A child aged two was rushed to the hospital after he pulled and poured on himself the cup with coffee left by his mother on the edge of a table. Gheorghe Vicol, head of the Burns Section of the National Children’s Hospital “Emil Cotaga”, has told IPN that the child burned his face, chest and hands, on about 5% of the body. According to the doctor, this percentage is rather high for a child.
Gheorghe Vicol said the scalding with hot liquids is one of the most often home accidents involving children aged between one and three. The incidents often happen in banal situations, when the adults leave the cup with tea or coffee on the edge of the table or drink hot liquids with the children on their lap. Specialists warn that the consequences of such accidents are serious as the skin of the kids is very delicate. Besides suffering pain, the children can remain with scars for life.
In case of scalding with hot liquids, Gheorghe Vicol recommends the parents to attentively remove the clothes from the affected areas, to pour cold water on them and to place a clean and dry dressing on the wound. A doctor should be called immediately.
Gheorghe Vicol said the kitchen is the most dangerous place for children aged between one and three because these can pull a container with hot water on them, can put the hand on the oven or other hot objects. The results of the REPEMOL project are visible. Since news about the home accidents involving children and how these can be prevented started to be broadcast, the number of incidents involving children decreased.
Information about how to protect the child in different situations can be found at www.parinti.md. During seven years, the Regionalization of Pediatric Emergency and Intensive Care Services in the Republic of Moldova Project (REPEMOL), in cooperation with the authorities, has informed parents about the measures to prevent home accidents involving children younger than five within the campaign “A danger-free home for your child”. The REPEMOL project is financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and is implemented by the Center for Health Policies and Services.
