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AFC Urgent Care Lyndhurst would like to wish you all a happy Halloween! Halloween is full of costumes, scary movies & decorations. One of the most popular decorations is a carved pumpkin. Pumpkin carving is an activity that kids should do with the supervision of their parents. Did you know that hundreds of cases are reported a year from pumpkin carving incidents? We are offering some tips for you to make sure pumpkin carving goes without a hitch!

Clean your workspace

When it is time to carve your pumpkin you need to clear a space for it. You’re going to want to pick up any objects off of the floor. The last thing you want to do is be holding your pumpkin & then trip over something on the floor & then smash it in your house or, even worse be walking with a sharp tool & then run the risk of tripping & seriously injuring yourself. The next thing you need to do is clean off your counter or floor. You do not want to have a slippery surface when carving, this can, of course, lead to things slipping & going where they are not supposed too.

Don’t sharpen any materials

When you are going to carve your pumpkin you need to make sure not to sharpen your utensils. Some may think this is the opposite of what you should do but it is not. For most of us, we do not carve pumpkins on a regular basis, so if you were to sharpen a knife & then cut into a pumpkin there is a high possibility that you can cut straight through the pumpkin & into your hand! Any other extra sharp materials could have the same type of incident that could result in a minor cut or laceration.

Buy a kit

The easiest way to avoid injury while carving pumpkins is to buy a pumpkin carving kit. The main reason to buy a kit is that the tools are made to carve a pumpkin. This way you are not using a kitchen knife, or other tools that were not designed specifically to carve into a pumpkin.  When you are using the specific tool the carving should go smoothly & quickly. Some kits even come with stencils that will be perfect for your kids!
 
 
 
 

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