Burns specialists in the South West and the father of a seriously scalded toddler are urging parents to be extra careful with hot drinks, after new data revealed the toll among young children from hot drink spills.

Last year saw 149 children living in the South West, most under two years old, needing treatment at a specialist burns service because of a hot drink scald – taking the total for the past decade to 1,830.

Many more children will have had less serious – but very painful – scalds dealt with at GP surgeries and other health settings.

With National Burn Awareness Day (Wednesday October 16) just around the corner, the figures highlight just how common these serious preventable injuries are in the region.

Mr Chris Wearn, Consultant Burns and Plastic Surgeon at the Burns Unit in North Bristol NHS Trust, is clinical lead for the Bristol Adult Burns Service at NBT and the South West UK Paediatric Burns Centre, Bristol Royal Children’s Hospital.

Mr Wearn said: “Hot drinks are found in every home and can be so dangerous. It’s important to take extra care especially if you have young children around.

“The most severe injuries can lead to lifelong scaring and years of treatment.”

Bella is typical of how quickly scalds can happen and how serious the consequences can be.

The toddler, from Exeter, was just one and half years old when she pulled a hot mug of tea off a table and down onto her chest.  Little Bella spent an hour in the operating theatre at the specialist burns facility in Plymouth and three days in hospital after her ordeal.

She sustained first and second degree burns to parts of her body and is still receiving treatment and care eight months after the accident.

Alongside the specialist burns service in Plymouth, where Bella was admitted, there are four more specialised services in the South West. Salisbury District Hospital and Southmead Hospital are Units which care for moderate size burns.  However, the most serious children’s burns are transported to the South West Children’s Burns Centre in Bristol and adults with major burns are transferred to Morriston Hospital in Swansea which is a specialist Burns Centre.

Burns specialists are also using National Burn Awareness Day to highlight the dangers of using hot water bottles, how to use them safely and how to apply the correct first aid should someone receive a scald or contact burn.

Over the past 10 years, there have been 256 hot water bottle injuries seen in a specialist burn service in the South West – approximately two cases a month.

Mr Wearn said: “86 of these cases was in children under 14 years old. The majority of these occurred in the kitchen while playing and exploring, but many also occur in the bedroom whilst sleeping. We have recently shown that burn services in England and Wales manage on average 600 hot water bottle related injuries annually and that there has been a 43% increase in these injuries across recent winters.”

 

Bella’s story

Warning: sensitive content below

Bella was just one and half years old when she pulled a hot mug of tea off the table and down her chest.

Little Bella spent an hour in the operating theatre at the specialist burns facility in Plymouth and three days in hospital after her ordeal.

Her Dad, Tom Lomas, who lives with his partner and Bella’s mum Alexandra Bennett in Exeter, described the horrific moment, which happened in the blink of an eye.

“It was breakfast time, and we’d put a cup of the tea on the table as we always do, assuming it was out of reach. The hot water in the cup had been out of the kettle for less than three minutes.

Bella was very confident on her feet for such a young age, the handle of the cup was facing the edge of the table. Bella grabbed the mug, which was quite heavy. As it fell, she has looked down and the hot drink has spilled all the way from her chin, shoulders and sternum.”

Tom quickly removed her dressing gown and baby grow.

He said: “I saw the skin peel away from her chest, Alexandra screamed.  We called 999 who advised us to take her into a cool bath and pour cool water over the area.

“I took her into the bath first, my adrenalin had kicked in to take action, knowing that my partner was distraught.

“Six paramedics rushed in; my partner took over in the bath continuing to cool the burn.   I’ll never forget the moment one of the paramedics took me aside and said ‘you are not bad parents’ and at this point the reality of what had happened kicked in and I felt the lowest I’d ever felt in my life.

Bella and Alexandra were taken by ambulance to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, and Tom followed in the car.

Tom said: “They gave Bella painkillers, assessed the burn and applied a dressing over the area. Then said we needed to go to the burns service in Plymouth because between 11 and 13% of Bella’s body had been burned.

“When we arrived in Plymouth, the burns team were waiting for us and within two hours of arriving, she was in the operating theatre.

Bella’s required surgery because around her chest there was second and first degree scalding and also less severe scalding to her chin and shoulders.

“It was the longest hour of my life waiting for Bella to come out of the operating theatre.”

Bella, now 2, spent three days in hospital. Since then, there have been numerous trips to the hospital to change her dressings, a further surgery, and Bella is still receiving treatment with silicone gel and wears a pressure garment every day to help treat her scarring.

Tom added: “It’s been really emotional, and Bella has been through so much.

“In the past eight months Bella’s gone through two surgeries and 15 to 20 trips to the hospital to be where we are today. But despite everything she’s still a two-year-old who wants to go to the park and play with trains.

“We’re very grateful to all the NHS teams who have done an amazing job, not just looking after Bella, but also looking after myself and Alexandra. We also know Bella was very lucky not to have been more badly scalded.”

Tom said he has shared his family’s experience, working with the Children’s Burns Trust, in a bid to prevent another family seeing their child go through the same ordeal as their daughter.

“When you have young children, you lock the cupboards, but you assume they won’t be able to reach that hot drink, saucepan of boiling water or kettle but they can – they’re growing up so fast”.

 

Hot water bottle standards do not dictate an expiry date, however, burns specialists recommend that hot water bottles are replaced every two years from the time they are first used.

When using hot water bottles, users should:

• • Check that there are no signs of damage, cracks or tears.
  • Use boiled water from a kettle but wait at least 10 minutes to let it cool first before filling the hot water bottle

Further information on burns prevention and first aid can be found on The South West Burns Clinical Network website.

If you, or someone you know, suffers a burn or scald injury the British Burn Association (BBA) recommends the following:

• COOL – remove any jewellery or clothing from the wound area unless it is stuck, cool the burn under running water or a shower for at least 20 minutes to soothe and clean the wound, it also minimises swelling and stops the burn from damaging the deeper layers of the skin.  This can still be effective if applied within the first three hours post injury.

• CALL – Call or visit NHS 111 for any burn larger than a 50p piece or if there are any blisters. They can provide advice and may suggest you go to your nearest Minor Injury Unit or hospital. For more serious burns call 999 for emergency care.
• COVER – after the burn has been cooled for at least 20 minutes, cover the burn lightly with clingfilm or a non-fluffy dressing to make sure it remains clean and help with the pain. Don’t apply creams or other products without medical advice.

If the wound is not healed within two weeks, or there are signs of infection, seek further advice from your GP, NHS 111, a local Minor Injury Unit or Emergency department.

NHS England also has a page which contains advice on burns and scalds.