Pumpkin-Carving Injuries? Sierra Pacific Orthopedics' Hand Specialists Offer Help

The specialty-trained doctors at Sierra Pacific Orthopedics have created safety guidelines to avoid pumpkin-carving injuries. Patients in need of hand care are encouraged to call (559) 256-5200 to schedule an appointment at their Herndon Campus or walk-in to their Orthopedic Urgent Care at 1630 E. Herndon Ave. 

“We frequently seeing hand and finger injuries related to pumpkin carving,” says Dr. Erika Kuehn, fellowship-trained hand surgeon at Sierra Pacific Orthopedics. “While decorating pumpkins is a fun tradition, we want to help our community avoid injury risks with some guidelines we've created.”

Follow these safety tips from Sierra Pacific Orthopedics to help avoid carving injuries:

• Keep your working spaces clean, well-lit and stabilized. Your pumpkin and tools should also be kept clean and dry as you work.
• Do not use knives or tools that are not designed for pumping carving. Only use the tools that come with a pumpkin carving kit.
• Handle tools with one hand and keep the pumpkin stable with the other hand.
• When carving, take your time to stay safe.
• Only adults should do any carving. Children can help by drawing outlines or cleaning pumpkins. When adults are carving, everyone should be a safe distance away from the carver.
• Instead of cutting or carving your pumpkins, you can use other decorative materials, such as paint, cloth, yarn or markers. 

“For those who do get injured while carving pumpkins,” says Dr. Kuehn, “keep your wound clean and apply pressure. If you experience bleeding after 15 minutes, intense pain, numbness or loss of mobility in your fingers or hand, seek immediate medical attention.”

To learn more about pumpkin-carving injuries or to schedule an appointment at Sierra Pacific Orthopedics, please call (559) 256-5200.