Burn injuries are caused by various things and have been the most common injuries at home. The most frequent burn injuries happen in the kitchen and are caused by fire and hot steam, although chemical and electrical burns are also possible to happen in the home. Burns commonly happen to children and may cause either minor or more severe injuries. Hence, it is important to perform some home procedures for preventing burn injuries at home.

Discussing what to do when there is fire in the home

Every single family member should be acknowledged about the procedures on what to do when fire occurs around the house. These will minimize any possible injuries including burns, which can be fatal.

• Stick to the escape plan and always head to an agreed assembly point when fire sets. Young children need to be taught about the family procedures regarding fire in the house. It is important to let them know the escaping route and the outdoor assembly point they should head to when fire sets.
• Stay close to the floor. Crawling is advised, as smoke and heat are as potential on causing injuries as the fire itself.
• Always check closed doors using the back of your hands. Don’t open when it’s hot, indicating the fire is at nearby location.
• If any of the family members’ clothes catch fire, do the procedure of “stop”, “drop”, and “roll”.
• Install a heat or fire detector in the kitchen for an initial alert on fire.

Preventing burn injuries in the kitchen

While it can be fatal, fire burn injuries are quite possible to be prevented. Some researches even state that during the last several years, this kind of injuries caused by fire has deteriorated significantly. To promote fire safety in your home and public places, some precautions can be considered.

• If you have small children and toddlers around, avoid using dainty tablecloths, which are easy to be pulled out. This might lead into burn injuries when hot objects on the table fall on them.
• Avoid working with hot substances—water, oil, heat, steam with children around.
• Avoid leaving fried or grilled foods unattended. The oil may get too hot and burn the pan, elevating its temperature without you noticing. This might burn your hand when lifting the pan off the stove.
• In the kitchen, there should be no flammable items and substances. Hence, air freshener and insect spray, for instance, should not be used in the kitchen with the stove turned on.
• When cooking something potential of splashing, put the fryer lid on. Splashed hot oil is definitely possible for causing skin burn and even deep burn wound.
• Always wear protective gloves when removing items from hot oven or microwave.

Preventing burn injuries around the house

Kitchen is the place at home where burns are likely to take place. However, there are some kinds of burn injuries which are induced by other risk factors other than fire. Heat, steam, electricity, and chemicals are some risk factors which may cause burn injuries around the entire house. Thus, prevention on burn injuries induced by these factors also needs to be considered.

• Check electrical circuits around the house, especially those ones which are activated in daily basis. Also, check your appliance cables from fraying. This might cause electrical shock that leads to electrical burn injuries.
• After heating foods or drinks for small children, check the temperature before giving it to them as too-hot foods may cause tongue and mouth burn from the heat, which can be severe in young children.
• Before having warm water bath, check the water temperature in the bathtub by soaking your feet or hands first.
• Be cautious about candles usage during power outage. Avoid putting it near flammable items and never leave it unattended.
• Supervise children when playing with firecrackers or fireworks. Never play these indoor and nearby flammable items and materials.
• Wear sufficient sunblock cream whenever you are going out of the house to prevent sunburn.
• Wait hot drinks to cool down before taking any sip to prevent mouth and tongue burn.