We’ve all been there: grabbing a hot pan without oven mitts, accidentally slicing your hand while cutting an avocado, or hurting yourself during home-reno-gone-wrong. Accidents are part of life, and emergency room doctors have pretty much seen it all.
And since they’re the ones who have to handle the fallout, doling out stitches, bandages, and medical advice, many have adjusted their own habits to avoid these accidental ER visits in their own lives. And since knowledge is power, we tapped three emergency room doctors to learn more about the everyday things they would *never do* based on the injuries they’ve seen while working.
Here are their best nuggets of wisdom:
Meet the experts: Erin Muckey, MD, associate professor of emergency medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School; Mark Conroy, MD, emergency medicine physician at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center; Anjali Bharati, DO, emergency medicine physician at Northwell Greenwich Village Hospital.
Avoid electric scooters—and other forms of transport.
Electric scooters are a hard no for Mark Conroy, MD, emergency medicine physician at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. “A lot of people hit bumps on the sidewalk or the road is slick. I see a lot of accidents that keep coming in from those scooters,” he says.
Dr. Conroy also has “no interest” in riding a motorcycle, quad, or dirt bike, either. “A lot of people come in with injuries from those, too,” he says.
Based on federal crash stats, the number of deaths on motorcycles was nearly 24 times the number in cars when comparing miles traveled in 2021. They tend to be less stable and less visible than cars on the road. Plus, you don’t have the added protection of the vehicle if you’re hit.
In 2022, 6,222 motorcyclists died in crashes, which is the highest number ever recorded and a 23 percent increase since 2019, per federal data. And that’s not even counting the people who are seriously injured.
Keep your hands clean and your nails short.
Viral illnesses can be a beast for doctors to deal with. “Washing your hands is the best way to prevent illness,” says Erin Muckey, MD, associate professor of emergency medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. “It’s so important to wash your hands.”
When soap and water aren’t handy, Dr. Muckey relies on hand sanitizer, which she says she carries with her everywhere.
Anjali Bharati, DO, emergency medicine physician at Northwell Greenwich Village Hospital, seconds that thought. “I avoid touching my face, eyes, and nose at all times—they are all potential point of virus entry into the body,” she says.
To make hand hygiene easier, Dr. Bharati says she also keeps her fingernails short. “They’re easier to keep clean,” she points out.
Don’t rush in the kitchen.
Dr. Bharati has seen enough accidents and injuries tied to kitchen utensils to make her go slow when she cooks. “I try to take my time when chopping or cutting,” she says. Dr. Bharati also won’t use a mandolin to cut vegetables. “I’ve seen so many injuries,” she says.
Doctors see so many avocado-induced visits thanks to lacerations (and even tendon, nerve, or muscle damage) that there’s a special term for this injury: “avocado hand.” As such, avos are also sliced with care in Dr. Bharati’s household. “I use a cutting board when cutting avocado. I don’t hold it in my hand,” she says.
Avoid dogs you don’t know.
Yes, most dogs are cute and lovable, but they can be dangerous, too. “I avoid approaching a dog who doesn’t know me,” Dr. Bharati says. “I never give an unknown dog my finger, hand, or face.”
Instead, she and her family will say hi from a distance. To that end, you should also always ask before petting a stranger’s dog.
Skip on-a-whim construction projects.
DIY home projects are another big opportunity for things to go wrong and land you in the ER. From smashed fingers to bumps and bruises, the margin for error can be pretty significant.
Perhaps most importantly, Dr. Muckey has seen people get shrapnel stuck in their eye from doing construction and building work. Her advice: “Wear eye protection whenever you’re doing any kind of construction,” she says. (And yep, that includes hammering nails.)
Think before that next cocktail.
“Do not underestimate the risk of injury while intoxicated,” Dr. Muckey says. While plenty of people are aware of the risks of drinking while driving, Dr. Muckey has seen all kinds of drinking-related injuries, like ankle fractures from something as simple as falling off a curb.
“So many injuries happen while drunk,” she says. “Sometimes people think it’s just fine to do physical activities while drinking, but the risk of getting hurt goes way up.” So, Muckey says she has a “very healthy respect” for what can happen if she’s having a drink—and she takes it easy as a result.
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