I love Independence Day. I'm not a huge history buff, but I’ve always loved that we declared our independence from Britain several years before we won the war, the ultimate underdog story!
We’re going to be talking just briefly about fireworks, a fun staple of celebrating the big day. Official organizations recommend going to a professional venue for the safest experience. However, if you want to light some sparklers or other fun small exploding items, what can you do to keep your little ones safe? Now first of all, be sure to check to see if it is even legal to light small fireworks at your home. A lot of the towns in the suburbs have laws prohibiting small fireworks. Once you have that squared away, here are a few tips and pearls:
- According to nationally collected data, sparklers cause the most injuries in the youngest patients. They can reach a temperature of 1200 degrees, hot enough to melt glass! The good news though is that exposure time with these injuries is often very brief, like when a little one touches a hot pan, which at worst causes a superficial partial thickness burn – sometimes called “second degree” or blistering.
- Small fireworks with a fuse are actually kind of safe, as there is time to take a few steps back from the exploding item. (Of course discourage any young adolescent male from holding one of these poppers or otherwise in his hand while it explodes!)
- What is the treatment for a small burn? As exposure time is brief, a visit to the ER is often not required. Immediately rinse the burned area in cool tap water, or even better, fill a large bowl from your fridge water dispenser and submerge the area if possible. Avoid ice, as this will result in its own cellular injury to the already damaged tissue.
- Then give a good dose of ibuprofen. The maximum dose for a child is 10 mg per kilogram, so divide your child’s weight in pounds by 2.2 to convert to kg, then multiply by 10. Liquid ibuprofen comes as 100 mg per 5 mL, so you can then find out how much to give.(For example, a 66 pound child converts to 30kg = 300 mg = 3 tsp or 15 mL.)
- Once the burn has soaked for 5 minutes or so, gently dry it and get ready for a dressing. Burn experts have gotten away from recommending fancy burn dressings, even Silvadene. Good ol’ Neosporin, or even better bacitracin, is just fine. Apply a small amount on the burn and cover with a nonstick dressing or a bandaid.
- What burns should be seen at the ER? Here is a short list:
- Burns to the face near the eyes. A special eye exam with fluorescein may be required to check for corneal burns.
- Larger burns to the hands, say more than 1-2 inches long, especially if they are to the fingers or cross flexion areas of the hand.
- Burns that are still very painful after ibuprofen. Burns hurt! Sometimes a few doses of narcotic analgesia is needed, like Tylenol with codeine.
- Here’s a nice resource: https://www.nfpa.org/~/media/files/public-education/resources/safety-tip-sheets/fireworkssafetytips.pdf
In thinking back through my 18 years in the ER, I don’t really recall many firework injuries, thankfully. (Now alcohol-related injuries on July 4th…, lots!) Use some common sense, and try to keep sparklers away from the little ones – maybe reserved for a responsible 8 year old and above. We at EliteCare wish you a safe and fun July 4th!
