Weekend tip--Unhooking yourself
September 14th 2007 22:49
I've been REALLY lucky and haven't hooked myself for longer than I care to admit. Although I wanted to talk about this a LONG time ago, I'm not brave enough to stab myself in the hand just to illustrate a point. I like my readers but, let's get real! Anyhoo, I was at the library the other day and saw this in a book. A guy showed it to me a long time ago and I want to share it with you, also. You can practice this on a piece of raw meat. I've done it like that a few times each year so, if I ever need to put this into practice, I haven't gotten rusty.
I hope you never need this info!
The very first thing you do after swearing up a storm at your bad luck is get piece of strong string (20lb. test if you use fishing line) and make a loop.
You can brace this set up against your wrist like the picture but the main thing is to take a small loop and work it over the eye of the hook until it's around the bend.
If you're alone with a hook in your hand, this is where things get tricky. At this time, press on the eye of the hook and it SHOULD open the wound enough that you can back out the hook. You will have to bend your fingers or thumb if you're working alone on your hand. If you can't bend them, you have a bigger problem than just getting stuck! It's time to head to the E.R.!
When you're ready, give the loop a sharp jerk and the hook should come out with relatively little pain. If the hook is buried too deeply, this method is not advised. Go to the hospital!
The following is a true story caused by a friend who doubted my medical abilities:
We had to go to the E.R. because he hooked himself to the point that the hook was so deep that it was almost poking through the skin, just enough to cause a bulge. Upon surveying the situation the first words from the doctor were, "Is insurance paying for this?"
My friend nodded.
"Good. Otherwise this will be a very expensive mistake."
I swear to God that the following is also true although it sounds like an insult to medicine! Not only is this what the doctor did, this is what he instructed us to do if we were unlucky enough to have more hook troubles.
If the hook is buried in the skin so deep that the point is causing a bulge, rather than create more damage to surrounding tissue, the best thing to do is push the hook through and cut off the barb, enabling you to pull the hook from the wound. It's going to hurt like heck when the point goes through the skin. That's why they numbed it at the E.R.
WARNING--hook wounds usually don't bleed very much. For this reason, feel free to use as much disinfectant as you wish. Keep an eye on the site and if you notice excessive redness or swelling, don't be too proud to visit the hospital!
Until next time--watch yourself and watch your line!
*thanks to Fishing for Dummies for their picture!
You can brace this set up against your wrist like the picture but the main thing is to take a small loop and work it over the eye of the hook until it's around the bend.
If you're alone with a hook in your hand, this is where things get tricky. At this time, press on the eye of the hook and it SHOULD open the wound enough that you can back out the hook. You will have to bend your fingers or thumb if you're working alone on your hand. If you can't bend them, you have a bigger problem than just getting stuck! It's time to head to the E.R.!
When you're ready, give the loop a sharp jerk and the hook should come out with relatively little pain. If the hook is buried too deeply, this method is not advised. Go to the hospital!
The following is a true story caused by a friend who doubted my medical abilities:
We had to go to the E.R. because he hooked himself to the point that the hook was so deep that it was almost poking through the skin, just enough to cause a bulge. Upon surveying the situation the first words from the doctor were, "Is insurance paying for this?"
My friend nodded.
"Good. Otherwise this will be a very expensive mistake."
I swear to God that the following is also true although it sounds like an insult to medicine! Not only is this what the doctor did, this is what he instructed us to do if we were unlucky enough to have more hook troubles.
If the hook is buried in the skin so deep that the point is causing a bulge, rather than create more damage to surrounding tissue, the best thing to do is push the hook through and cut off the barb, enabling you to pull the hook from the wound. It's going to hurt like heck when the point goes through the skin. That's why they numbed it at the E.R.
WARNING--hook wounds usually don't bleed very much. For this reason, feel free to use as much disinfectant as you wish. Keep an eye on the site and if you notice excessive redness or swelling, don't be too proud to visit the hospital!
Looks like it worked for these guys!
Until next time--watch yourself and watch your line!
*thanks to Fishing for Dummies for their picture!
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