Cut While Butchering--Reason to Worry?

[Yoder]

I've always butchered everything myself. I've never worn gloves. Only thing I would worry about is infection. I've cut myself plenty of times. Never had a problem.

 

[Murdy]

I cut meat professionally for a couple years, game and otherwise. We knicked ourselves from time to time. Never knew anyone to have a problem. That said, just keep an eye on it, and if it starts turning color or feeling funny, go see a doctor.

 

[huntsman22]

What if OP starts frothing at the mouth?.......

 

[tony]

Shot to the head.
That's the only way to be sure..

 

[Yoder]

As long as your not tattooing your hand with gut bacteria you should be good. Although if your in an area with CWD you should take some extra precaution with contact to any spinal fluid/ brain matter. As extra precaution we sterilize a knife if we use it cut apart vertebrae.


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With CWD you can't sterilize a knife by cleaning it. The prions that cause CWD can survive up to something like 1200 degrees and aren't effected by cleaning agents. It's one of the reasons I don't worry about it too much. If a CWD positive deer was ever processed by a local butcher, every customer after that has contaminated meat. It's the same reasons surgical instruments are disposed of after working on someone with Creutzfeldt Jacob's disease. Those prions are really tough to destroy.

 

[WCB]

rub some dirt in it.

 

[eye_zick]

With CWD you can't sterilize a knife by cleaning it. The prions that cause CWD can survive up to something like 1200 degrees and aren't effected by cleaning agents. It's one of the reasons I don't worry about it too much. If a CWD positive deer was ever processed by a local butcher, every customer after that has contaminated meat. It's the same reasons surgical instruments are disposed of after working on someone with Creutzfeldt Jacob's disease. Those prions are really tough to destroy.

I was pro incinerating CWD positive carcasses until I read its actually 1,832 degrees F to destroy the prion.- https://deq.nd.gov/publications/AQ/documents/Chronic_Wasting_Disease_Burn.pdf

 

[roosiebull]

Hey Y'all,

From 16-20 I spent Sept-Jan working at a shop processing deer. I've gutted and cut up hundreds/thousands of deer. Did a lot of it without gloves and never thought anything of it.

Last night, I was lucky enough to tag out with my second buck of the season. I had to drag him 200 plus yards out of a creek bottom and up to the top of a mountain.

I got home, put on gloves, and started skinning and gutting. I left him hanging for 15-30 min while I ran to the gas station to grab some ice. I come back to quarter him up and go to grab gloves and the box is empty. So I went out there barehanded and quartered him and tossed the meat in the cooler.

I come back inside, shower and clean up, and sit down to watch some college football. That's when I notice a small cut, literally a paper-cut, on the webbing between my thumb and finger. I was talking to my friend that night and somewhere in the conversation mentioned that I gave myself a paper-cut somehow while cutting it up and he asked "Aren't you worried about that?"

I'm assuming I either touched that spot with the knife or scraped it on a piece of bone. Didn't really think or worry about it until he said something and now it's something that is in the back of my mind.

Not a deep cut at all, its a paper-cut, but I did clean it and put Neosporin on it.

Any reason to worry? Rabies from any spinal fluid that my knife could have touched or bacteria or viruses?

I have nicked myself plenty of times cutting up critters by myself without being able to really wash my hands for hours and never had anything bad happen… I have had way more small infections dealing with fish and cut hands, ocean coho being the worst

I wouldn’t worry too much, not much you can do anyway, unless you proactively cut the arm off just to be safe

 

[Will_m]

Keep in mind bleeding is your body's way of cleaning out wounds. You're most likely ok.

I thought bleeding was the body’s response to having a hole in it.

 

[MallardSX2]

Is this a serious question? Lol

I had blood splatter in my eye the other day when I cranked a coon right in the head with a steel stake driver that was in my trap.

Should I call 911?

 

[amassi]

Once the bleeding stops the worry stops

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

 

[hunterjmj]

I've cut or stabbed myself multiple times over the years without issue.
My friend cut himself skinning a bear and he got blood poisoning. They tracked it, put him on antibiotics and he healed but those bears can be nasty.

 

[JFK]

Intact skin (no wounds on your hands) is an effective barrier for infectious diseases. Putting latex/nitrile gloves on is pointless if you don’t have any cuts on your hands.

 

[Rooggvc]

I sliced the end of my thumb off yesterday processing my mule deer from this week.

Embarrassing and bled like hell, but I washed with peroxide and left it wrapped in a paper towel and electrical tape bandage for like 8 hours to stop the bleeding. Fine today, just gotta make sure I don’t pick up any hot wings lol

I did the same things in high school skinning my first deer. I didn’t realize it while skinning. I have a decent scar on the end if my thumb now. Wasn’t wearing any gloves.

 

[chocolab]

we all should use gloves. I never have and know better. to be completely honest, I probably nick myself once per deer I process. I don't kill a million, but 1 a year on average.

 

[hodgeman]

I don't worry about ungulates.

I do wear gloves when butchering bears or skinning forbearers.

 

[roadrunner]

I thought bleeding was the body’s response to having a hole in it.

No, that's clotting.

 

[Will_m]

No, that's clotting.

Touché.

 

[Maverick1]

To the “Rub some dirt on it” - and - “Is this a serious question” - replies…..

Has anyone noticed the following about the OP: “Last seen Oct 13, 2022” - ???

 

[Arcticmanak]