Avoid burns at home this festive season

WITH the cold taking hold, the Western Health and Social Care Trust has issued a timely warning on the danger posed to small children by hot liquids.

There are around 300 attendances at Altnagelvin's A&E Department each year due to burn episodes and the highest numbers attending are in the under-five and the 17 to 24 year-old age groups.

Hot liquids are a major contributing factor for attendances of those in the under-5 age group as the message on the mugs is clear: 'Heat can hurt. Half of all burns and scalds to children under 5 are caused by hot liquids.'

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Alan McKinney, lead clinician for emergency care and medicine, said: "When our analysis showed that accidents involving hot liquids are a significant contributing factor to the number of children being brought to hospital for treatment, we looked at how we might get the message out there to help reduce these accidents.

"Distributing the mugs with the 'Heat can hurt' message is one of the initiatives we are employing to make adults aware of their role in helping to avoid such incidents."

Joanne Doherty, Injury prevention officer, said that the mugs bearing the injury prevention message have a closed lid, reducing the potential for burns and scalds through spillage.

"The mugs will be given out to parents of young children through cooperation with our partner organisations throughout the area in the coming months. They will also be distributed to new mums during Parent Craft classes held at Altnagelvin. Our aim is to drive home the safety messages to reduce the number of burns and scalds and the mugs are backed up by a poster and information campaign."

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Top tips to prevent burns: Never hold a hot drink and a child at the same time;put hot drinks out of reach and away from the edges of tables and worktops; keep small children out of the kitchen whenever possible; always use rear hotplates and turn the panhandles away from the front of the cooker; keep hot irons, curling tongs and hair straighteners out of reach even when cooling down; never leave young children alone in the bathroom, and also, when running a bath turn the cold water on first and always test the water temperature with your elbow before letting a child get in.

The mugs bearing the injury prevention message were unveiled at a recent tea party.

Related topics: