Halloween is right around the corner & we here at Centennial Medical center would like to wish everyone a spooky time! Halloween festivities usually entail, pumpkin picking, house decorating, apple cider & of course pumpkin carving! However, did you know that there are thousands of injuries every year form pumpkin carving? Carving a pumpkin may be tradition but can prove to be very dangerous when you are not completely aware of what you are doing. We have some tips you should follow to ensure your pumpkin carving goes as planned!
1. Clean your surroundings
When you finally get that big pumpkin you found in the field & take it home to carve do not rush with your set up! Most accidents happen not from the carving itself but from the environment around you when you are carving. If you leave your environment messy, you are leaving opportunities for you to trip, slip & fall carrying sharp objects. Make sure to clean your work area too! Having a sticky desk or a slippery desk can cause the pumpkin to fall all over the place. A list of other things to wash should include:
- Hands
- knife
- Other Utensils
- Pumpkin
2. Don’t sharpen your knife
Contrary to what you would think a sharp knife while carving pumpkins can lead to serious injury! Most of us are not use to the metrics of a pumpkin, so when you start to carve with a sharp knife you have a very high possibility of cutting through the pumpkin & hitting your hand. Some other things that can happen with a super sharp knife id cutting in the pumpkin & getting it stuck. If your knife gets stuck in the pumpkin please make sure to slowly pull it out rather than yanking it out. Yanking it out can cause you to lose control of the knife & may problems can occur in that area.
3. Buy a kit
The easiest way to avoid all problems from pumpkin carving is to buy a pumpkin carving kit! As easy of an alternative as it sounds the tools in a pumpkin carving kit are made specifically for carving the pumpkin. This means you will not have to use the awkwardness of a knife or worry about it being too dull or too sharp! We hope these tips were helpful & have you on your way to carve some pumpkins!