Fires believed out can cause foot burns
Published: March 10, 2008 at 4:32 PM
GAINESVILLE, Fla., March 10 (UPI) -- Foot burns pose a serious risk to children in the southeastern United States that needs to be snuffed out, doctors said.
The study, published in the Journal of Burn Care and Research, found two-thirds of the ash burns were due to children in contact with burning yard waste or garbage. Almost one-third of the burns were caused by campfires and 6 percent involved a barbecue -- sometimes as long as one day or more after the fires were thought to be out.
"Clearly they're not going to have this problem in Manhattan," principal study investigator Dr. Elizabeth Beierle of the University of Florida said in a statement.
The retrospective study at a University of Florida Burn Center involved 155 patients -- 8 months to 17 years old. Half of the burns were second-degree burns and more than one-third were the more serious -- third-degree burns. Hospital stays averaged five days.
"Parental supervision is paramount and proper closed footwear is also very important in the presence of a fire," Dr. Wayne Cruse, of the Regional Burn Center at Tampa General Hospital said in a statement. "But the best preventative modality is to learn how to extinguish the fires appropriately -- the best resource is the Boy Scouts of America handbook."
The study, published in the Journal of Burn Care and Research, found two-thirds of the ash burns were due to children in contact with burning yard waste or garbage. Almost one-third of the burns were caused by campfires and 6 percent involved a barbecue -- sometimes as long as one day or more after the fires were thought to be out.
"Clearly they're not going to have this problem in Manhattan," principal study investigator Dr. Elizabeth Beierle of the University of Florida said in a statement.
The retrospective study at a University of Florida Burn Center involved 155 patients -- 8 months to 17 years old. Half of the burns were second-degree burns and more than one-third were the more serious -- third-degree burns. Hospital stays averaged five days.
"Parental supervision is paramount and proper closed footwear is also very important in the presence of a fire," Dr. Wayne Cruse, of the Regional Burn Center at Tampa General Hospital said in a statement. "But the best preventative modality is to learn how to extinguish the fires appropriately -- the best resource is the Boy Scouts of America handbook."
© 2008 United Press International. All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
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