Statistics from the National Institute of Public Health speak relentlessly – annually, 100,000 Czechs deal with burns, nearly half of whom must seek medical help due to the severity of the injury, and 40% of these are the smallest children.
Currently, we are approaching a period when increased caution is generally advised. Summer holidays mean more free time for children, and this goes hand in hand with an increase in potentially risky situations. Perhaps you have a little aspiring chef at home who never misses an opportunity to assist you or grandparents at the stove. And now is the time to be vigilant! Fortunately, special protective equipment available on the domestic market can help you with this.
Households Full of Hazards
Burns are generally considered a type of injury with some of the most severe consequences, in extreme cases requiring lifelong treatment. Doctors in the country examine approximately 9,000 children with various degrees of burns annually, one-third of whom are scalded toddlers. About 1,200 of these child patients end up hospitalized, which corresponds to approximately 2.5% of all recorded child injuries. Especially in their case, it holds true that most hazards lurk in the seemingly safe confines of homes.
Smaller children under one year old most often burn their hands or palms due to contact with a hot object, such as a stove burner, iron, or heated fireplace. For older children, up to about three years of age, boiling water is problematic – pouring it can cause life-threatening burns to the face, chest, or again the hands. As they grow older, injuries caused by burning clothing increase. Grim statistics indicate that burns are the third most common cause of child deaths worldwide, usually due to neglected prevention.
“Up to 90% of burns can be prevented with effective prevention. Given that the vast majority of injuries occur in the kitchen or bathroom, even a small change can make your home safer,” warns Robert Zajíček, head of the Burn Medicine Clinic at the University Hospital Královské Vinohrady in Prague (FNKV), where the 3rd Faculty of Medicine of Charles University also operates.
“It’s good to realize that, for example, tea or coffee is about 70°C three minutes after pouring. It takes just one second of contact for a child’s skin to develop a severe burn. This implies that a painful tragedy can occur very suddenly and quickly,” adds the doctor, who is also behind the awareness campaign 70°C, which aims to prevent this type of domestic injury.
Basic guidelines for preventing burns exist – with a bit of thought, we can deduce most of them using common sense. For example, children should be prevented from coming into contact with hot oven doors, or we should primarily cook on the back burners and turn pots and pans so that little chefs cannot reach the handle. Cooking with a child in your arms or in a carrier and leaving matches in places easily accessible to a child are also big no-nos. These are just some of the basic principles.
Where Common Sense Falls Short, Technology Must Step In
Especially in today’s times, it is desirable to further enhance safety with modern technologies. There is a wide range of not only kitchen tools available on the market designed to protect against burns. These include various fire extinguishers (mainly powder) or fire blankets. Since last year, a special kitchen mitt has also been available, introduced as part of the Safe in the Kitchen project by Aramark, the largest food service provider in the Czech Republic, and the premium kitchen equipment retailer Potten & Pannen – Staněk, in collaboration with the Burn Medicine Clinic FNKV in Prague and its head Robert Zajíček.
In stores and on the e-shop, you can recognize this tool by the hand logo – as the hand equals one percent of the human body, which is also the dimension used for the initial estimate of the extent of burns and the area that can be actively cooled in case of injury in children.
“We greatly appreciate the work of the specialists at the Burn Medicine Clinic FNKV in Prague and are pleased to actively support it with this project. Our company, given the field we operate in, also has past experiences with unpleasant burn injuries, and the new mitt is a way to enhance safety standards in our operations, as well as in households across the Czech Republic,” describes Vladimír Staněk, CEO of Aramark, the intention behind the product’s development, which also involved the sheltered workshop ERGO Zlín and stress tests conducted by the Technical University in Liberec (TUL). “Our intention is to expand its use among other restaurant entities or hotels in the Czech Republic and thus jointly help both awareness and regular contributions to the clinic,” added Vladimír Staněk.
“Most burns occur in the forearm area, which traditional kitchen gloves do not protect. Our mitt has an extended length of approximately four centimeters, consists of four protective layers, and meets all fire safety standards. A safe environment in the kitchen is fundamental – unfortunately, we often do not pay as much attention to this issue as it deserves. However, we can all agree that our primary concern is the protection of our loved ones,” continues Miloš Staněk, CEO of Potten & Pannen – Staněk, whose stores and e-shop pottenpannen.cz offer the unique tool for purchase. Since the introduction of the Safe in the Kitchen mitt to the market, 2,000 units have been sold.
The Safe in the Kitchen campaign aims to highlight the risks associated with burns. Both companies have also decided to financially support the Burn Medicine Clinic FNKV. They have now handed over a second check for 100,000 crowns. Its doctors thus receive the necessary resources for implementing demanding medical procedures in intensive care units, for long-term care of scarred injury consequences, as well as reconstructive surgery or laser therapy. By purchasing the mitt and increasing home safety, you can now, for example, celebrate the upcoming International Children’s Day!
Buy a charity potholder and support a good cause
By using this kitchen glove, you will protect your hands from burns and you will also support the Burn Medicine Clinic of the Královské Vinohrady University Hospital in Prague. Its mission is the treatment and prevention of burns.
