I just came back from a trip to Canada and Alaska. We were in Vancouver, Canada for Canada's Independence Day (called Canada Day) on July 1st and we didn't see any fireworks. Then, I realized I wouldn't be home to watch the fireworks for the fourth of July. As I was thinking of topics to write about for this post I thought about how I missed seeing fireworks this year, which made me wonder how many kids get hurt by them. I then thought about burns in general from stoves, campfires, ovens, etc...This led me to write about the prevalence of various burns in kids and how to prevent them.
To begin I want to define the difference between a scald and a burn. A burn is damage caused by dry heat or a chemical whereas a scald is caused by something wet like hot water. A scald is just one major type of burn some others are: chemical, contact, electrical, and sunburns. In this post, we will discuss mainly scalds and heat-related burns.
Burn and Scald Statistics:
Each day over 300 children are seen in emergency rooms and 2 children die from burn injuries
Children <16 represent about 26% of all admissions to burn center hospitals
Nearly 75% of all scalding burns in children are preventable
Hot tap water burns cause more deaths and hospitalizations than any other hot liquids
Scalds are the most common type of burn among young children
Kids are at risk of burns because they have thinner skin than adults, and they don't have control over what happens around them. To learn how to prevent scalds and burns in children we must first learn some more factors that lead to them.
Common Factors:
Some of the most common risk factors that contribute to burn or scald injuries in youth are:
Lack of supervision
Danger is not perceived by the caretaker so preventative measures aren't taken (examples: leaving hot beverages close to children, not checking bath water temperature, carrying hot foods while holding a child, etc...)
Responsibility given to a child who is not old enough for it (examples: bathing a younger sibling, cooking at a young age, etc...)
Abuse (intentional injury ie. pouring hot water)
Protecting and Prevention (At Home)
Kitchen:
Keep your children at least 3 feet away from any place where there is hot food or drink
Teach your children that hot things burn
Use the back burners if you cook if possible
Never leave food unattended on the stove
Stir and test food temperature before giving it to your kid
Bathroom:
Set your water heater to 120 degrees Fahrenheit
Test bath water temperature before putting your kid into the bath
Use anti-scald devices to prevent hot water from coming out of the faucets in the bathroom
Unplug appliances (such as hairdryers) when not in use
Not only do burns/scalds happen at home but they can happen near a campfire, fire pit, with fireworks, near cars, and more. Learn how to prevent these burns from happening to your children below.
Protecting and Prevention (Outdoors)
Don't let your kid come close to a campfire, firepit, or fireworks
Don't bury hot coals
Draw a "safety circle" around firepits of at least 2-3 meters around the firepit
Don't let your child play with fireworks
To answer my firework question from the beginning: Each year 2,000 children are treated in US hospitals for firework-related injuries.
This video shows more on about how burns and scalds can be prevented:
I hope you enjoyed learning about burning/scalding prevention and remember these prevention techniques.
For more information:
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