Beer, Burns, Butchery & Other Braai Injuries

While you know we will be there for you if the admissions do happen, no one wants to spend their weekend waiting for X-Rays, filling prescriptions, or having a finger re-attached. As a true companion, we’ve put together this timeline, complete with suggestions and points of note so you can enjoy the last long weekend until December, rather than spending hours in Casualty.

Friday afternoon

Depending on your generation and what time you clock off, you may be doing your stocking up or heading out for a bit of a jol. We’re South African, we have this bit down- we have no advice here, do what you do best. Just remember the importance of staying hydrated!

Saturday Morning

If you have been given the honour of hosting, it will start on Saturday morning, likely gathering ice, drinks, meat, veggies and whichever culturally appreciated carbohydrate goes down well with the family. Thus begins the opportunity for drama. Especially if you are feeling a bit fragile after Friday night.

Getting all your supplies inside

Whether you are coming from the car or the taxi, we are all familiar with the desire to make a single trip inside. None of this coming back for the rest a second time, one trip. Even if your back is aching and the bags are cutting into your fingers. There will be no second trip. This is one way to write off your whole weekend.

Straining your back or neck while carrying a heavy load can severely interfere with your braaing. Upper body strains often result in extreme discomfort and pain, which means you will not be able to stand for long periods of time, you will be discouraged from alcohol consumption if you have been prescribed anti-inflammatories and painkillers, and you may even be put in a support or brace to manage the possibility of further injury. All of which is only possible after you have made the trek to your nearest Accident & Emergency unit, and likely spent most of your day there.

We recommend:

• Make the second trip.
• Ask for help. You’re feeding them, they can carry a 5kg Ace mielie-meal.

Level of Weekend Interference: 6/10

Saturday Afternoon

If you have gone the whole hog and bought an entire carcass that needs jointing or if your party will be slaughtering a goat for the occasion, be well aware of the opportunities for severe sharp-force trauma.

Knife Safety Tips:

Ensure your knives are sharp. This may sound odd, but more accidents happen with blunt knives. The more force being used on the blade, the less control you have, the more likely the knife to slip and cut where it is not supposed to. This causes three main types of injuries.

Incising (cutting)

A small cut is no big deal, but the larger, deeper cuts can cause some serious damage. Large or small, cuts should be cleaned thoroughly and watched to ensure they stop bleeding. If the cut has nicked or severed a blood vessel, then blood loss can be severe and require medical attention to staunch the flow and repair the damaged vessel before you lose too much blood.

We recommend:

• Clean and sterilize the wound with an anti-bacterial wash and boiled water- let it cool, don’t add a scald to your cut!
• Use a clean compress and apply pressure. If it’s an arm or a leg, try and raise it above the level of the heart.
• If the bleeding hasn’t stopped after 5 minutes, you need to see a medical professional. You may need sutures or cauterisation (medical heat-sealing).

Level of interference in the weekend- 3-5/10 depending on the number of stitches!

Stabbing

As you can imagine, this one is usually serious. Stabbing is different to a cut because of how deep the length of the blade goes into you, maximising the opportunity to hit blood vessels and vital organs.

Stab wounds can be particularly dangerous if they happen while you’re physically active doing something else, like holding an animal still, as you may not even realise that you have been stabbed. The wounds look small from the outside, sometimes don’t bleed much externally, and feel like you have been punched (or kicked by a stray hoof) rather than stabbed. The damage is internal and almost always requires medical attention. At the very least you will need stitches, at worst, you will need surgery to repair a punctured organ and save your life.

We recommend:

• Applying pressure
• Heading to your nearest Accident & Emergency or Casualty Unit
• Explaining to the desk that you have been stabbed.
• Even if you don’t feel it or think it’s not bleeding much, this is the real danger of these injuries- they are often a lot worse than they look.

Point of Note: If the knife or object is still in the wound- do NOT pull it out or move it in any way. It can do more damage on the way out than on the way in.

Weekend interference level: 10/10- will definitely miss the Rugby.

Chopping

Not a word anyone wants to hear in the context of their own body.

It can be surprisingly easy to remove a digit while jointing a carcass, though it does require somewhat more force than biting through a carrot. This definitely needs full and sober attention. More so if you are using a longer, weighted blade, like a machete or a panga, as these can get through a wrist or ankle joint without much more effort.

If your concentration slips with the blade and you remove a finger, apply pressure, and manage the blood loss before you do anything else. Wrap the stump in something clean and absorbent- a cotton T-shirt is good, if you don’t have actual bandages on hand. Raise your hand above your shoulder. Now you can look for the finger.

Once the finger has been found you need three things:

• A clean, sealable plastic bag
• A second, larger, clean, sealable plastic bag
• Something clean to wrap the finger.

The wrapping (tissue, cloth gauze etc- as long as it’s clean) must be moistened with clean, cold, water, and cover the finger completely. Put it in the first bag. Then put that bag in a second bag with ice. The ice must NOT touch the finger, this can damage the finger even further and then it may not be viable for reattachment, or “replantation”.

If your hand is wrapped and your finger is found and double bagged, you are ready for A&E.

Point of note: Do not drive yourself. If there is no one around who is in a fit and proper state to operate a vehicle, call an ambulance.

When you get there, report to the desk, they may ask for the finger- hand it over. They will need to clean it and asses it.

Weekend interference level: If the reattachment goes according to plan, you are in for an average of ten days in hospital and 6 months off work. The weekend will be the least of your worries.

Sunday has arrived: Braai time!

If you are in one piece, having made it through the daunting process of getting your meat and supplies organised, as well as recovering from the rugby, it’s time to build a fire.

Fire safety

While there are those with fancy gas braais, most of SA will be making their fires with wood or coal. Follow the safety instructions on the packaging and if you’re building your fire from scratch, you can read these safety recommendations.

Accelerants

Like many South Africans, you might have underestimated the time it takes to get the fire ready for cooking. Resist the temptation to use an accelerant. Besides the fumes, accelerants like benzine, paraffin and other flammable liquids, tend to accelerate situations going from bad to worse.

Burns & Scalds

From that carefully constructed tower of coals collapsing on the firelighter, to picking up the tongs that got left a bit too close to the flames, burns are a common injury around the braai. They are classified by degree depending on how deeply and severely they penetrate the skin's surface: first, second, third, or fourth. It may be impossible to classify a burn immediately when it occurs. It can progress over time so you may not know the full extent for a day or two.

First-degree (superficial) burns. First-degree burns affect only the outer layer of skin, the epidermis. The burn site is red, painful, dry, and has no blisters. Mild sunburn is an example. Long-term tissue damage is rare and often consists of an increase or decrease in the skin colour.

Second-degree (partial thickness) burns. Second-degree burns involve the epidermis and part of the lower layer of skin, the dermis. The burn site looks red, blistered, and may be swollen and painful.

Third-degree (full thickness) burns. Third-degree burns destroy the epidermis and dermis. They may go into the innermost layer of skin, the subcutaneous tissue. The burn site may look white or blackened and charred.

Fourth-degree burns. Fourth-degree burns go through both layers of the skin and underlying tissue as well as deeper tissue, possibly involving muscle and bone. There is no feeling in the area since the nerve endings are destroyed.

We recommend:

• NEVER put anything oily on a burn!
• Do not put ice directly on it!
• If it’s First or Second degree, run it under cold water and apply a burn shield, if it’s worse than that- straight to A&E.

The body can go into shock, and this can have long lasting repercussions without medical assistance.

Weekend Interference: Easily a 10/10 for the third- or fourth-degree burns, but even a first-degree burn can be extremely unpleasant.

Quite a lot to look out for on this occasion! If you are careful to stay focused and concentrate on what you’re doing, you should be able to avoid most of these, but accidents happen.

When they do, emergency medical assistance and some extra cash for those unexpected costs makes all the difference! Speak to us about Trauma Assist, the most important number to have on your phone, and our HealthCare Plan- the cashback plan to help out your pocket when you are admitted to hospital. Read a bit more about it in our Newsletter!

We wish you the very best Heritage Day Weekend, in the true South African spirit of togetherness, good times and a full table!

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