C. Noel Henley, MD

Hand and Upper Extremity Specialist

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Avoiding Hand Injury In The Kitchen – Your Dishwasher

July 6, 2012 by Dr. Henley Leave a Comment

Our hands are always busy in the kitchen. Kids are no exception. Here’s how to avoid a dishwasher-related hand injury disaster in your kitchen.

We know kids are attracted to multi-colored objects and may not be able to tell the difference between toys and dangerous tools.

Your open dishwasher is an attractive mini-playground for kids; full of bowls, cups, glasses, plates, of all shapes and sizes. Right next to the Star Wars or Minnie Mouse plate is the silverware basket, which usually holds generally harmless spoons, forks, and blunt butter knives.

The worst part is that the open door of the dishwasher is right at their level, inviting them to play.

Imagine your small child playing happily in the kitchen, poking around at colorful dishes and cups.

All it takes is one strong grip of a child’s hand around a sharp knife to cut through every major nerve, tendon, and blood vessel in the finger.

It takes about 2 seconds to happen – not enough time for you to react, even if you’re standing right there.

These injuries are devastating and can result in permanent injury to a child’s hand.

My kitchen policy

In my house, our policy is that no sharp knives can go in the silverware basket. I wash and dry these by hand every time.

I hope you’ll consider the same rules in your kitchen. Get the sharp knives out of your dishwasher.

Filed Under: prevention

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