BURNS: The first week of February each year is burn awareness week, and the focus this year is on scalding.
According to the American Burn Association, almost every minute, a person in the United States is severely burned enough to require medical treatment.
Some more facts about burns and scalding: On average, more than 300 children in the United States are seen in emergency departments daily, and two children die per day.
Scald burn injuries account for 376,950 of burns, and are mainly the result of the misuse of common household appliances like stoves, bathtubs, showers, coffeemakers and ovens.
Almost 90 percent of scald burns are from cooking, drinking and serving hot liquids. As an example, coffee is served at 175 degrees Fahrenheit and can be very dangerous if spilled or consumed before it cools.
From 2013 to 2017, 21 percent of children under four years of age were injured due to a scald burn.
The Burn Association recommends setting water heaters no higher than 120 degrees to prevent scald injuries, and says that a safe bath temperature is 100 degrees.
DATES: On a happier note, we looked up some of the other events marked in February with days or even the whole month dedicated to awareness.
The website Brownielocks tells us that this month is adopt a rescue rabbit month, along with many others. Here are a few of the lesser known celebrations for the month: Bake for family fun, barley, beat the heat, declutter for a cause, dog training education, jobs in golf, library lovers, love the bus, marijuana awareness, pet dental health, plant the seeds of greatness, pull your sofa off the wall, relationship wellness, responsible pet owners, return shopping carts to the supermarket, spunky old broads (we’re not making these up — really!), sweet potatoes and youth leadership.
And these, on a national scale, all for the month: bird feeding, care about your indoor air, haiku writing, hot breakfast, mend a broken heart, self check month, therapeutic recreation, time management month and more — but we ran out of time. (Haha)
