February 5-11 is National Burn Awareness Week, and this year burn care professionals are reading out to educate the public about avoiding scald burns.
As the only full-service burn center in a 400-mile radius of Memphis, our Firefighters Burn Center understands how important burn prevention is to our community.
We encourage families to stay burn safe, and to rest assured that our expert team is ready 24/7 to provide lifesaving, life-changing care for burn injuries.
During National Burn Awareness Week this February 5-11, the American Burn Association and burn care professionals like those at Regional One Health’s Firefighters Burn Center are educating the public on how to stay burn safe.
This year’s theme is “Hot Liquids Burn Like Fire,” which reminds people that scald burns can be very serious injuries for both children and adults.
Scald burns are those caused by hot liquids, steam, and hot bath water. Fortunately, they are also avoidable with some common-sense safety steps:
- When you get in a bath or bathe a child, run your hand through the water to ensure there are no hot areas that could cause burns.
- Be careful when drinking hot liquids and handling hot food, and never hold a child while eating or drinking something hot.
- Be careful when you’re cooking to avoid burns, and never hold a child while cooking.
- Establish a “kid-free” zone of 3 feet around areas where hot liquids or foods are being prepared or set out.
- After microwaving food, open the lid facing away from your body.
- Wear oven mitts when taking food out of the oven.
- Make sure travel mugs have tight-fitting lids.
The kitchen is a common site for burn injuries. Take steps like wearing oven mitts, keeping kids and pets away from hot items, and opening microwaved containers pointing away from people.
The Firefighters Burn Center is the only full-service burn center verified by the American Burn Association in a 400-mile radius of Memphis. It is open 24/7 to provide lifesaving, life-changing care for patients from all over the Mid-South.
A highly trained, specialized team provides the full continuum of care for serious burn injuries, starting with lifesaving emergency care and staying at patients’ sides through intensive care, specialized burn rehabilitation, and laser and plastic surgery.
While the American Burn Association notes 96.8% of patients who suffer burn injuries survive, many of those survivors will sustain serious scarring, life-long physical disabilities and adjustment difficulties. Therefore, our team at the Firefighters Burn Center joins the ABA in its commitment to public outreach and education.