Hot Water or Other Liquid Burn (Child)
A child’s skin burns more easily than an adult’s skin. Hot water burns occur more often in children than any other type of burn. Most hot water burns are minor burns. These are also called first-degree burns or superficial burns. But hot water can also cause more severe burns. Children can be easily burned when they're near someone who's cooking or drinking hot liquids. They can be burned by bath water that's too hot. They can be burned by a hot drink.
A minor burn damages only the top layer of skin. The skin is painful, dry, and red. A minor burn heals in less than 1 week. It usually doesn’t leave a scar. A severe burn can swell and blister. Some severe burns heal in 1 to 3 weeks without scarring, but the skin color may permanently change.
In the ER, burns are cooled with water, then carefully cleaned. An antibiotic ointment may be put on the burn. A minor burn is left open to air. A severe burn may be covered with a sterile bandage. A child with a severe burn or with burns around the face, genitals, hands, feet, or joints may need to stay in the hospital. Or they may be transferred to a regional burn center for treatment and observation.
Home care
Follow these guidelines when caring for your child at home.
The healthcare provider may prescribe medicines for pain and infection. Follow the provider’s instructions for giving these medicines to your child. It's important to give your child pain medicine before changing the bandage.
General care
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Follow the provider’s instructions when caring for the wound and changing a bandage.
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Don’t put medical ointment or grease on the burn. This will hold in heat, make the burn more painful, and raise the risk for infection.
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Don’t rub the burn.
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Encourage your child to drink plenty of liquids, such as water, fruit juice, or clear soups. This will help prevent dehydration.
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Keep your child from scratching and picking at the burn. Keep their fingernails trimmed short.
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You may give your child diphenhydramine if they have itching.
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Dress your child in loose-fitting clothing.
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Keep the wound out of the sun.
Prevention
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Be sure your child is not underfoot when you're cooking or drinking hot liquids.
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Don’t leave a child to cook unattended.
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Turn the water heater thermostat below 120°F (48.8°C).
Follow-up care
Follow up with your child’s healthcare provider as advised.
Special note to parents
Healthcare providers are trained to see injuries like this in young children as a sign of possible abuse. Several providers may ask questions about how your child was injured. Providers are required by law to ask you these questions. This is done to protect the child. Please try to be patient and not take offense.
When to get medical care
Call your child's healthcare provider right away if your child has any of these:
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Fever of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher, or as advised by your child's provider
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Pain not helped with pain medicine
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No interest in eating or drinking
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Too little pee
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Dark or strong-smelling pee
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Sunken eyes
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Redness or swelling that gets worse
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Bad-smelling fluid drains from the burn
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Wound doesn’t heal