CELEBRATE THE 4TH, BUT KEEP YOUR FAMILY SAFE

Nothing says Fourth of July like fireworks and sparklers, but specialists at Parkland Memorial Hospital’s Regional Burn Center warn that the potential for severe injuries is especially high during this holiday and they ask that people use extreme caution. “The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has always urged people to let the professionals handle the fireworks, and that is still very true,” said Sue Vanek, RN, Burn Program Manager at Parkland. “We continue to see people come in each year around the Fourth of July with serious injuries, particularly to their hands, fingers or faces.” Experts say that many injuries involve sparklers or bottle rockets, items that often are incorrectly considered safe for children.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 8,700 people were treated for fireworks injuries at emergency rooms in 2012. About 5,200 of those injuries occurred during the one-month period between June 22 and July 22. Children less than 15 years of age made up 30 percent of those hurt. Any fireworks burn should be cooled with water immediately and if the burn is larger than the palm of the hand, seek medical attention immediately.

The best way to help someone injured by fireworks is to get them to a burn center as quickly as possible, according to Vanek. If taken to another hospital facility, the patient with a severe burn will need to be transferred to a burn center, delaying treatment. Burn centers are best prepared to handle the kinds of serious, often deep burns caused by fireworks