CHAPTER 5
KITCHEN SAFETY: PRECAUTION
AND FIRST AID
OBJECTIVES:
• Identifying areas of concern with kitchen safety and first aid.
• Comparing first aid and precautionary measures for different accidents and
injuries in the kitchen.
• Enumerating various guidelines for prevention and other safety issues in the
kitchen.
• Listing the causes and describing common kitchen accidents.
• Analyzing the different first aid measures to various kitchen accidents.
FIRST AID FOR KITCHEN ACCIDENTS
• Your kitchen is a place where you can express your culinary
creativity. It’s also a place where you can get seriously hurt if
you’re not careful. Hot stoves can burn, sharp knives can cut, and
a fleck of hot pepper to the eye can render your helpless.
There are 6 major areas of concern with respect
to kitchen safety:
- Fires and Burns - Cuts
- Electric shock - Choking
- Falls - Poisoning
The basic first aid kit contents:
- Alcohol - Bandage
- Antiseptic Cream - Band Aids
- Burn Treatment ointment
FIRST AID FOR COMMON
KITCHEN ACCIDENTS
1. FIRST AID FOR CUTS
CAUSES FIRST AID
• Knives • Wash gently & thoroughly
• Broken glass • Apply antiseptic ointment
• Sharp cooking utensils • Wrap with a bandage or
gauze
If you get cut while using a kitchen knife, here’s how to
treat the wound:
• Clean it with a soap and water. Apply pressure to the cut with a clean
both or bandage for a few minutes to stop the bleeding. If you bleed
through the cloth, place another one on top of it.
• Use antibacterial ointment. If it’s a minor wound, dab a little of this
over the cut. Cover the area with a bandage or gauze pad and adhesive
tape.
• Go to the emergency room if the bleeding severe or doesn’t stop after five or
20 minutes of direct pressure. If the cut is more than one-half inch, has jagged
edges, becomes inflamed, or oozes fluid, you’ll need to see your doctor, too.
PRECAUTIONS
• Keep knives sharp
• Wash separately & store appropriately
• Pick up broken glass with a paper towel
• Pay attention when reaching in drawing
[Link] AID FOR BURNS
CAUSES FIRST AID
• Hot burners on the stovetop • Cool as quickly as possible.
• Oven • Cover with a dry bandage.
• Hot dishes • Don’t break blisters.
• Scalding from steam and • Call doctor if the burn is
boiling liquid extreme.
FIRST AID
To treat burns, you first need to figure out which type you have.
First degree burn. This involves just the top layer of skin. Its looked red
and is painful, like sunburn, when you press on the burn area, it turns
white.
Second degree burn. This is deeper skin injury. It turns red, blisters,
swells, and hurts.
Third degree burn. This is a medical emergency. Cover the wound in a
cool, wet dressing and call 911 or head to the nearest emergency room.
Not sure how bad your burn is? See your doctor
right away If it:
• Involves your face, hands, feet, or genitals.
• Is on or near a joint, such as your knee or shoulder.
• Goes all the way a part of your body (like your arm or leg)
• Is longer than 3 inches across or goes deeply into the skin.
Precaution
• Use pot holders
• Turn pan handles toward the center of the stove.
• Turn stove & oven off when done.
• Keep small children away from stove
3. FIRST AID FOR ELECTRIC
SHOCK
CAUSES PRECAUTIONS
• Worn cords on appliances • Replace worn cords.
• Ungrounded outlets • Disconnect small appliance
when not in use.
• Water in contact with
• Disconnect appliance if it
appliances falls in the water.
• Use outlet covers.
FIRST AID
• Disconnect the power source first .
• Remove the injured person from the power
source.
• Administer CPR.
• Call for help.
• Treat burn.
4. FIRST AID FOR SLIPS, TRIPS
AND FALLS
CAUSES PRECAUTIONS
• Clutter & spills on the • Keep floors clean.
Floor • Wipe up spills immediately.
• Climbing on chairs & • Use a step tool to reach high
counter tops places.
• Loose clothing (i.e. shoe • Wear fitter clothing, take off
laces) loose jewelry.
FIRST AID
• Make sure you’re not hurt before standing up. Getting up the wrong way could make
the injury worse.
• Slowly rise to your hands and knees.
• Try to crawl to a chair and pull yourself up.
• If you can’t get up on your own, yell for help.
• If the area is swollen and you think you might have a fracture (broken bone), try not to
move it. Call your doctor or go to the emergency room.
5 . FIRST AID FOR CHOKING
CAUSES PRECAUTIONS
• Not chewing food thoroughly.
• Chew food thoroughly.
The universal sign for choking is hands
clutched to the throat. If the person doesn’t give the • Cut into very small
signal, look for these indication:
• Inability to talk
pieces for small
• Difficulty breathing or noisy breathing children.
• Squeaky sounds when trying to breathe
• Avoid talking, laughing
• Cough, which may either be weak or forceful
• Skin, lips and nails turning blue or dusky
when you have food in
• Skin that is flushed, then turns pale or bluish in your mouth.
color
• Loss of consciousness
FIRST AID
• If the person is able to cough forcefully, the person should
coughing. If the person is choking and can’t talk, cry or
laugh forcefully, the American Red Cross recommends a
“five-and-five” approach to delivering first aid.
• Give 5 back blows. Stands to the side
and just behind the choking adults.
• Give 5 abdominal thrust.
• Alternate between 5 blows and
thrust until the blockage is dislodged.
TO PERFORM AB D OMINAL THRUST ON SOMEONE ELSE:
• Stand behind the person.
• Make a fist with one hand.
• Grab the fist with the other hand.
• Perform between six and 10 abdominals thrusts.
TO PERFORM ABDOMINAL
THRUSTS ON YOURSELF:
TO CLEAR THE AIRWAY O F PREG NANT WO MEN O R OBESE PERSO N:
• Place a fist slightly above your • Position your hands a little
navel. bit higher than the normal
• grasp your fist with the other Heimlich maneuver, at the
base of the breastbone, just
hand and bend over a hard
above the joining of the lowest
surface- a countertop or chair will ribs.
do.
• Repeat until the food or other
• Shove your fist inward and blockage is dislodged. If the
upward. person becomes
unconsciousness follow the
next steps.
TO CLEAR THE AIRWAY OF
AN UNCONSCIOUS PERSON: TO CLEAR THE AIRWAY OF A CHOKING
INFANT YOUNGER THAN AGE 1:
• Lower the person. • Assume a seated position and
hold the infant face down.
• Clear the airway. • Thump the infant gently but
firmly.
• Begin CPR.
• Turn the infant face up on your
forearm.
• Repeat the black blows and
chest thrusts.
• Begin infant CPR.
[Link] AID FOR EYE INJURIES
Lean over the sink and pour a gentle stream of lukewarm water over your eye .
Keep flushing it out for up to 15 minutes. Cover your eye to protect it.
Call help if:
• You have a cut in your eye. Don’t wash or apply pressure to it.
• You feel like an object in stuck in your eye. Don’t try to get it out, rub it, or apply
pressure to it.
[Link] AID FOR POISONING
First Aid
• call poison control and tell them what the substance was that was inhaled or digested.
• Follow their instruction.
Causes
• Cleaning agents & kitchen chemicals
Precaution
• Keep out reach of children.
• Use safety locks on cabinet drawers.
• Don’t mix kitchen chemicals.
• Keeping kids safe in the kitchen.
You want them to help out in the kitchen, but you don’t want
them to get hurt. Here’s how you can keep the littlest chefs
safe:
• Keep them at least 3 feet away from all bubbling pots and pans on the
stove, and away from the oven. Install safety gates to keep toddlers out of
harm’s way.
• Don’t let them use the stove, toaster oven, or microwave without your
help.
• Store all knives and other sharp object out of their reach.
• Turn your hot water heater down to 120 degrees so that they can’t get
burned.
• Use plastic bowls instead of glass so they wont shatter if dropped.
• Tech your kids to avoid how stoves and ovens and to stay away from
chemicals.
• Make sure that your smoke detectors are working. Keep a fire
extinguisher handy.
Other Safety Issues: Guidelines For Prevention
• Do not wear jewelry.
• Keep hair restrained.
• Do not wear loose clothing.
• Wear closed-toed shoes.
First Aid for Other Safety Issues
• If jewelry gets caught in a small appliance try to remove it.
• Try to release hair if caught in appliance.
• Smother hair with a cloth if it catches fire