JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO, Texas –
His name was Manual Amador, a bright, young, active and handsome child. He was the son of my wife's grandmother and grandfather. Being the first-born child of the family, he was the apple of everyone's eye.
During the early 1900s, washing clothes was done in a hot iron pot outside and the clothes were hung to dry on a string across two trees or poles. My wife's grandmother was hanging the clothes when she heard a horrific cry coming from the direction of the boiling pot.
The worst-case scenario caught her eye as her son had fallen into the boiling pot. She frantically rushed to him and cradled him. At the same time, her husband ran over and immediately grabbed his son from the arms of his wife. The frantic couple ran more than two miles to the nearest country doctor. Unfortunately, the child passed away the next day.
A scalding injury can happen at any age. Children, older adults and people with disabilities are especially at risk. Hot liquids from bath water, hot coffee and even microwaved soup can cause devastating injuries. Scald burns are the second-leading cause of all burn injuries.
According to the National Fire Prevention Association, there were 70,800 scalding non-fire burn injuries reported to hospital emergency rooms in 2012, up from 68,700 in 2011.
The National Scald Prevention Steering Committee notes that children are at particularly high risk for burn injuries due to their immature motor and cognitive skills, inability to self-rescue and dependence on adults for supervision and danger-avoidance interventions. Older adults are similarly more vulnerable due to decreased reaction time, impaired mobility and effects of pre-existing health conditions.
The NFPA provides the following safety tips to prevent scalding injuries:
· Teach children that hot things can burn. Install anti-scald devices on tub faucets and shower heads.
· Always supervise a child in or near a bathtub.
· Test the water at the faucet. It should be less than 100 degrees Fahrenheit, or 38 degrees Celsius.
· Before placing a child in the bath or getting in the bath yourself, test the water.
· Test the water by moving your hand, wrist and forearm through the water. The water should feel warm - not hot - to the touch.
· Place hot liquids and food in the center of a table or toward the back of a counter.
· Have a "kid-free zone" of at least three feet around the stove and areas where hot food or drink is prepared or carried.
· Open microwaved food slowly, away from the face.
· Never hold a child while you are cooking, drinking a hot liquid or carrying hot foods or liquids.
· Never heat a baby bottle in a microwave oven. Heat baby bottles in warm water from the faucet.
· Allow microwaved food to cool before eating.
· Choose prepackaged soups whose containers have a wide base or, to avoid the possibility of a spill, pour the soup into a traditional bowl after heating.
Scald treatment:
· Treat a burn right away.
· Cool the burn with cool water for three to five minutes.
· Cover the burn with a clean, dry cloth.
· Get medical help if needed.
NFPA safety officials also warn that prepackaged microwavable soups are a frequent cause of scald burn injuries (especially noodle soups) because they can easily tip over, pouring hot liquid (and noodles) on the person.
Officials at the NSPSC said hot water will burn skin at temperatures much lower than its boiling point of 212 degrees Fahrenheit or 100 degrees Celsius. It only takes 2 seconds of exposure to 148 degrees Fahrenheit/64 degrees Celsius water to cause a burn serious enough to require surgery. They recommend that water heaters be set at 120 degrees Fahrenheit/48 degrees Celsius, or just below the medium setting. A safe bathing temperature is 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
To learn more about scalding prevention, visit the NFPA website at http://www.nfpa.org/education or the National Scald Prevention Steering Committee website at http://www/flashsplash.org or call the local fire prevention offices at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston at 221-2727; at 671-2921 for JBSA-Lackland and at 652-6915 for JBSA-Randolph.