The porcelain faucet handle as a common household hazard has received too scanty attention. Not only are the injuries incurred painful and dangerous, but the resulting disabilities are often prolonged because of the frequency of nerve and tendon damage. The matter has not been entirely neglected, but, probably owing to the manner in which papers have been titled, search of the recent literature has not yielded any information of like character.
Over a period of four years about twenty cases have been seen in the office, in the emergency service of a private hospital and at the public health center. Five office cases are presented here in brief to illustrate the variety of injuries.
All the injuries were produced by one of the two types of china or porcelain handles illustrated (fig. 1). The porcelain is cemented with plaster of paris over a metal core or about a central metal