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4.4.5 «Burns and scalds» (excl. chemical
burns) accident segment
Table 10
Prevention options recommended for accidents for the «Burns
and scalding” accident segment excluding chemical burns
Risk factor Prevention options Burn Scald
Children and adolescents
Victim’s lack of or
limited awareness of
danger
Supervisor’s low
awareness of danger
Fun experimenting/urge
to explore/research
Hot meals and
beverages, other hot
objects
Bathing (water
temperature)
Storage of inflammable
substances inside
the house
Fuels, matches or
cigarette lighters
accessible to children
Smoking
Lack of or faulty
smoke detectors
Hot tap water
Fireworks
Age-dependent awareness
raising of awareness of
danger
Supervisor must accept agedependent
responsibility for
prevention
Raising supervisor’s awareness
for a marked awareness
of danger
Interface with awareness of
danger
Set boiler to 60 °C – x
Only put the child in the tub
when the temperature (ideally:
36–37°C) has been tested using
a thermometer or the elbow
Installation of thermostatic
mixer taps
Storage in a place inaccessible
to children
Storage in a place inaccessible
to children
All age segments
Development and standardisation
of safe (i.e. «selfextinguishing”)
cigarettes
Development and standardisation
of childproof cigarette
lighters
Store smoking products/matches/cigarette
lighters
safe from children
Pass laws on smoke detectors
(statutory requirement for
smoke detectors)
Set the boiler to a water
temperature of 60 °C (the
water temperature should be
correspondingly lower at the
actual tap)
Manufacture and sale of
fireworks to be prohibited
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
– x
– x
x –
x –
x –
x
x –
x –
– x
x –
In the strict sense, the (original) accident segment
«Burns and chemical burns» involves two different
injury patterns. Although chemical burns are classified
under burn injuries, comments on them are
almost solely in connection with the «Poisoning»
accident segment. Risk factors and prevention
options on chemical burns in this report are thus
described in the «poisoning» accident segment
(chap. II.4.4.6, p. 81). From a preventive aspect, it
also makes sense to distinguish between burning
and scalding injury patterns (Table 10). The
children and adolescents age group is identified as
a risk group here. To prevent burns, interventions
for boosting an awareness of danger and safely
storing inflammable substances are recommended.
Installing smoke detectors is also a recommended
preventive option. For scalds, the focus is on prevention
options for controlling the water temperature.
4.4.6 «Poisoning und chemical burns»
accident segment
Poisoning is defined as the effect of chemical, animal,
plant, bacterial, or other substances on the
body that is deleterious to the health. In this report,
smoke inhalation (according to the LAA data
structure) is not allocated to the «Poisoning» accident
segment, but to the «Burns/chemical burns»
accident segment. The same is true for poisoning
by animals, which are in taken into account in the
«Animals» accident segment. Due to existing synergies
for preventing chemical burns and poisoning,
risk factors and prevention options are assigned
to the «Poisoning» accident segment. In the
case of poisoning, children and adolescents are the
bfu-Sicherheitsdossier Nr. 09 Kurzfassung / Version abrégée / Riassunto / Condensed Version 81