Burn Prevention in the Kitchen

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I have definitely had my fair share of injuries from the kitchen. You would think that will all of the torture I have endured, I would learn to stay away. Yet, kids have to be fed and dishes have to be washed. I guess good ole Mom is the gal for the job.

Have you ever burnt your tongue when drinking something hot? What about a spill and you got burned? Remember that awful sensation that lingered long after the burn occurred? It’s almost like the burn was nothing compared to the pain that comes a few hours after when your skin comes back from the shock of its life.

I remember back in high school when I had just gotten home from school. We had dance practice that afternoon and it was cold out, so I was wearing a pair of dance tights and yoga pants over them. When I got home that afternoon I wanted nothing more than a cup of chicken flavored Oodles of Noodles. Just the thought of those noodles now sends me into a state of digestive panic now, but back then those noodles were the bomb!

For my personal disclosures, I am not trained in the medical profession nor am I being endorsed to write this particular post. I am simply regurgitating facts from a personal experience in hopes to help someone in the event they suffer the same unfortunate event as I did.

If you have ever looked at a cup of Oodles of Noodles, you will notice by design that the cup is a bit top-heavy. So, add the fact that you have to add water to it, microwave it to get the noodles to a steamy perfect temp, and you have a recipe for a good ole fashioned burn if you are not careful. So, guess what comes next. Yep, I got burned. As in second degree burned. Ouch! Just after getting those noodles out of the microwave, I went to sit down in my dads recliner and over the noodles and hot water went, right in to my lap. The heat seemed to magnify as it hit both my yoga pants and dance tights. Talk about insulation, geesh. What comes next will be a life learned lesson.

I was in shock. It was my sister and myself at home that afternoon as my parents had gone out-of-town for the afternoon on a trip. I can’t remember all of the details, but I definitely know I did not follow proper burn and safety procedures. I know I removed both the pants and tights as quickly as possible, but think I went for an ice pack to relieve the pain.

Big Mistake! Never ever compress the heat when you get burned. Get to a stream of room temperature water or cool water as soon as possible and continue to flush the affected area for several minutes.

The idea is to create a constant flow of water to remove the heat from the area. If you think about it, your skin grows in layers. With a burn, you are damaging several layers at a time. Hence the blister that forms after the fact. Using a constant flow of water to flush the heat away from the area will lessen the burn degree in some cases.

Now would be a good time to educate yourself on what to do if a burn occurs. Check out these  links and resources from Ameriburn.org. HERE you will find a “Time & Temperature Relationship to Sever Burns” chart (page 3) and some valuable resources on how to avoid this Hot Mess! I believe I saw a few tips on how to position pot handles on the stove too. This sounds familiar to a post I recently published, Common Sense Cooking – Avoiding a Hot Mess.

In my unfortunate case, I compressed the heat with the ice pack which made the burn worse. The heat had nowhere to escape except through more skin layers so I ended up with something much worse than a blister. While I was fortunate enough to avoid  needing a skin graft, a trip to the ER and about 2 weeks worth of dressing a burn is enough for me to learn my lesson.

The moral to this story is that burns are serious business, and I will never go near Oodles of Noodles in a styro foam cup again!

Until the next Hot Mess….