So, two days ago, I peeled myself.
Yep. You heard me. I freekin’ PEELED myself.
I was in the kitchen, peeling potatoes for dinner, and the potato in my hand was somewhat small and unruly, and I was leaning over the trash can just working away at it, and next thing you know,
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHH!!!
That wasn’t the potato!
Immediately upon my hollering, everyone else started hollering.The girls were all: MOM!!!! ARE YOU OKAY????? and RegularDad was all: WHAT HAPPENED?????? Even the puppy started barking. (The cats, snoozing under a bed, were all: wha?… did someone say something?… no?… good… zzzzz…..)
And I’m already at the sink, cursing a bit, with my index finger under some cold water, yelling back: I’M ALL RIGHT!!! Because if they came in and saw me like that, they’d FREAK. Moms with bleeding hands are downright scary.
The thing is, it wasn’t all that bad. I could tell pretty much right away that it wouldn’t need stitches or anything. You know how you JUST KNOW? Yeah… it was like that. I just KNEW. It wasn’t too bad.
But there was a… well… a flap, if you know what I mean. And that’s just GROSS. Any way you slice it. (Ha ha ha… slice it… get it… yeah, okay. I’ll stop.) RegularDad came in and asked to see the injury. I already had it wrapped in a paper towel and I was all: no thanks. I’m fine. It’s fine. And he was all: why don’t you want me to see it? And I was all, well there’s a bit of a flap. And he was all: we really need to get under that and disinfect it, and I was all NO WAY DUDE. GET AWAY FROM ME WITH THOSE TWEEZERS.
I laced a BandAid with Neosporin ointment and wrapped it around my flap, and went on with my evening.
Yesterday afternoon, I figured I’d refresh the BandAid, maybe put some more Neosporin on it. No big deal, right? But when I took off the bandage, it looked a little gross. So when RegularDad got home I asked him to look at it, and he did, and at first he was all: I dunno. Maybe you should go in. And I was all: I really don’t think it’s necessary. So, he cleaned it all up (even under the flap) and sprayed everything down with Bactine and then we did another Neosporin-laced bandage, and that was that.
Except I obsessed all night long over it. Because of my neighbor.
My neighbor spent all last spring and most of last summer at home on disability because he got a splinter. That’s all. Just a splinter. He works construction. He got this splinter and then didn’t clean it out completely, and ended up hospitalized with a shunt in his neck so he could have super-strength antibiotic cocktails infused right into his cartoid artery. Because of a FREEKIN SPLINTER.
So, all last night, I sat around thinking: what if there’s an infection brewing right now? What if I wake up tomorrow and see red lines creeping up my arm, and I go in to the doctor and he says: “You really should have come in the day this happened.”
Or, what if I make an appointment and I go in there and the doctor says: “You know, this really isn’t anything to worry about at all. Just keep on using the Neosporin and some BandAids, and you’ll be fine.” Then he turns and scrawls “RAGING HYPOCHONDRIAC” on my file, and no one takes me seriously ever again.
Either way: I’m looking pretty foolish.
So, last night, I went to check in with some of my posse online, and they assured me that I was okay. That I could just do my own self-care and all would be well.
And I feel much better now. Although I haven’t looked underneath the bandage yet today. I can’t quite face it yet.
But still: Dudes…. I freekin’ PEELED myself.
It’s upsetting.
We’ll be eating potatoes with the skins on from now on. Hell, it’s healthier anyway.
Neosporin, penicillan and aspirin. It’s all you need to stay safe in the world.
Your neighbor probably got the splinter from some rotten, moldy piece of wood.
I think your potato peeler wouldn’t fall into that catagory so I think your safe.
Oh and one last thing…OUCH!!!
Potatoes with peels, yep that’s the ticket…..E
Puncture wounds = very bad. Slicings = totally fine. Well, not fine really but not deadly. I took a slicing to the Dr. once. Do you know what she said? She said, to my face, with a stern look, she said, “Why did you bring this in?” I sort of sniveled, “well, it looked worse this morning.” I was so embarrassed. I still have a big scar on my finger, by the way. So, in your face, Doctor Smarty Pants! I have a scar! I was hand washing a wine glass in hot soapy water and the glass broke and slipped on my finger – in all those fluffy white bubbles. …..Can you tell I’ve been trapped in bed all day? Shutting up now. And sending love your way.
)
Why the opened mouth little face? When I do colon nose parenthesis it makes that little open mouth face. I’m not for it. I prefer
Geez oh Pete’s woman. Put that peeler down! Step away from the carrots, too. They’re downright slippery.
Thanks guys.
Katherine, that doctor was just mean. :O)
Obi-Mom, you should see me cut carrots today. I’m so overly careful, you’d think I was diffusing something.
Hey, I tried to get that open smiley face, and it didn’t work. But I did get our favorite big nose smile. :O)
RustysMom, yeah… you’re right. My neighbor usually works in somewhat unsanitary construction areas. And I wash my veggie peeler daily in my dishwasher.
I have done this myself! I nearly took off the top of my finger though. I washed it, stuck it together and wrapped it up. It healed beautifully! I don’t go much for modern medicine, prefer herbal remedies. Drinking Chamomile Tea with honey several times a day helps with any healing process especially infection. As long as the wound is cleaned properly you should always heal naturally without problems. A splinter is a foreign object and can cause major problems if not ejected in a few days.
I’ve done that too – peelers are nasty!
I thought of you today when I was making beef stew for dinner. I was in a rush and decided to just cut the potatoes up and throw them in to cook without peeling them. Seemed safer that way and it was really good. I’m never going to peel potatoes for beef stew again.
Ah, that’s the spirit! Isn’t is so much easier and faster, too? Not having to peel them?
So sorry that happened! I steer clear of any sort of peeling apparatus. I have too many traumatic childhood memories of my mom’s coleslaw surprise. I probably shared too much….
AAAGH! I did this very thing about a year ago with my viciously sharp Oxo peeler. The thing is an absolute dream to use, but, OWIE, I sliced off a chunk of the corner of my little finger, peeling with ease right through the nail. My “flap” of skin was hanging on by a thread and, I’m sorry to say, discarded. It filled in and the nail eventually grew back. It hurt like an absolute beeeyotch for what seemed like ages.
Ditto Katherine. Punctures are the evil incubators of bacteria. The key is bleeding. (My Oxo slice bled like a nightmare.) Punctures don’t naturally bleed much, so any lurking bacteria doesn’t get flushed out of the wound. Neosporin can’t get in, either.
I make punctures bleed a bit for this very reason. I’m not lancing my fingers or anything, but I’ll use a little pressure to force it along. Yes, it’s skeevy, but it’s better than gangrene.
I second the bit about puncture wounds. My mom pricked her finger on a rose petal and wound up with…no doctor was really able to give it a name, but it was pretty debilitating.
And every home cook has cuts and scars. My hands are a mess.
May I suggest the Y-shaped peeler? I’ve never cut myself on that. Of course, for all I know, you DID cut yourself on a Y-shaped peeler, in which case…never mind!
Another thing to consider if you’re prone to knife accidents is a Kevlar glove to protect the hand that’s always in the way of the blade.