Lockdown leaves aspiring cooks all cut up, say docs

Lockdown leaves aspiring cooks all cut up, say docs

Kamini.Mathai@timesgroup.com

Chennai:  15.05.2020

Good news. Since the lockdown began, there have been fewer accidents on the roads. Bad news. The accidents appear to have moved indoors.

Emergency medicine doctors in the city say they are seeing a rising number of minor burn injuries and cuts since the lockdown began, with more aspiring cooks and beauticians making an appearance during quarantine.

“I see at least three lockdown accident cases a week. We’ve had a few cases of the enthusiastic husband chopping vegetables and lacerating his finger as well in the process,” says Dr M Sai Surendar. He admits, rather embarrassed, that he counts among them, having once decided to rustle up a biriyani for his family and getting an oil burn in the process. “Now it’s a matter of routine. One day I’m cooking for the family, the next, I find I am treating myself for minor injuries at the hospital,” says the senior consultant in the department of emergency medicine at Dr. Rela Institute & Medical Centre.

He adds that slips and falls, sprains and strains too are common as parents try and keep their children occupied indoors. “We have seen a few cases of hands jammed in doors.”

Dr Jayaraman S, head of emergency medicine at SIMS Vadapalani, says their hospital gets two to three cases per day of home injuries. “They usually confess they’ve tried a new recipe online,” he says.

The glue gun is apparently another weapon of minor destruction at homes. Dr Deepika Lunawat, dermatologist at Fortis Malar, says several people are hooked to arts and crafts during the lockdown are showing up at the hospital or calling the helplines with solutions for cuts and chemical burns. She sees few patients, but online consults for minor skin burns, especially among children helping parents cook, has increased.

“A number of women are getting chemical burns from using hair removal creams on their face. This can cause irritant contact dermatitis so one needs to do a test patch on the hand before trying it on the face,” she says. Dr Lunawat adds that scrubbing dishes and floors is also causing hand eczema in a number of people. For those facing burns, chemical or otherwise, the remedy lies in washing with cold running water and applying antibacterial cream. Never try to burst blisters as it can lead to infection, say doctors. “For hand eczema, it’s back to grandma’s recipe – a good lathering of coconut oil or ghee,” says Dr Lunawat. If the injury is serious, then consult a doctor.

“And like with Covid19, vitamin C is the long term answer,” says Dr Lunawat. “Not only does it build immunity, it also helps the skin heal faster.”