9 Ways to Protect Your Hands at Work

In almost every work enviroment, hands play an important role - but that also means hands are particularly vulnerable to injury. Most hand injuries result from physical or chemical hazards which can cause burns, bruises, cuts, and fractures to name just a few. Fortunately these injuries can be prevented by using some common sense tips:

1. Protect your hands when working with chemicals, hot substances, sharp objects and other common workplace hand hazards
2. Avoid using strong solvents or gasoline to clean your hands
3. Use the proper tool for the job and if using power tools, be sure you know how to use them safely. Never operate machinery or power tools under the influence of alcohol or drugs - even prescription drugs
4. Wear appropriate gloves to protect against particular hazards
5. Be mindful of where both hands are placed at all times while working, especially when working with machinery
6. Avoid using hands to feed material into machines
7. Never use your hands to sweep up glass, metal shavings, wood chips, or other sharp objects
8. When working with rotating machinery avoid wearing long sleeves, jewelry or anything that can catch into the machine
9. Stretch your hands and fingers from time to time to give tense and tired muscles & tendons a chance to relax