The Children’s Hospital at Westmead has issued a warning to parents and carers in the Hawkesbury and across Sydney to be more vigilant about preventing scald and contact burns in children.
The hospital said that of the 743 children that presented to the burns unit in the last year, a third experienced inadequate first aid.
Head of the Burns Unit, Dr John Harvey said burns from hot food, drinks or surfaces are continuing to increase each year.
He said these sorts of accidents happen in a second, and applying the correct first-aid as soon as possible was vital.
“Burns are some of the most common childhood accidents, particularly in toddlers, and the first aid approach can have a big impact of the progression of burn depth as well as the time a burn will take to heal,” Dr Harvey said.
The most common types of burns are caused by children touching heaters, ovens and irons or spilling hot water, tea, coffee, oil and foods such as noodles, soups and pasta.
Dr Harvey said the only proven effective first aid for burns is 20 minutes of cold running water, adding that care should be taken to cool the burn and not the whole child (which can lead to hypothermia).
“Many adults do not know the correct first-aid procedure for burns. If a burn occurs, the first step in treatment should always be cold running water.”
“Alternative measures such as ice, toothpaste and butter should not be used under any circumstances – they are not effective and in some cases, can in fact, cause more damage,” he said.
If your child is burnt, you should:
* Remove the child’s clothes and jewellery immediately (be careful not to remove clothing that is stuck to the burn).
* Cool the burnt area under running tap water for at least 20 minutes while keeping the child warm.
* Do not use ice, iced water or any creams or lotions on the burn.
