Have You Injured Yourself Cooking?

November 3, 2009

Last Wednesday while chopping shallots with my shiny new knife, I cut my thumb. Badly. I was really lucky I didn't slice the tip of my thumb off. While this isn't the first time I've hurt myself in the kitchen (I have a scar on my arm from an oven burn), this was by far my most extreme accident. From hot oil to slippery knives, there's plenty of danger in cooking, so do tell: have you hurt yourself in the kitchen?

Source: Getty

45 Comments

3 years 25 weeks

I think every day when i go into the kitchen i end up with a new cut on my hands from a knife! I'm also really good at grating my knuckles and fingernails

3 years 25 weeks

Well... there was the time I got kiwi fuzz stuck in my hand which caused much swelling and redness... an incident with a ceramic mandolin blade that should have been much worse but luckily it only sliced off a callous and some fingernail... chopped off the area between my first joints and bottom of the fingernail on 3 fingers at once because I was using a brand new knife and well I knew it was sharp but not THAT sharp... stabbed myself in the palm of the hand with a paring knife that someone had placed in my dishwasher point up after a party (WHY???)... dropped a pyrex bowl handle-down on the top of my foot because someone just HAD to get past me in the small kitchen and couldn't wait for me to get a better grip on it... and I'm sure numerous other slices and bang-ups. :)

3 years 25 weeks

Just now. Again. But this was very stupid because I was overwrought over a man who thought I was too old to date. Sigh. So, I bought a piece of steak (trying for the perfect carné asada recipe), heated up some oil, and THREW the meat into the pan. The hot oil splattered all over the underside of my left wrist, which may keep me off the computer (typing hurts!) and I'll forever remember that man if it scars. Now, if he hadn't wanted to date me because I was immature, I could've seen that.

Giasbash6260 3 years 27 weeks

One time I was trying to open a frozen meat package with a knife and stabbed myself directly in the center of my hand... and now will forever have a huge scar from the gash - it was really really bad, I could see all the way down... yea I won't give any more details.

JessRose 3 years 28 weeks

Just from splatter burns :(

eshellmoyer 3 years 28 weeks

I've burned my forearms like a million times. Once I was reaching over the little pass through to grab some ramen my mom was handing me and I put my entire forearm on the toaster oven, which was on. My mom stayed up all night blowing on my arm because that was the only way I wasn't in incredible pain. I also have second degree burn scars from trying to use my left hand around hot pans. The worst part is they were pretty close together and happened pretty close together in time. I should learn that it is not coordinated. The most spectacular but least painful was when I dropped an entire hot pizza cheese side down on my arm. It was an incredibly delicious pizza de thon so we flipped the pizza over and ate around the arm mark. It was mostly first degree, and the pizza was still tasty.

PinkNC 3 years 28 weeks

I've burnt myself while in a hurry to take something out of the oven. But I rarely have anything happen.

stephle 3 years 28 weeks

I'm accident prone anyway but three Thanksgivings ago when I was hosting, the below all happened during the three days prior to the big day... On Monday I dropped 8lb weight on my toe, thought I broke it but put ice on it and limped along anyway. On Tues, I was chopping veggies while trying to keep the weight off of my swollen foot and cut almost cut the corner of my left thumb off, sending me to urgent care. Insistent that these small injuries wouldn't get the better of me, I took the Tylenol Codeine 3 the doc gave me and soldiered on. On Weds, I was making pies and seriously burned my right hand with red hot boiling caramel, necessitating a visit to the burn center. After trading up to two 750mg Vicodin ES tablets the burn doc gave me, I figured a good nights sleep was all I needed to host Thanksgiving dinner the next day. On Thurs morning, I woke up stoned out of my gourd yet still in agonizing pain. Called Mom and had her come over to finish cooking my dinner. Don't remember much of Thanksgiving Day after that.

insanitypepper 3 years 28 weeks

I get the usual cuts & burns weekly. The most painful cut I've gotten was from a wine bottle foil. It somehow managed to slice deeply into the base of my thumb.

clew001 3 years 28 weeks

is this even a question?lol i dont know a time i havent injured myself while cooking

TADOW 3 years 28 weeks

I was cutting butternut squash last year and cut down into my thumb from the top through the fingernail. It was gross, but it healed up and the nail grew back

fuzzles 3 years 28 weeks

Is a frog's butt water-tight? :froggy: Like most, I've had my run-ins with knives and burns. As a teen and while working in a cafe, I once miscalculated a grab while on the line and stuck the fingers of my right hand into the hot oil well. No scars or damage, though. My "favorite" happened several years ago when I was all set to puree a still very warm batch of tomato soup in the blender. I evidently contracted a severe case of dumbass-itus, and for whatever reason, failed to put the lid on the appliance. Tomato soup all over me and the kitchen. Thankfully, this was something that a little quality time with a cold shower was able to solve! My pride, well, that was another issue entirely!

betty kraker 3 years 28 weeks

im clumsy so i get hurt often

vtkitkat 3 years 28 weeks

I have a scar on my foot where I dropped a knife and didn't get out of the way in time. It was a lesson to me not to wear flip-flops in the kitchen!

minxa25 3 years 28 weeks

i cut my finger peeling a mango was my worst..

merie33 3 years 28 weeks

When I was in school (culinary) this kid put a HOT pot on the sink board without saying anything...I was washing dishes and grabbed it, not knowing, and gave myself a fantastic burn...across the palm of my hand and all of my finger prints. I didn't have any finger prints on my right hand for a good 3 months. A few weeks ago at work, I was dicing tomatoes and slipped and cut off my index fingernail. It's growing back okay, but MAN it HURT so bad for the first few days!! I totally understand the point of fingernails now! lol

3 years 28 weeks

I am a chef (soon to be tv chef) I have permanent reminders of two of my most spectacular kitchen injuries: 1. Huge scar from upper thigh to knee from splashing bacon grease. 2. The scar on the tip of my middle finger. It was about 8pm on a Saturday night; full-on dinner rush. I reached for a towel on the cooking line, which some fool (guess who?) had placed over a recently-used meat knife. As I grabbed the towel, the point of the knife went deep into the tip of my middle finger. I could feel it hit the bone. I tried to no avail to stem the bleeding enough to continue. A good friend owned the restaurant, and it was the middle of Saturday night's service. He and I both were torn between me trying to stick it out, and the knowledge that the cut was too deep and the possibility of infection too great not to go to the hospital. Of course, I spent 2 hours in the ER waiting to be seen, because obviously I wasn't going to die. I felt horrible, because I had to abandon my friend's kitchen when he needed me most. The restaurant survived, but needless to say I am much more careful with towels and knives on the line.

jmorri26 3 years 28 weeks

My best are these: -3rd degree (yep a REAL 3rd degree) burn on my wrist about the size of a quarter from a roux splattering me when someone dumped the meat into the pot I was stirring. I tried to wipe/scrape it off and by the time I made it to the sink, damage was done. Later had it explained that the combo of grease and flour acted like a messed up kitchen napalm effectively. I immediately developed a blister at least half an inch + high and it was a deep black/grey. (It was pretty gross) took forever to heal and I have a huge raised scar. Almost needed a skin graft but it was decided it was small enough to leave it heal. -Other was with a cake leveler. I've had tons of kitchen knife cuts (did the tip of the finger. Not that bad looking back) but I full force rammed my fist into a brand new very sharp cake leveler (basically a really sharp thin bread knife blade) rolling out fondant. The blade sliced through my pinky straight to the bone. My first and only stitches!

RobyTose 3 years 28 weeks

I'm a kitchen klutz for sure... but my most memorable injury was from a hand mixer. I finished whipping cream and wanted to see if it was sweet enough by wiping my finger on the moving blades - I just figured they'd whip past but instead they grabbed my index finger and it got caught between them. Fingers should never be bent that way and it hurt like crazy to try to pull them out of the mixer because there's no "reverse" function. Ouch!!!

suziryder 3 years 28 weeks

I had to stop reading this thread because the descriptions of injuries were seriously making me queasy. I've had your run of the mill injuries... cut my fingers with knives, grated my fingers on the box grater, burns from spattering whatever or (better yet) touching my fingers to the oven racks or (even better!) the inside roof of the oven. That last one caused a fairly sizable burn on my forearm, but now that I'm looking for it, it looks like it's all healed up... I thought I'd have a scar from that for good!

Spectra 3 years 28 weeks

I've burned myself several times, but the worst burn was when I was pouring boiling water for tea and it splashed all over my hand and gave me some huge blisters and a scar. I've also cut myself a few times...the worst time was when I was slicing some pork with a sharp knife and the knife slid and landed in my thumb, splitting it neatly down the middle through the nail. Strangely, it didn't really hurt THAT bad, but it sure did bleed a lot. I went to the ER, but because of how it got cut, I had to get tape sutures instead of actual stitches. I still have a scar from that one!

hexentanz 3 years 28 weeks

Cut myself dozens of times, grated my finger/knuckles, burns, etc. :P

aniline 3 years 28 weeks

I cut my finger 'cause I was trying to saw through a green pepper with a knife that was really dull. Not dull enough to keep me from hurting myself though! It was right under my fingernail too, where the skin is all sensitive. Ick. Took almost a month to heal.