Burn Awareness

2/20/2017 (Permalink)

Burn Awareness

According to, the American Burn Association, “Approximately 450,000 burn injuries require medical treatment each year.” A burn is damage to your body’s tissues caused by heat, chemicals, electricity, sunlight, or radiation. Burns, especially if left untreated can lead to infection. Burns cause swelling, blistering, and scarring.

When dealing with a burn you should treat it right away by putting it in cool water for three to five minutes and cover the burn with a clean, dry cloth.

The kitchen is one of the most common places in your home to get burned. To prevent burns from happening, place hot objects away from an edge, where they may be pulled down or knocked over and you should always turn pot handles away from the stove’s edge.

Remember to use dry oven mitts, because hot cookware can heat moisture in a hot pad, resulting in a scald burn.

In order to, keep the little one’s safe, it is a good idea to have a “kid free zone” of at least three feet around the stove. Talk to your children about how important burn safety is and remind them of what not to touch. Let them know what the risks are if they were to touch something hot and how to handle that situation.  

For more information on burn safety please go to Ameriburn.org.