Cost of living crisis: Burns to children from hot water bottles have increased by 45%
Brand new insight released today on National Burn Awareness Day 2023 shows an alarming increase in the number of life-altering burn and scald injuries to babies and children involving hot water bottles. New data from the International Burn Injury Database (iBID), shows that burn and scalds to children in the first six months of 2023 increased by 45% compared with the same period in 2022. Burns and scalds to adults and the elderly from hot water bottles have also increased by 19%.

Children’s Burns Trust and British Burn Association, have released this exclusive insight to raise awareness of the risks posed by hot water bottles and the devastating nature of burns and scalds, which can lead to life-altering injuries. The ongoing cost of living crisis, and the financial pressures that households have been under for some time – coupled with universal credit deductions – has led to a change in behaviour where parents are looking for ways to keep their children and families warm without increasing their energy bills, such as through the use of hot water bottles.

Ken Dunn, Consultant Burns and Plastic Surgeon (retired) and Vice Chair of The Children’s Burns Trust, whose work is focused on children and their families said:
“The significant increase we have seen of injuries from hot water bottles to children is alarming and as the colder months of the year approach – coupled with the ongoing cost of living – we’re urging families to avoid using hot water bottles for children. If you do use them at all in the home, you should remember two key pieces of information about how to use them safely – never fill them with boiling water and always check the rubber flower symbol found on the neck which shows which month and year the hot water bottle was made. Any bottle older than two years old should be replaced. By raising awareness of the risk posed by hot water bottles and educating people on the safest way to use them – as well as the correct first aid should an injury occur – we can help to reduce the number and resultant scarring of these devastating injuries.”

This year during the NBAD, the Children’s Burns Trust has launched STOPTEABER – a new, nationwide fundraising campaign to help to reduce the number of children who experience burns and scalds from hot drinks. 30 children go to hospital every day with a hot drink burn, this campaign will support Children’s Burns Trust in raising awareness and reducing this number
A burn injury is for life, the scars are physical as well as psychological, and can present life-long challenges for the burn survivor and their families.

Marina Lobanov Rostovsky, Chairman of Trustees of the Children’s Burns Trust
“We have long wanted to combine the incredible work that takes place each October around National Burn Awareness Day with a simple, but fun, way that people can help support our work through fundraising. STOPTEABER is an easy way for individuals, parents, organisations and our colleagues across the NHS and burn community to come together to give up tea and coffee for the month in order to raise awareness and support the work of Children’s Burns Trust’.“

A new and extremely popular resource that we were able to offer this year was a Burn Prevention and First Aid Webinar. Registrations exceeded 288, with 100+ attending live on the day and at the time of writing the same number viewing the webinar recording on YouTube.

As ever, social media was the driving force behind the day’s activity with engagement across the burns community – hospitals, Fire & Rescue Services, families, childcare professionals, burn survivors and other charities. A continuing ‘trend’ to note was the increased use of Instagram, as well as the number of young adult burns survivors sharing their personal experiences. The #BeBurnsAware hashtag has appeared in over 11.9k social media interactions, with 1.6k shares, 9.9k likes and with a total reach of 860k users.

The latest NBAD was a success despite the difficulty for burn services to collaborate with Fire Services and media in the promotion of the key messages which centred on the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on the number and types of burn injury being seen in England and Wales and the clear association of burn injury with social and financial deprivation across all age groups. There where also messages about trying to avoid firework and bonfire related injuries during lock down.

Press Release for 14 Oct 2020

Worst off families in England and Wales most at risk of burn injuries to children

Today, on National Burn Awareness Day 2020, the Children’s Burns Trust and British Burn Association are campaigning to highlight a concerning correlation between social deprivation and the number of children sustaining life-altering burn injuries.

New data from the International Burn Injury Database (iBID), shows a clear link between children living in the most deprived areas of England and Wales and those who are admitted to a Specialist Burns Unit following a burn or scald injury. Children living in the top ten socially deprived areas are X times more likely to be burned or scalded than those living in the more affluent areas of England and Wales.

The Children’s Burns Trust and British Burn Association, have released this exclusive insight to raise awareness of the devastating number of children that are, on a daily basis, affected by life-altering burn injuries, and to promote the right burn-related first aid to parents, carers, grandparents and others involved in the care of children.

The data also highlights the top causes of burn injuries in children, with those under 5 being most at risk from hot drink spills, such as tea and coffee.

Older children, those in the 15 – 24-year age group, are most at risk from firework injuries and fires outside the home. The data shows….With Bonfire night fast approaching and organised firework displays being unable to take place due to Covid-19 restrictions, experts are concerned that injuries from these sources may increase this autumn/winter. Due to the many families who will take it upon themselves to organise their own firework displays at home.

The core aim of National Burn Awareness day is to urge families to be aware of the risks to children. A burn injury is for life, the scars are physical as well as psychological, and can present life-long challenges for the individual and their families.

case study quote:

Ken Dunn, Consultant Burn and Plastic Surgeon and Trustee of The Children’s Burns Trust, whose work is focused on children and their families said: “Looking at the correlation between deprivation and burn and scald injuries so far in 2020 brings into stark reality how important it is to raise awareness of the everyday dangers children are facing, especially around this time of year when firework injuries are most likely to occur. The vast majority of burn injuries are accidents, and most are entirely avoidable. On National Burn Awareness Day 2020, we need to see greater awareness about prevention and good first aid, both of which are key to reducing the number of injuries.”

Hundreds of NHS Services, Fire and Rescue Services, along with other organisations, come together each year on National Burn Awareness Day to raise awareness of the alarming number of people burned each and every day in the UK – the vast majority of which are preventable. The campaign also helps to promote the vital message of the importance of good first aid if a burn or scald does occur: COOL for 20 minutes under cool running water, CALL 999 OR 111 or your GP for advice, COVER the burn loosely with cling film.

All statistics have been provided by the International Burn Injury Database (iBID), incorporating data collected from all NHS Burn Services in England and Wales, they do not include the minor burns and scalds that are treated by Accident and Emergency Departments.

Lecture delivered by Mr Ken Dunn

Changing epidemiology of burn injuries in the UK: effective prevention programs?

In much the same way as any experiment a baseline of activity needs to be established followed by a well-designed intervention with the measurement of any subsequent change. The difficulty with injury prevention is that there are so many confounding factors that may influence over baseline and the results and that interventions are not single events but have been proven to require sustained effort and thus funding.

Recent technological developments and the availability of social media almost all have brought about different ways of accessing the population and influencing the behaviour. These appear to be having some effect in the absence of any identifiable other reason.

“How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?” ― Arthur Conan Doyle, The Sign of Four

Colebrook, L. (1951). The prevention of burning accidents in England and America. Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, 27(December 1950), 425–438. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1930087/

Keswani, M. H. (1986). The prevention of burning injury. Burns, Including Thermal Injury, 12(8), 533–539. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3454686

Keswani, M. H. (1996). The 1996 Everett Idris Evans Memorial Lecture. The cost of burns and the relevance of prevention. J Burn Care Rehabil, 17(6 Pt 1), 485–490. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8951534

Peck, M. D. (2011). Epidemiology of burns throughout the world. Part I: Distribution and risk factors. Burns: Journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries, 37(7), 1087–1100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.burns.2011.06.005

Press Release:

Surgeons warn of lifelong consequences of severe burns – as new figures show there were over 35,000 child admissions in the past five years

• 49% (17,052) of child admissions to designated specialised burn services in the past five years involved scalds from hot food or drink.
• 51% (1,576) of child admissions for scalds to designated specialised burn services in 2018 involved children aged 0-2 years.
• 57% of the admissions to designated specialised burn services among 0-2 year-olds in 2018 related to hot tea or coffee spillages.
• The Royal College of Surgeons of England is backing this year’s “SafeTea Campaign” as part of National Burns Awareness Day.7

Plastic surgeons from the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS) and the British Burn Association are warning that children can face years of gruelling operations and treatment following preventable burns or scalds, such as from hot tea or coffee spillages. New figures from the International Burn Injury Database (iBID) show there were 35,007 child admissions to specialist burns hospitals in England and Wales in the past five years (2014-2018).

The figures show that almost half – 49% (17,052) – of child admissions to designated specialised burn services, in the past five years, involved children who had been scalded by hot food or liquid spillages. The Children’s Burns Trust estimates that the average cost to the NHS for treating a patient with a major burn is £168,155.1

As part of the ‘SafeTea Campaign’ to mark National Burns’ Awareness Day, surgeons are issuing preventative and first aid advice for burns. This year’s campaign aims to prevent serious scalds from mugs of hot tea or coffee and to reduce the number of children who are seriously burned each year, often due to preventable accidents.

A snapshot of the five year data, reveals that in 2018 there were 6,645 child admissions to designated specialised burn services in England and Wales; and 47% (3,119) of these burns to children involved spillages from hot food or drink. Over half – 51% (1,576) – of these burns admissions for scalds involved children aged 0-2 years old. More than half of these (57%) were for avoidable coffee and tea scalds.

Mr Andrew Williams, a consultant plastic surgeon at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, who specialises in burns, says: “Burn injuries are common and potentially devastating. Tragically they occur too often. Prevention is clearly key to reducing the number of patients we treat, which is why we want to raise awareness of this issue. All it takes is for a small child to pull a kettle cord, or knock a cup of tea over, and they can be scarred for life. Every second counts when it comes to treating a new burn, so it is vital that parents know basic first aid – especially the importance of running scalded skin under cold water, for example.

He adds: “Recovering from a serious burn or scald can be physically gruelling if a patient has to undergo skin grafts and multiple operations, and it can impact the whole family. In young children, scar tissue might not grow with them, with the resulting need for potentially years of operations and therapy ahead of them. The road to recovery can also be psychologically very challenging, especially if a person has visible scars. This is why it is so important that we all – and particularly parents of young children – are aware of the simple steps they can take to reduce the likelihood of such accidents from happening the first place .”

The International Burn Injury Database is based on data from designated specialised burn services in England and Wales and therefore does not include minor injuries not referred to a burns service (i.e. where patients are treated by a GP surgery or in Accident and Emergency Departments).

The Children’s Burns Trust estimates that on average 110 children per day are seen in emergency departments with burn injuries – 46 as a result of a hot cup of tea or coffee spillage. It says that the most common place of injury for children is in the home – 49% of whom are burnt in the kitchen; and accidents are most likely to occur between 3pm and 6pm.

Mr Fadi Issa is Wellcome Trust CRCD Fellow, Consultant Plastic Surgeon at the regional Burns Unit at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, and Scientific Director of Restore, the Burn and Wound Research Trust. He is supervising a one-year RCS Research Fellowship in burns, wound healing or soft tissue reconstruction. Mr Issa says: “We see a large number of very young children with scald injuries where an accident has taken place at home.

“The way a burn is treated in those initial seconds and minutes after is crucial. A recent study, which was carried out at Stoke Mandeville Hospital and the University of Oxford2, and part-funded by the RCS, shows what a difference cooling a burn can make. Our advice is simple: 15-20-25. Run the scalded or burned skin under water at 15 °C for 20 minutes – and you could reduce the depth of a burn by up to 25%.3 This treatment can convert a deep burn needing surgery to one that just needs simple dressings to heal. The other key information is not to put any lotions or potions on a cooled burn. Cover it in cling film and seek urgent medical assistance.”