Each year hundreds of people suffer maiming or amputations of their fingers or hands due to the improper handling of snowblowers
The American Society for Surgery of the Hand would like to provide you with patient information to help you avoid these injuries during the winter season.
Injury Profile
Average age: 44 years
Sex: Male
Dominant hand — 90% of injuries
Amputations of tips of fingers
Middle finger most commonly injured
Common Weather Conditions
Heavy, wet snow
Large snow accumulation, greater than six inches
Temperature: 28 degrees Fahrenheit or greater
Injury Causes
Snow clogging the exit chute of the machine
Not noticing that the impeller blades are still rotating even though the machine is off
Operator attempts to clean the clogged exit chute with hands
Hands connect with the rotating blades, resulting in severe injury
Snowblowers are safe if used properly.
Remember — if your snowblower jams:
Turn it OFF!
Disengage CLUTCH.
DELAY, Wait five seconds after shutting machine off to allow impeller blades to stop rotating.
ALWAYS use a STICK or broom handle to clear impacted snow.
NEVER put your hand down chute or around blades.
Keep all shields in place. DO NOT REMOVE the safety devices on the machine.
Every year, people severely cut their hand while carving a turkey. Luckily, these injuries are avoidable. Common sense knife technique combined with well establish Turkey carving tips will help to avoid problems. Follow these tips to stay safe while enjoying your Thanksgiving turkey feast:
Never cut toward yourself. Your free hand should be placed opposite the side you are carving toward. Don’t place your hand underneath the blade to catch the slice of meat. Even better use a large fork or similar utensil to hold the bird in place while you cut.
Keep your knife handles and cutting area dry to avoid slips. Keep a dish towel handy to wipe off your utensils and soak up any juices. Good lighting around the cutting area is also important.
Keep all cutting utensils sharp. Having a sharp knife will avoid the need to use a lot of force when cutting, which can be dangerous. Dull knives are more likely to cause slips and are still sharp enough to cause an injury.
Let the turkey cool a bit first. Letting the Turkey rest helps retain juices and avoids burns.
Cut legs and wings at the joints but if you have to cut bone use kitchen shears instead of a knife
Remove the legs and wishbone first and serve the leg whole or cut the meat off by slicing parallel to the bone. This lets you stabilize the turkey leg better and makes knife use easier
Cut the breast meat away from the bone in one piece. Slice the breast meat when it is off the bird. Not only is it easier, safer, and less awkward, you'll get better results.
WHEN TO SEEK MEDICAL HELP
If you cut your finger or hand, bleeding from minor cuts will often stop by applying direct pressure to the wound with a clean cloth. Visit the emergency room if you’ve cut yourself and:
Continuous pressure does not stop the bleeding after 15 minutes
You are unsure of your tetanus immunization status
You are unable to thoroughly cleanse the wound by rinsing with a mild soap and plenty of clean water
Visit a hand surgeon within a few days if you’ve cut yourself and:
You notice persistent numbness or tingling in the fingertip
You have difficulty moving or bending your fingers
With the Fourth of July holiday fast approaching, experts are urging people to use caution when handling fireworks and have provided a list of safety tips to consider.
According to the latest U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission report, fireworks sent roughly 11,000 people to the emergency room over the course of the Fourth of July holiday. Of these injuries, approximately 36 percent were to the hand, thumb and digits. Interesting enough, 40% of the injuries are caused by fireworks that were thought to be somewhat safe such as sparklers and firecrackers.
The number of firework-related injuries treated in emergency rooms in the United States has ranged from 8,500 to 9,800 since 1997; in 2011, 26% of patients were younger than age 15.1 Firework-related injuries range in severity from superficial burns to complete loss of the hand and fingers. The most common injuries are burns to the fingers, hand, and wrist (26.7%), followed by injuries to the eye (14.9%), and open injuries to the hand and wrist (6.5%).2 Other sources report that the number of burns to the fingers, hand, and arm are as high as 41%.3 Burns account for more than 50% of firework-related injuries,
Be responsible when incorporating fireworks into your holiday and summer festivities. Provided below are 10 fireworks safety tips to keep yourself and others safe:
While lighting fireworks, never position any part of your body over them
After lighting fireworks, immediately back up to a safe distance
To avoid burns from sparklers, poke a hole at the bottom of a cup and put the handle of the sparkler through the hole. This technique will shield your hand from sparks that are emitted from the sparkler. It’s also important to wear gloves when using sparklers (leather preferred) as they can be as hot as a blow torch and over 15 times hotter than boiling water.
Never attempt to re-light or handle malfunctioning fireworks
Light only one firework at a time – at arm’s length – with an extended lighter
Always wear eye protection/safety glasses when lighting fireworks
Never carry a firework in your pocket or shoot them from a metal or glass container
Never aim or throw fireworks at another person, animal or building
Have a bucket of water or working garden hose accessible
Properly dispose of all fireworks (used and unused). Allow used fireworks to soak in water for a few hours before discarding.
The following precautions should be taken when attending a public fireworks display:
Obey safety barriers and ushers.
Stay back a minimum of 500 feet from the launching site.
Resist the temptation to pick up firework debris when the display is over. The debris may still be hot, or in some cases, the debris might be “live” and could still explode.
Ensure all children have adult supervision.
The potential long-term severity of fireworks-related injuries can have undesirable outcomes to the body, so remember to enjoy the holiday safely and responsibly and don’t take any unnecessary risks.
1. Hall JR Jr. Fireworks. Quincy, MA: National Fire Protection Association; 2013.
2. Canner JK, Haider AH, Selvarajah S, et al. US emergency department visits for fireworks injuries, 2006-2010. J Surg Res. 2014;190(1):305e311. 3. Fireworks information center: United States Consumer Product Safety Commission Website. http://www.cpsc.gov/PageFiles/150398/Fireworks-Infographic-2015-web.pdf?epslanguage=enPublished 2013. Accessed June 29, 2015.
portions taken from assh.org and other sources such as
As physicians dedicated to the care of the Hand and Upper extremity we want to inform the public concerning the perils and pitfalls of improper snow blower use. Physicians, nurses, allied health professionals and therapists who deal with these injuries live in fear of the first heavy wet snow of the season. Invariably injuries are seen despite general knowledge that these injuries occur. These safety tips cannot guarantee against injury but hopefully if you are reading these or even better spreading these, it is one more step towards preventing these types of injuries.
Recommendations for safe use of a jammed snow blower snow blowers include: (OCD STICK)
1. If the snow blower jams, immediately turn it OFF
2. Disengage the CLUTCH
3. DELAY...Wait 10 seconds after shutting of to allow Impeller Blades to stop rotating
4. Always use a STICK or broom handle to clear impacted snow. The stick most be strong enough to avoid breakage or eye injures can result from flying fragments.
5. Never put your hand near chute or around blades
6. Keep all shields in place. Do not remove safety devices on machine
7. Keep hands and feet away from moving parts
8. Keep a clear head, concentrate and ...
Do not drink alcoholic beverages before using a snow blower
Keep Fingers and Hands Safe: Practice Snowblower Safety
Each year hundreds of people suffer maiming or amputations of their fingers or hands due to the improper handling of snowblowers
WINTER ADVISORY FROSTBITE of the FINGERS PREVENT FROSTBITE
FROSTBITE Frostbite occurs when the skin is overexposed to extreme cold. It can occur when the temperature and/or wind chill is below 27°F (-3°C), and it typically occurs in the fingers and toes.Cases of frostbite are “typically the result of overexposure —skiers, snowboarders and climbers who don't have the luxury of warming up in the lodge because they have ventured off the grid.” But it can occur anywhere that the temperature and windchill puts fingers or toes at risk SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT
When caught early, most frostbite is superficial and therefore reversible. If your fingertips are white, numb and swollen, see your doctor as soon as possible. Do not rewarm your fingers if you will be overexposing them to cold weather again. Your doctor will take care of rewarming the affected areas, and a hand surgeon may be brought in to take care of any blisters.
FROSTBITE IN CHILDREN If you are with a young child who is complaining of being cold, then go inside. once frostbite sets in, the child will stop complaining because the area becomes numb and he or she cannot feel the problem. It is important to monitor children and yourself for signs of frostbite. PREVENTION
To prevent frostbite, limit your time outside during cold weather; if you must venture outside, wear appropriate clothing. In extremely cold temperatures, winter athletes should consider electric boot warmers to protect their toes or gloves and mittens that have electric warming systems to protect their fingers, especially if they sustained frostbite in the past. Winter sports participants should heed warnings posted by the mountain on very cold days.
