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Facts About Burn Injury
According to the latest data available from the National SAFE KIDS Campaign and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), consider the following statistics:
- Accidental, or unintentional, injury is a leading cause of death among children ages 14 and younger.
- Leading causes of accidental injury at home are burns, drowning, suffocation, choking, poisonings, falls, and fire arms.
- Burns and fires are the fifth most common cause of accidental death in children and adults, and account for estimated 4,000 adult and child deaths per year.
- Nearly 75 percent of all scalding burns in children are preventable.
- Toddlers and children are more often burned by a scalding or flames.
| Age | Most Common Injury Type | Risk Factors |
|---|---|---|
| < 5 Years | Flame | Playing with matches, cigarette lighters, fires in fireplaces, barbecue pits, and trash fires. |
| Scald | Kitchen injury from tipping scalding liquids. Bathtub scalds often associated with lack of supervision or child abuse. Greatest number of pediatric burn patients are infants and toddlers younger than 3 years of age burned by scalding liquids. |
|
| 5 to 10 Years | Flame | Male children are at an increased risk often due to fire play and risk-taking behaviors. |
| Scald | Female children are at increased risk, with most burns occurring in the kitchen or bathroom. | |
| Adolescent | Flame | Injury associated with male peer-group activities involving gasoline or other flammable products, such as fireworks. |
| Electrical | Occurs most often in male adolescents involved in dare-type behaviors, such as climbing utility poles or antennas. In rural areas, burns may be caused by moving irrigation pipes that touch an electrical source. |
- During the last 30 years, burn injuries have decreased for the following reasons:
- Increased use of smoke detectors.
- The flammability of consumer products, such as toys and pajamas, is federally regulated.
- The US government monitors safety in the workplace.
- A greater national emphasis is placed on burn injury prevention and fire safety.
- A decrease in smoking helps prevent burn injuries.
- New water heaters in homes and in public areas are now preset at lower temperatures to reduce scald injuries.
- There are fewer open fires.