OSEA Safety Blog

Don't Get Burned!

The American Burn Association reported 486,000 burn injuries receiving medical treatment in 2016. There were over 3000 deaths from fire and smoke inhalation. U.S. resident’s odds of dying from exposure to fire flames or smoke is 1 in 1442. Children are at the greatest risk for burns or being scalded.

There are several levels of safety training based on your occupation or duties you perform at home. If you work with high voltage you have probably gone through the National Fire Protection Association NFPA70E training to ensure safety through methods of preventing electrical shock.

Preventing burns can be done by the following: checking water temperature at bath time for infants and children, ensuring boiling pots are literally on the back burner so little hands can’t knock them over. If you come in contact with chemicals that have a propensity to burn you, use proper PPE. Electrical burns can be the most severe and if you are working with high voltage, you should have the proper training.

If you do have a chemical burn meet your skin in a powder form, do not brush it off with a hard-edged surface such as a credit card. If the SDS shows that the chemical doesn’t interfere with water, flush the area for 20 minutes. If the chemical reacts with water follow the recommendations on the SDS. Electrical burns are of an entirely different category. Any time an electrical burn takes place the individual should seek medical attention. If the burn is severe in size, or blistering or creates white or charred skin or if the individual burned has a compromising medical condition they should seek medical attention. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.