Burns and Scalds
There are countless ways in which children can get burned. Playing with matches, lighters and electrical cords often results in severe burns, or even fatalities. Children have been scalded from pulling pots of hot food from the stove onto themselves, or from exposure to extremely hot water in the bathtub. And as we all know, hot liquids burn like fire. The potential sources of burns and scalds seem almost endless. We have to teach our children from a very early age to respect the dangers of fire, electricity and excessively hot liquids. We also have to protect them by preventing them from being exposed to situations where they might potentially get burned.
The majority of fire related deaths (more than 75%) occur in private residences. A large percentage of burned children survive, although many require long term treatment. Functional losses as well as pain and psychological problems are inestimable. (Annal of Emergency Medicine Feb. 1993).
- Keep handles of pots and pans turned inward, and well away from the front edge of the stove. Pots might get off the stove by little ones. Cooking on the back burners may help prevent this.
- Always plan ahead before you move a hot pot, pan, or dish. Train yourself to determine where your child is in relation to you and your planned movement. Always warn your children to stay clear when you are carrying a hot pot.
- When you are carrying hot pots and pans, use pot holders. Never handle hot pots with wet or greasy hands. Take precautions even if the child is several feet away from you. Hot liquids can cover a large area if they are spilled. Not only will your own legs and feet get splashed, but your child may get splashed as well.
- Mop up spills promptly.
- Avoid holding your child while you are cooking at the stove or microwave. Steam and splattering fat can cause serious burns.
- Coming into the kitchen in a rush to answer the phone or to attend to an emergency? Never sit your child on the stove, even if you check the burners before hand; your child might turn an element on when you are not looking. This has happened many times in the past resulting in serious burns to the buttocks and genitalia.
- Keep dangling cords from hot water kettles and other electrical appliances away from the counter where they can be pulled down. The risk of things being pulled down is , of course increased if a child is in a baby walker.
- Don’t hold your child while you’re drinking something hot; scalds are commonly caused by spilled hot liquids. Remember that sturdy, wide-bottomed mugs may take more jostling around than more "elegant" cups before they spill the hot contents.
- Keep hot liquids – coffee, tea, grease, soup—away from young children. Be sure that appliance cords for kettles, bottle warmers, frying pans and deep fry cookers are not within reach of little hands.
- Cook on the back burners and turn pot handles toward the back of the stove.
- Pre-set your hot water heater to 120 F (48)C or less. Severe burns have resulted from the tap being turned on unintentionally. Consider installing an anti-scald device in the tap.
Prevention of tap water burns requires reduction in the temperature of tap water to 120 F. (48 C). At this temperature, it takes 10 minutes of exposure to cause full thickness burns in adult skin; at 125 F (52 C), the corresponding time is 2 minutes; at 130 F (54 C) the time is 30 seconds. Exposure to a water temperature 140 F (60 C) for only three seconds can result in third degree burns that would require hospitalization and skin grafts.
Martin Lesperance is a fire fighter/paramedic and is the author of the best selling book "I Won’t be in to Work Today – Preventing Injuries at Home, Work and Play" . Martin delivers keynote presentations dealing with injury prevention. His talks are funny, but still have a strong underlying message. Visit his website at www.safete.com
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