Barbecue accidents Doctors warn of fire accelerators

Caution: burn injuries due to barbecue accidents

30.06.2014

Even though the weather currently holds many of them apart: Grilling causes thousands of accidents each year, some of them the most severe. About one third of the injured are children. Doctors warn against fire accelerators when grilling.

Thousands of barbecue accidents every year

In the warm season, there are thousands of barbecue accidents every year in Germany, specialist clinics for burn victims have their hands full again. Alone in the burn injury center in Halle, two seriously injured people are admitted per month because of barbecue accidents, as the head physician of the center, Mathias Kaiser, according to a dpa report announced. Typical barbecue casualties would result from coal firing when fire accelerants are poured into the fire and thereby „explosively“ „a wall of fire on surrounding people“ bounces, so Kaiser. Sting flames could then knock several feet out of the grill. „In seconds, then up to 50 percent of the body surface can be burned.“

One third of the injured are children

About one third of the barbecue casualties are children, as the initiative for burnt children, a Hamburg-based association announced. „Children are often at the grill with their parents“, so initiatives chairman, Adelheid Gottwald. „The children are with the grill at eye level and are so badly injured.“ The result of this is often lifelong scars and a long, painful treatment. Gunter Klohs, Senior Physician of Pediatric Surgery at the University Hospital Halle, said: „When treating children, the depth and area of ​​burn injury is crucial.“ Experts advise more safety measures when grilling. So you should be careful not only with fire accelerators, but also when setting up the grill to avoid the risk of tipping over with subsequent burns. It is also recommended to wear special barbecue aprons and grilling gloves that are not as flammable as traditional clothing.

Accidents are avoidable

As calculated by the Federal Statistical Office for the year 2012, around 10,000 children and adolescents up to the age of 19 are hospitalized each year throughout Germany. According to the Initiative for Burnt Children, about 1,300 of them are victims of barbecue accidents. „People think they have everything under control - and negligently commit momentous mistakes“, Gottwald. „Barbecue accidents are the only accidents that are 100 percent preventable.“ Only a few days ago, she saw alcohol standing in the grill section of a petrol station. „Just because alcohol is cheap, it is still used, that's awful“, said the expert.

Professional help with burn injuries

The chief physician of the burn injury center in Halle said: „That it occasionally comes to burns, is normal. It is important only to get professional help quickly.“ More harm than good would house remedies such as toothpaste on the wound. The doctor advises to ointment and professional help. „From a burn of about one percent of the body surface, which is a palm-sized injury, a specialist should be consulted“, so emperor. For lighter burns, however, natural home remedies may also be used in some cases. For example, the healing effects of aloe vera play an important role. (Ad)