BLOOMSBURG -- It's unusual that in late January, we're just starting to talk about big-time snowfalls. But over the weekend, there it was. And hand surgeons at Geisinger were waiting for the onslaught of hand injuries from snowblowers.
The sound of snowblowers was one you just couldn't escape over the weekend in some parts of our area. They got a workout after the first big snowstorm of the winter.
Dr. Steven Goldberg was ready for the injuries to come in: the cuts of varying severity on fingers or hands, or worse.
"There may be more severe tendon and nerve injury, or even amputations," said Dr. Goldberg, who is in an orthopedic surgeon in the Geisinger Health System. We met him at one of his offices in Bloomsburg.
He knows everyone knows not to shove their hands into a snowblower when it's on. But he says he's noticing a pattern: people getting hurt after just turning the machine off to clear the snow.
"If that has been clogged and its removed, as soon as that happens, even when the machine is off there will be tension and revolutions can occur, and as that spins is causes injury, or loss of that part of finger or hand," he said.
Many types of snowblowers come with a skinny, shovel-like instrument or similar tool to use to clear away the snow. We found one guy using his over the weekend, which is definitely the suggested move, especially when dealing with a certain type of snow.
"With a heavy wet snow it's more likely that it will form a slush and will clog the chute," Dr. Goldberg told us.
He points out even in best case scenarios, hand injuries can mean pain, swelling, numbness and/or tingling for a long time.
