Preventing Unintentional Scald Burns: Moving Beyond Tap Water

Abstract

Current prevention strategies and messages do not adequately address the most common mechanisms of scald injury requiring hospitalization. Easy access to a microwave oven poses a significant scald risk to children as young as 18 months of age, who can open the door and remove the hot contents. An engineering fix for microwave ovens could help protect young children from this mechanism of scalding. Involvement of older children in a subset of scald injuries is a new finding that may have prevention implications.