The first week in February is National Burn Prevention Week. Burns can happen anywhere, work, gym, home, car, or school, anywhere you are. Burns are damage to your body’s tissues caused by heat, chemicals, sunlight, radiation, and electricity. You can also get burned by inhaluation. There are 3 types of burns that can happen. They are:
- First degree burn which only damages the top layer of tissue
- Second degree which damages the outer layer and the layer underneath
- Third degree which damages and destroys the deepest layer of skin, tissue and organs
Burns can cause blistering, scaring, shock and death. And It is vital that we all learn fire prevention. Right now teens are doing an outlet challenge that we all need to be aware of to protect them and ourselves from that is dangerous. The challenge has people stick their cell phone charger part way in the outlet and then slide a penny down it. This is dangerous and will cause a small explosion or a big explosion.
There are 486 thousand injuries from burns that come from all kinds of causes such as electrical, fire, chemical, sun, scalding from water and other types too. Here are some facts I would like to share:
- 4.3% of burns happen from an actual fire or flame
- 34% happen from scalding from water
- 9% are from direct contact with something that will burn
- 4% are from electrical in a building
- 3% are from a chemical burn
- 7% are for other reasons like sports or at the gym
I have experience with burns besides having sunburns. I have had a chemical burn around my eyes from an accident with my tracheal mask while I was at the hospital and let me tell you it hurts badly. And it can cause damage besides just burnt skin. It can damage your eyes, especially your cornea. It can even cause your death if the degree of burn is deep enough. Burns are no joke and should be cared for properly and prevented if possible.
Here are some more facts:
- 73 percent of burns happen at home
- 9 percent of burns happen during sports, the gym, or recreational center
- 5 percent of burns happen on the highway or street
- 8 percent of burns happen at work
This is scary to think about and worth thinking about and preventing anywhere you spend a great deal of time.
General safety ideas to help you think about preventing and safety for yourself and family:
- Put smoke alarms in your home and test them every month and put new batteries in them every 6 months.
- Think about and make a plan on how you would get out in a fire emergency in your home, your job, school or car
- Have a professional electrician check your home every ten years.
(Note: I know the value of this because last month the electricity in my kitchen went out. I thought I could flip the switch and it would be fixed. It didn’t fix it. So when the mainteniance man came he discovered that behind my fridge, in the electrical socket, one of the wires caught fire. So it is important to get your electrical wires checked.) - Every year, if you have a fireplace and chimney have it cleaned
- Learn how to use a fire extinguisher
You are probably asking yourself how do I prevent a fire from happening and protect myself. No worries I have some recommendations for you.
- Wear goggles and other protective clothing when handling chemicals
- Store chemicals including gas out of reach of children
- Put covers on outlets that are within reach of children
- Throw away frayed and damaged electrical cords
- Use space heaters carefully. Teach children to stay away from them.
- Store matches and lighters in a locked cabinet and away from children
- Before putting kids that are 1 year or younger in a car seat check to see if the straps and seat for heat. These can cause second degree burns when they are hot from the sun.
- Check your alarms
- Have baking soda next to your stove in case you have a fire on the stove or pan you are using.
- Have a plan of escape and meet up in case there is a fire
I hope this article has been helpful to you, so you and your family will be safe, remember to check your fire alarms.
Here are some links I would like to share with you:
- Burn Incidence Fact Sheet by American Burn Association Staff
- Burns by MedlinePlus Staff
- Burns by National Institute of General Medicine Sciences Staff
- Burns: Preventing Burns in Your Home by American Academy of Family Physicians Staff
- The Concern-Sparking Outlet Challenge Is Yet Another Ill-Advised Challenge that Should Not Be Tried at Home by Megan Mccluskey at Time
- Thermal Burns Treatment by WebMD Staff
- Related Articles
Jamie Holloway lives in the Portland, Oregon area. Since October 2011 she has been sharing her Journey Toward Health and Wellness with Vasculitis through her blog at JamieChasesButterflies.com. As most of her articles will be about Men’s Health, Jamie intends to write her articles as though she was sharing important information with her brother, nephews and friends. We hope you are as inspired as we are with the raw candor Jamie uses in her writing. If you would like to help support Jamie’s writing efforts please Donate now.
