Hold the Ice

There is a saying. It's a stupid saying... The saying goes, 'If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen.' See? I told you it was a stupid saying. What exactly does it mean anyway? If you can't handle pressure or something? Oh please! When you cook from the heart, there is no pressure...

---

Heat and cooking go together right? Right. Heat and danger go together too so it stands to follow that cooking and accidents go together. It happens to all of us and it's part of cooking. I know that may sound strange but stay with me, Dear Readers. Cook smart. "Cooking smart" means being mindful and being prepared. Mindful is being completely present and preparedness means having proper equipment to do a craft well. In the case of cooking, the proper equipment means sharp knives and hot surfaces. When combined, sharp and hot may cause accidental injury. Injuries require knowledge.

---

In general, I am a klutzy person. I run into things, bump into things and on occasion, trip a little bit; in other words, bruises and nicks and are just part of life for me. By looking at my hands and arms, it's easy to tell what I do for a living. I am a professional Private Chef and Culinary Instructor. At any given time I have cuts somewhere on my hands/arms, bruises and possibly burns too. I notice I get the most injured when I am being lazy or rushing. What to do? What to do? 

 In a perfect world of course the obvious answer to "what to do?" is not to be lazy or rush right? Well, since I have not won the lottery recently, I do not live a perfect world. I know the occasional injury will happen. Since an injury will happen ( it's just a matter of when) I like to be informed.
​
For a cut, here is what to do:
1. Wash your hands.
2. Do your best to stop the bleeding by applying pressure to the boo-boo.
3. Clean it.
4. Wrap/bandage it and try to keep it dry and allow oxygen to get to it.

---

For a burn, here is what to do:
1. Immediately place the burned area under running water. Hold the ice please! Ice restricts blood flow and may cause more injury to the area. 

---

I am not a physician (and don't even play one on TV) so please consult one/seek medical attention if your boo-boo is severe, like you cannot stop the bleeding/skin damage or something. 

Please share some tips for treating (minor) boo-boos in the kitchen and we can help each other.