This site is intended for Healthcare Professionals only

Little ones at risk of burns

Latest bookmark icon off

Little ones at risk of burns

One-year-old children are 10 times more likely to suffer a burn or a scald than older children, and hot drinks and hair straighteners are the biggest culprits, reveals a new study. The data comes from a review of UK emergency department and burns unit cases, involving 1,215 children, published in the Archives of Diseases in Childhood.

The vast majority of burns and scalds occurred in children under five, with one-year-olds being the most at risk. Hot drinks were to blame for the most scalds in young children (55 per cent), usually because the child had reached up and pulled down a cup of hot tea, while children aged over five were more likely to be splashed by hot water in the kitchen.

Eighty-one per cent of contact burns in young children happened when the child touched a hot item in the home, with hair straighteners being the biggest threat (42 per cent) followed by hobs (27 per cent). The researchers called for more public safety information and improved product design to reduce the risk of burns and scalds.

Copy Link copy link button

Latest

Share: