Nationwide Children's Hospital study on burn injuries in kids

Nationwide Children's HospitalOct 5 2009

Yet alarming number of children still being injured

In the next 60 seconds, another child will be on his/her way to the hospital to be treated for serious burns; it happens more than 300 times a day in this country. Now, one of the largest studies ever done on burn injuries in kids is out from experts at Nationwide Children's Hospital and the results are mixed: while overall injuries are down, there are some kids who are still at serious risk.

Lily McKinney has always loved spending time in the kitchen; whenever anyone is cooking she's willing to do anything to help. But in an instant, Lilly's eagerness to help ended up getting her hurt.

"My husband was checking on the lasagna that was in the oven and she snuck right around him and just put her hands right on the oven door," says Lilly's mother Danette McKinney.

Lilly was left with second-degree burns on both hands. She spent a night in the hospital and weeks in bandages. It's kids like Lilly that are still getting burned at a surprising rate, according to the study.

"We found that kids under age six were actually injured the most, representing about 60 percent of all burn-related injuries," says Lara McKenzie, PhD, a researcher at Nationwide Children's Hospital.

Dr. McKenzie found that while burn injuries have dropped 31 percent overall since 1990, the numbers are still disproportionately high in children under six years of age.

Over the 17-year study period, there were more than 2 million burn-related injuries in this age group, or about 120,000 burns annually.

"For younger children, particularly kids under six, have thinner skin than older children or adults, and they'll actually burn faster, even when exposure time is short," says McKenzie.

Dr. McKenzie, who is also with Ohio State, says many hazards are at eye-level in this age group and in toddlers, their new-found mobility often catches parents off-guard.

"I think we tend to overestimate the reach and ability of children, especially young children and toddlers. They can really reach a lot of surfaces and different hazards," she says.

Experts suggest you sit on the floor in danger zones in your house, like the kitchen, to see your home from your kids' perspective. Seeing the world from their eyes, they say, can help open your eyes to dangers you may not have noticed.