Many items can easily burn us from cooking liquids to grease
to hot water and hot foods. A whopping 46% of burns reported occurred from
these scalding items with 53% of this number being from children under five
years old. Scalds are actually the most common burn injury in young children
and, sadly, one of the leading causes of accidental death.
While these numbers can be scary to hear, as a community and
within our homes, we can help eliminate and prevent these injuries from
occurring with a few simple actions on our part. Here are some tips to helping
prevent burns!
·
Make sure to supervise children while they are
in the kitchen or dining area. Accidents happen very quickly.
·
Children are always reaching and grabbing for
things. To prevent spills while cooking on the stove, use the back burners.
·
Keep hot foods out of reach of children.
·
Have your hot water heater set to a max of 120
Fahrenheit to prevent accidental scalding.
·
Matches, gasoline and lighters should always be out
of sight and out of reach of children.
·
Already been burned? Cool it under cold running
water for 10-15 minutes. But if the burn is serious, please do not hesitate to
contact 9-1-1.
