Prevention and First Aid (Tips for the Home)

Tasmanian Burns Unit - Patient Information Brochure 

Kitchen

• Do not carry a child on your hip, or nurse a baby or small child whilst cooking, drinking hot drinks or heating a baby's bottle.
• Always turn saucepan handles away from the edge of the stove.
• Always make sure that all hot liquids are well out of reach.
• Never leave a child unattended in the kitchen or bath.
• Ensure your upright stove is fixed to the wall
• Keep kettle cords out of reach of children.
• Always strain the hot liquid off microwave noodles before serving to a child.
• Hot food should be eaten at a table not from the child's lap.
• Food should only be given to children when it is cool enough to touch.
• Hot items and containers should be kept out of reach of children.
• Young children should not be involved in the preparation of hot food including the use of microwaves
• Older children should be closely supervised in the preparation of hot food.
• Do not allow young children in the kitchen when cooking.
• Cook on the hotplates at the back of the stove.
• Make people aware of hot items when removed from the oven.
• Keep hot items well away from the edge of the bench.
• Install an oven and cook top guard.
• Close oven door immediately after opening.
• Ovens are not to be used as heating sources.
• Always supervise children around BBQ's.

Bathroom

• Install a tempering device to regulate the temperature of hot water to 50°C throughout your home.
• Never leave a child unattended where a hot water tap is on or accessible.
• Install hot water tap protectors.
• Always test the bath water before putting the child in.
• When running a bath, avoid running the hot water tap on its own.
• Do not allow older children to bath siblings.
• Never leave a child unattended in the kitchen or bathroom.

Living Area

• Always use a guard around wood heaters, fireplaces, furnaces, radiators, electric heaters.
• Supervise young children at all times when a heater is in use.
• Ensure environment around heater is safe – rug corners are not lifting, toys are not lying around etc (tripping often results in burn injury).
• Do not allow young children to stoke, touch or stand close to fire places, wood heater, furnaces, radiators, panel heaters or electric heaters.
• Never leave an iron on the ground to cool.
• Never use an iron in the same area as a child.
• Store the iron well away from children.
• Ensure there are no cords hanging down to be pulled on.
• Store and use your treadmill away from young children.
• Always keep your treadmill unplugged when not in use.
• Always supervise older children if they are using a treadmill.
• When you buy a new treadmill choose one with protective covers and a safety stop switch.