space, floured the crabs and turned to put them in the smoking hot oil(about 1 in), bumped the handle, the pan spunaround, I tried to grabit(reflex reaction) and the oil sloshed all over my arm. 2 weeks in surgical ward of Charity in NO.

[ChefDanBrown]

Nicked my femoral artery splitting crab legs (always point knife away from self...duh). Had to get opened up to the femur, then got a staff infestion and had to heal from the bottom up, was looking at my femur in the shower for ten days. If you think you can top that show me a picture, then I'll show you mine.

DB

[judiu]

2nd and 3rd degree burn on my right forearm to my hand, got a skin graft on my hand. Was pan frying soft shelled crabs at my place in the quarter, tight line space, floured the crabs and turned to put them in the smoking hot oil(about 1 in), bumped the handle, the pan spunaround, I tried to grabit(reflex reaction) and the oil sloshed all over my arm. 2 weeks in surgical ward of Charity in NO.

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Wow! You have my sympathy! Worst burn I ever had (not that I'm a pro) was from trying to pour hot grease out of a pan into a can. The can was too full and my hand shook so the grease poured over my left hand that was holding the can. Lovely "pour and drip" shaped blister.