It is scary enough baby proofing your house for your children to be protected for your upcoming baby, but what about burns? As much as you try to prevent them, they can happen and do you know the common causes and what you can do to prevent those risks? Silly enough I have a burn under my forearm from trying to make the early-90s snack “Tater-Tots” where the pan seared the underneath of my arm. My cousin Shawn severely burned his hand as a child (when fireworks were legal in California in the early 90s) with a sparkler. I can still remember how upset and scary it was. Even in college, I actually grabbed a hot burner on the stove and gave myself 3rd degree burns. Terrible and more terrible. Heck, as moms we burn ourselves on the curling iron and complain! From kids washing up under a too-hot faucet to an accidental tipping of a coffee cup, burns are a potential hazard in every home. In fact, burns, especially scalds from hot water and liquids, are some of the most common childhood accidents. Kids and toddlers are curious and unknowing with sensitive skin that needs extra protection and caution.
Taking some simple precautions to make your home safer will (hopefully) prevent many burns.
Here are some shocking statistics from the latest National SAFE KIDS Campaign and the United States Fire Administration (part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency):
Injury and death rates:
- Burns are the fourth leading cause of accidental deaths and injuries to infants under age 1.
- The majority of fire-related deaths (75 percent) are caused by smoke inhalation of the toxic gases produced by fires. Actual flames and burns only account for about one-fourth of fire-related deaths and injuries.
- The majority of fires that kill or injure children are residential fires (85 percent).
- The majority of children ages 4 and under who are hospitalized for burn-related injuries suffer from scald burns (65 percent) or contact burns (20 percent).
- Fireworks-related injuries sent more than 3,800 children to hospital emergency rooms in 1997.
- Fires kill more than 600 children ages 14 and under each year and injure approximately 47,000 other children.
- Approximately 88,000 children ages 14 and under were treated at hospital emergency rooms for burn-related injuries – 62,500 were thermal burns and 25,500 were scald burns.
- Hot tap water scald burns cause more deaths and hospitalizations than any other hot liquid burns.
Common Causes
The first step in helping to prevent kids from being burned is to understand these common causes of burns:
Scalds, the No. 1 culprit (from steam, hot bath water, tipped-over coffee cups, hot foods, cooking fluids, etc.)- Contact with flames or hot objects (from the stove, fireplace, curling iron, etc.)
- Chemical burns (from swallowing things, like drain cleaner or watch batteries, or spilling chemicals, such as bleach, onto the skin)
- Electrical burns (from biting on electrical cords or sticking fingers or objects in electrical outlets, etc.)
- Overexposure to the sun
Types of Burns
Burns are often categorized as first-, second-, or third-degree, depending on how badly the skin is damaged.
- First degree is limited to the outer layer of the skin, causing it to be dry, red and painful, but without blistering. A mild or moderate sunburn is an example of a first degree burn.
- Second degree, or partial thickness burn is more serious, and involves blistering of the skin. This type of burn is also painful, but unlike a first degree burn, the affected skin will likely appear to be moist.
- Third degree burn is where all of the skin layers have been penetrated and the burned area will be white, charred, firm and leathery. A third degree burn also destroys nerve endings, so your child may not feel pain in the burned area.
Preventing Burns
You can’t keep kids free from injuries all the time, but these simple precautions can reduce the chances of burns in your home:
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