Most children are within arm’s reach of an adult when a hot drink scald happens
More than two-thirds of toddlers burned in hot drink accidents are not treated with correct first aid, according to new research. University of Queensland PhD candidate Jacquii Burgess at the Centre for Children's Burns and Trauma Research said hot drink scalds were the leading cause of childhood burns in Australia, and 74 per cent occurred in children aged under two. "We surveyed parents and caregivers of children aged 0-36 months with hot drink scalds over a 12-month period who were treated at the Lady Cilento Children's Hospital ," Ms Burgess said. "Only 28 per cent of children received correct burn first aid. "This is despite 66 per cent of parents reporting that they had undertaken first aid training in the previous 12 months." Ms Burgess said there is strong evidence that applying 20 minutes of cool running water to a burn or scald reduces pain, scarring and hospital stays. "The most common reason parents reported applying water for shorter periods of time was that they thought it was adequate or the child was too distressed," Ms Burgess said. The study also found that on most occasions children were within arm's reach of a supervising adult when a hot drink scald happened.
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