Scalding cases on rise

Friday, April 11, 2003 | 4:36 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION: April 12, 2003

Clark County officials say an increasing number of Southern Nevadans are suffering burns from scalding, especially children ages 4 and younger.

The Clark County Fire Department says there has been a 10 percent increase in scalds -- burns caused by hot liquids or steam -- in the last year based on reports from hospitals and ambulance paramedics.

An average of nine children, ages 14 and younger, die as a result of scald burns across the nation each year, fire officials said. Nearly all of those victims are are 4 years old or younger.

Four-year-old Neida Sandova suffered serious burns in November when she grabbed a pan handle on the stove of her Las Vegas home, dumping hot oil over her face.

Recently, Neida's family took her to see Dr. Terry Lewis, a physician at the University Medical Center Lions Burn Care Center, to check on her recovery progress.

After Lewis examined the child's crimson skin under a coat of soothing burn ointment, he said "it is too soon to tell" if the burns are permanent.

"Twenty percent of the burns we see here are pediatric injuries and a quarter of the burns are scalds," Lewis said. "With a 10 percent increase in incidents involving children, we need to do more with prevention, through reports on TV news and in the newspapers. We need to get the word out."

Judith Hollett, clinical manager for the UMC Trauma Intensive Care Unit, said 10,000 Southern Nevadans -- mostly children -- receive fire prevention instruction each year through school assemblies, parks and recreation department programs and other community demonstrations.

"The instructions range from teaching very young children the stop, drop and roll technique to classes for adults that point out the dangers of smoking in bed, using gasoline to light the barbecue and removing a car's radiator cap immediately after driving the vehicle during the summer," Hollett said.

Nationally, the annual cost of children's scalding injuries is $2.1 billion, and injured toddlers account for $1.3 billion of those costs.

The average cost of admitting and treating a child at a burn center is $22,700 per case, county officials said.