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Safe Kids observes Burn Awareness Week, Feb. 4-10  As the president proclaims National Burn Awareness Week (Feb. 4 through 10), Safe Kids Trident Area reminds parents and caregivers that fire is just one cause of burn injuries—children can also be seriously injured by hot liquids, heating appliances, hot pots and pans, electrical currents and chemicals.   Among all accidental injuries, fire and burns are the number five cause of death in children ages 14 andyounger—in part because children cannot recognize heat-related hazards quickly enough to react appropriately.   A child will suffer a full-thickness burn (third-degree burn) after just three seconds of exposure to 140-degree water, and will need surgery and skin grafts.   Each year in the United States, more than 116,000 children are treated in emergency rooms for burns and fire-related injuries.   “Hot liquids can be very dangerous, and kids are also at risk around steam irons, curling irons and space heaters,” said Amy Ethridge, Safe Kids Trident Area coordinator. “There’s a lot you can do around the home to minimize the risk of burn injuries in everyday life.”   Safe Kids Trident Area urges caregivers to: Set water heaters to 120 degrees Fahrenheit or lower. Consider putting an anti-scald device (about $30) on each water tap and shower head, and check the temperature of a baby’s bathwater before putting the baby in. Prevent spills. If possible, cook on a back burner. Don’t let pot handles stick out where they can snag loose clothing and avoid wearing long sleeves or baggy clothes in the kitchen. Don’t place containers of hot food or liquid near the edge of a counter, and don’t pick up anything hot while holding a baby. Keep electrical cords out of reach—especially extension cords and cords connected to heating appliances. Make sure electrical cords can’t be pulled or snagged into a bathtub or sink. Don’t leave a hot iron sitting on an ironing board unattended. Childproof your home. Cover unused electrical outlets. Lock matches, lighters and flammable materials out of a child’s reach. Actively supervise. Simply being in the same room with a child is not necessarily supervising. A young child in the same room as hot surfaces, hot liquids or open flames should be under constant, close supervision of an adult paying undivided attention. Don’t let kids play with fireworks. Fireworks injure more than 4,000 children a year. Fireworks are intended for use by adults in open spaces with plenty of active supervision for every child present.   It is still important to take precautions against fire, too.   “You need a smoke alarm on each level and in every sleeping area, and make sure each one actually works,” Ethridge said. Test your smoke alarms once a month and replace the batteries every six months (except for lithium batteries that last for 10 years according to manufacturer’s instructions). A working smoke alarm reduces the risk of dying in a fire by about 50 percent.   The mission of Safe Kids is to prevent burn injuries before they happen. However, if a burn injury does occur, the best care is just a few moments away. MUSC’s Pediatric Burn Center is South Carolina’s only pediatric burn referral center, and provides specialized burn treatment to children who have suffered burns. MUSC’s pediatric burn team has treated more than 350 hospitalized children during the past five years and provides more than 400 outpatient visits per year in a facility that has been ranked as the top children’s hospitals in the Southeast.   For information on burn injuries and prevention, call 792-5327 or visit http://www.usa.safekids.org/fire.     Friday, Feb. 9, 2007 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.