Halloween is full of frights and gruesome things, but you don’t want to be one of them. It turns out, Halloween is the busiest holiday for hand injuries, according to Dr. Sanj Kakar, a Mayo Clinic orthopedic hand and wrist surgeon. He says about a third of those happen in kids ages 10 to 14 and most of them happen when carving pumpkins.
"It's primarily stabbing injuries where the knife may slip, and, so, they can cut things like tendons, which are the ropes that help move your hands," Kakar explains. "But they can also break bones, and also they can burn themselves, as well, with candles."
Fortunately, he says most of these injuries are avoidable if you follow some simple rules.
- Use a knife made for carving pumpkins - A lot of people just grab a sharp knife from the kitchen, but Kakar says research shows pumpkin-specific carving knives are safer “because the force needed to injure yourself is higher if you use one of those” than if you use a standard knife. So get a pumpkin carving kit and only use that knife to be safe.
- Make it a grown-up job - Kids love to get involved in the fun, but Kakar recommends letting little ones handle designing the jack-o’-lantern and having adults do all of the carving.
- Support that pumpkin with your non-cutting hand - If you’re right-handed, use your left hand to support the pumpkin and Kakar advises carving from the top down, not the bottom up. He says it’s very easy for the knife to slip and go into your hand, so support it securely to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Source: Medical Xpress
Scott's Thoughts:
- Seems like solid, year-round advice to not give little kids a sharp knife and let them go to town carving and stabbing, not just on Halloween.
- I never cut my hand carving pumpkins. Chopping potatoes, that's a different story.
- Only carved with the kids a handful of years. Mostly just decorated with store bought stuff.