How To Treat A Cut In The Galley
How To Treat A Cut In The Galley
If you spend any time in the galley preparing food, there’s a high probability that you will eventually cut yourself with a knife by accident. Accidents in the kitchen happen all the time on land in a setting that isn’t swaying back and forth. It’s only reasonable to expect your risk to be higher when your countertop is moving around underneath of you. Knowing how to treat and care for a cut is going to be incredibly important if you are out sailing and don’t want to find yourself in the hospital unnecessarily.
How To Prevent Cuts In The Galley
Of course the best way to treat an accidental cut in the galley is to prevent one from happening in the first place. Here are a few tips to keep all your digits intact:
Use a sharp knife – sounds counter-intuitive but a sharp knife is actually safer because it does not slip off food as easily as a dull one can.
Never cut towards yourself
Tuck your fingers in when chopping and have your knuckles be the closest part of your hand to the knife – think of this technique like you’re making a claw with your hand
Never open packaging with a knife. Use scissors instead.
Cut on a flat surface, like a cutting board, that is also on a flat, stable surface. Do not cut anything you are holding in your hand or in a bowl. The bowl may tip and move, causing an accident.
If a knife starts sliding or falling because of the motion of the boat, do not try and catch it. Move out of the way and wait until it settles to pick it up.
Wear a protective glove. My husband does this all the time when filleting fish we’ve caught -It has prevented a filleted hand on more than one occasion.
YouTube, of course, has a lot of videos you can watch on knife safety and knife usage in the kitchen. Check out this one if you are interested in honing your knife skills and this one if you want to see some very basic safety information on knife usage.
How To Treat A Cut
No matter how safe you try to be, accidents can still happen. If you do find yourself with a slice on your finger or hand, treating the wound properly can prevent an infection.
Wash the wound immediately with warm water and soap and assess the situation. Is this something you can treat yourself or does this require a trip to the nearest ER or health clinic? I’ll go over how to determine the severity below.
Apply direct pressure with a clean cloth or gauze pad to stop the bleeding. Holding the hand above your heart can help stop the bleeding faster.
Apply antibiotic ointment or petroleum jelly once the bleeding has stopped and cover the area with a bandage. Antibiotic ointment may cause an allergic rash in some people so do not use if you’ve experienced this in the past. If a rash appears, stop using the ointment right away.
Continue to clean the area at least once a day until it heals and change your bandage at this time as well. If the bandage gets dirty at any point, you’ll want to change it out.
When To Head To The ER For A Cut
Not every slice and dice of the hand is going to be treatable by you at home. Sometimes a cut is too serious for you to handle yourself and you may need stitches. If you are experiencing any of the following issues, get yourself to the nearest clinic or emergency room for treatment. Trigger warning: some things I’m going to say next are a bit graphic. Skip on by if you have a queasy stomach about this kind of thing.
Bleeding is not able to be controlled or it is squirting out.
The wound is gaping and you cannot easily push the sides of the cut together
You can see white in the wound – This could be your bone or a tendon. Either way this is a cut that is deep enough to need a doctor’s expertise.
You can see yellow fatty tissue – This indicates you have a deep cut that has gone through too many layers of skin.
You cannot move your hand or fingers properly or there is tingling or numbness. This could mean you have nerve or tendon damage.
The knife or object that cut you was rusty – You will need a tetanus shot and a good wound cleaning, even if you are up-to-date on your tetanus boosters.
If at any point you feel faint or pass out
Trust your gut! I can’t stress this enough - You should always trust your instincts because you know your body better than anyone else. If you feel that you need to go to the ER, just go.
One of the best things you can do in any situation involving a galley accident is not to panic. Keeping your cool when assessing a potential medical situation will help you to make the best decisions possible when it comes to treatment. If you are running around in a frenzy, you increase your risk of hurting yourself or someone else even more. Let cool heads prevail and know that most injuries can be safely treated at home with the proper first aid supplies.
Keep Learning…
Why You Should Visit Your Doctor Before You Travel