STOP BURNS INJURIES
BURN INJURIES
Prepare, Prevent, Respond
Fire kills for than 600 children ages 14 and under each year and injures about 3,400 more; nearly 50 percent of children who are injured are under the age of 5.
Shriners Hospitals for Children and the Shriners of North America offer these tips to Prepare, Prevent, Respond to burn injuries.
Prepare
Install smoke detectors on every level of your home, especially on the ceiling just outside bedroom doors.
Test smoke detectors monthly and change batteries annually.
Maintain a first aid kit in your home.
Develop an escape plan and practice it. Make sure each room in the home has at least two ways out and keep the escape route clutter-free and have alternatives in place.
Know emergency numbers and information such as your name, phone number and address of the home.
Prevent
Provide continuous supervision for your children.
Keep matches and lighters out of reach.
Keep children away from stoves, ovens, grills and appliances.
Take extra care when cooking with fryers. Never leave any cooking appliance unattended.
Set your home's water heater to the safest setting--120-125 degrees Fahrenheit.
Run cold water into tub first, then add hot water. Keep children away from faucets.
Never keep gasoline in your home. Keep it outside in a well-ventilated area and away from sources of ignition.
Respond
There are several types of burn injuries. In the event of any burn injury, it is imperative that medical attention is sought immediately. The procedures below can be followed until medical help arrives:
Thermal burns
are caused by contact with an open flame or other source of high heat, including appliances, steam or hot liquids.Put out any fire or flame or stop contact with steam, liquid or object.
Remove hot or burned clothing, if possible.
Cool injured area with running water within 30 seconds.
Stop any bleeding.
Cover burned area with sterile pad or clean sheet
Attempt to maintain victims body temperature.
Seek medical help.
Chemical burns
are caused by contact with strong acids or bases. Household products such as bleach, concrete mix and pool chlorinators are among the most common sources of chemical burns.Flush affected skin with cool, running water for 20 minutes or more. If the chemical is a powder, brush it off the skin before flushing.
Seek medical help. Even if the area is washed, the chemical may have penetrated.
Contact poison control or your local emergency room
Electrical burns
occur when strong electrical currents pass through the body. These burns may appear minor, but the damage can extend deep into the tissues beneath the skin.Look first and do not touch the victim, as the person may still in contact with the electrical source.
Pull the plug or shut off any electrical current.
Check the victims breathing. I breathing has stopped or you suspect the airway is blocked, begin CPR.
Cover affected areas using a sterile gauze bandage or clean cloth. Do not use a blanket or towel as fluffy fibers can be irritating.
Seek medical help
For any burn
:NEVER
apply lotions, ointments or creams to the affected area.NEVER use adhesive dressings
NEVER break blisters
SCALDS
Preventable burns According to the American Burn Association, young children, older adults and people with disabilities are most at-risk for scald injuries. Most scalding injuries happen in the home relating to activities such as bathing or cooking.
Shriners Hospitals offers these steps to help prevent scald burn injuries:
Safety in the bath
Generally the water in a child's bath should not be hotter than 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Run cold water into the tub first, then add hot water to reach a safe temperature. This will prevent a scald burn if the child should touch the water or go into the tub while it is being filled.
Before placing a child into the bathtub, check the temperature of the water by moving your hand through the water for a few seconds. If the water feels hot, it is too hot for the child.
Toys in the bathtub may establish the tub and bathroom as a play area. Give the child a washcloth instead of a toy.
Face the child away from the faucets and keep them closer to the other end of the tub (away from the faucets).
Safety in the kitchen
Keep children at a safe distance from hot liquids. A drink heated to 140 degrees Fahrenheit can cause a burn in 5 seconds. At 160 degrees Fahrenheit, a burn will occur in 1 second. A child's quick movement could spill hot fluid and cause a serious burn.
When toddlers are in the home, avoid using a tablecloth. If a child tries to pull himself up by the tablecloth, a heavy object or hot liquid on the table could fall on the child.
Keep all hot items near the center of the table to prevent a young child from reaching them.
While cooking, keep young children in a high chair or playpen, at a safe distance from hot surfaces, hot liquids and other kitchen hazards.
Use extra caution if you use deep fat (oil) cookers/ fryers when young children are present. The fat or oil may reach temperatures over 400 degrees Fahrenheit, hot enough to instantly cause a very serious burn.
Install Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter receptacles near sinks and other wet areas.
Keep appliance cords away from the edge of counters, and keep them unplugged and disconnected when not in use. A dangling cord is dangerous because it can get caught in a cabinet door or be pulled on by a curious child.
Always use oven mitts or potholders to remove pots and pans from the stove.
Keep pot handles turned in so the pots cannot be pulled off or knocked off the stove.
Store cookies and other foods away from the stove area so no one will be tempted to reach across a hot burner. Store potholders, paper towels, seasonings and other cooking items at a safe distance from the stove.
Establish a "SAFE AREA" in the kitchen where a child can be placed —— away from risk, but under continuous supervision. Also, consider establishing a "NO ZONE" directly in front of the stove. Teach your child to avoid this area. You can mark the zone with yellow tape, a piece of bright carpet or other material. Use a fill-through-the-spout teapot to reduce the risk of hot water-associated scald burns. The central handle, the single, small opening, and a "spout whistle" are all safety features.
Create a safe environment
Lower the thermostat setting of the water heater to 120-125 degrees Fahrenheit. This temperature should provide plenty of hot water for normal household activities. The maximum temperature should not be higher than 125 degrees Fahrenheit.
NOTE: At 130 degrees Fahrenheit, a serious burn can occur in 30 seconds. At 140 degrees, only 5 seconds are required. The time may be reduced by 50 percent or more for children under age 5 and some adults over 65.
Gas water heaters can be adjusted easily. Electric water heaters require disconnecting (shutting off) the electricity to the water heater and removing the cover plates to adjust the thermostat. Check with your utility company for directions to adjust an electric water heater.
After the thermostat is turned down, check the temperature 24 hours later by running the hot water to make sure the temperature is low enough to be safe.
Consider installing pressure balancing/ thermostatically controlled shower/tub valves which reduce the water temperature to 115 degrees Fahrenheit or less. These valves can be attached to the bathtub fixtures, installed in the wall at the bathtub, or connected at the water heater. These temperature-controlling valves vary in cost and installation requirements, and can be purchased at some hardware stores or through plumbers. The resulting safety is worth the cost.
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Burn Care at Shriners Hospitals Forty years after opening its first Shriners Hospital, the Shrine of North America became aware of another enemy of children ----- the severe burn, Each year , thousands of children are disfigured or killed by what has been called one of the greatest hazards of childhood. Recognizing the lack of medical expertise in the burn care field, in the mid-1960 the Shrine opened three Shriners Hospitals specifically to treat burns, each with the three-fold purpose of helping children, conduction burn research and training medical personnel in the treatment of burn injuries. Today, four Shriners Hospitals provide acute and rehabilitative care for children who have been burned. The burn Shriners Hospitals are located in Boston, Cincinnati, Galveston, Texas and Sacramento, Calf. Since the mid-1960s, when the Shrine first made a commitment to advancing burn treatment by opening these specialized hospitals, a burned child's chance of survival has more than doubled. Today, Shriners Hospitals remain pioneers in burn treatment. They are actively involved in developing many major advances that will continue to revolutionize the way burn patients will be treated. The Shrine reinforces its commitment to research and improvements in burn treatment through affiliations with the outstanding medical schools at Harvard University, the University of Cincinnati, the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, and UC-Davis in Sacramento. The burn Shriners Hospitals are staffed and equipped to treat the following; Patients with acute, fresh burns Patients needing reconstructive or restorative surgery as a result of healed burns. Patients with severe scarring, resulting in contractors of interference with mobility of the limbs. Patients with facial scarring and deformity. The sooner a burned child reaches a Shriners Hospital, the better his chances of recovery In an emergency, the referring physician for a burned child needing immediate care should telephone the chief of staff at the nearest Shriners Hospital specializing in burn and indicate the patient needs emergency care.Non ––emergency admissions for burn care is dependent on the medical needs of the patient and on the availability of beds. Shriners Hospital are open to children up to their 18th birthday, regardless of race, religion or relationship to a Shriner. Applications forms for non-emergency admissions to Shriners Hospitals can be obtained by talking to someone with a Hospital contact call 1-800-237-5055 in the USA or in Canada call 1-800-361-7256, Regina call (306) 569-2294 or 1-866-699-WAWA (9292) |
For information on the WA WA Shriners - SBI program
email sbi@wawashriners.org
