The kitchen is, after the bathroom, the most dangerous room in the house – and with the kitchen’s complement of knives, exposed heat sources, glassware, ceramics, and household poisons, it is not surprising. Kitchen accidents cause many disabling injuries and fatalities every year.
I left for Pembroke Regional Hospital just before 4:00 a.m. one morning. About 8:30 p.m. the night before I pulled the blender out to make a smoothie. The top of the blender is a rubber shape with a plastic knob in it to assist in removing the cover. The knob was missing. I went ahead anyway with fruit and ice cubes in the blender, placing my hand over the opening to prevent spillage. I noticed there were tiny hunks of ice cubes in the smoothie after I drank about half, then poured the rest into the sink. I e-mailed Sheila who was in Ottawa to inquire about the missing knob. She replied jokingly that maybe it was stored in the blender.
Anyway, I went to bed and woke around 3:00 a.m. unable to sleep and got up to make a cup of tea. It was then that I noticed some big pieces of plastic in the sink that came from the plastic knob that had been in the blender and didn’t break up like the rest of it. OMG, I phoned Tele-Health and went through the episode. This nurse made me promise to go to the Emergency. I debated for half an hour then left for PRH. I was whisked through into a waiting room for the doctor’s arrival. She felt my stomach for pain and finding none, she said, “You should be okay but come back if you don’t feel well.” To celebrate I had a coffee and a croissant at Timmy’s, arriving home at 6:30 a.m. I now know how the knob got into the blender; the blender was a little too high to fit between two shelves so I took the knob off and put into the blender for safe-keeping. Now I have no knob and lost a night’s sleep!
There are five categories that account for the majority of emergency room visits to hospitals, sometimes experiencing extreme blood loss and potentially permanent nerve damage. They are usually the result of a cut, a fall, stovetop burns, bacteria and poisoning.
Cutting injuries are mostly the result of dull knives and an improper knife technique. Cutting of raw chicken is the most common injury followed by potatoes and apples.
Sometimes with a fall in the kitchen, there can be an involuntary flailing of arms associated with the fall that can spill hot liquids, shatter glassware, or bring the arms in contact with stovetops or knives. To reduce risk, never cook when the floor is wet and clean spills when they happen.
A fire resulted to a nephew of mine in Scarborough. He was a senior in high school who came home at noon, put the grease pot on for homemade French fries and literally forgot about it until it burst into flames. Grabbing the pot to carry outside, the spitting grease ruined a chair and chesterfield as well as setting the curtains on fire when he went through the double-doors. He also received numerous burns. He also received a helluva lecture from his parents that evening.
Liquids on a stovetop can also be extremely dangerous, especially if they boil over or spill. It only takes a second of exposure to boiling water to inflict third-degree burns. Don’t use a receptacle that is too small to accommodate the liquid, and never leave a boiling pot unattended. I must remember that!
So can an unattended oven. One time I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies for my Dad. I forgot to set the timer and the cookies were scorched beyond crisp and had to be tossed out. When I told him of the misfortune, he said “Stick to your day job.”
I didn’t though. The next week time I attempted apple crisp. It came out looking great but tasted terrible. I had used black pepper on it instead of cinnamon. We did eat it though but gingerly.
I had always wanted to bake a three layer angel food cake but considering my baking endeavours, I think I should stay out of harm’s way and let someone else take over.
