Accidents can happen at any moment, so knowing how to respond is your best defence. Most cooks know how to prevent kitchen injuries, though understanding their treatment is just as important.

Cooks spend a considerable amount of their time cutting, slicing and dicing, thanks to impressive knife work. Even a slight mistake could cause injury, so cuts and bleedings are likely to happen to all cooks somewhere along the line. Burns and scalding are two other contenders, so now’s your chance to combat these sneaky kitchen accidents.

First aid is essential for the following reasons:

• Contact with objects, including sharp objects, is the second leading cause of hospitalisation in Australia.
• 2 in 5 hospitalisations from thermal causes are caused by fire, smoke and flames.
• Men have more than double the risk for injury hospitalisations due to contact with objects than women.