Burns are injuries caused by heat, electricity, friction, chemicals, or radiation. Steam burns are caused by heat and fall into the category of scalds.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines scalds as burns attributed to hot liquids or steam. They estimate that scalds represent 33 to 50 percent of Americans hospitalized for burns.
According to the American Burn Association, 85 percent of scald burns occur in the home.
Steam burns can be underestimated, because a burn from steam might not look as damaging as other types of burns.
Research on pig skin by the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology showed that steam can penetrate the outer layer of the skin and cause severe burns on lower layers. While the outer layer does not appear to be severely damaged, the lower levels can be.
The severity of a scalding burn injury is a result of the:
Burns are classified as first degree, second degree, or third degree based on the damage done to the tissue by the burn.
According to the Burn Foundation, hot water causes a third degree burn in:
Take these steps for emergency care of a scald injury:
Young children are the most frequent scald injury victims, followed by older adults and people with special needs.
Every day, over 300 children aged 19 and younger are treated in emergency rooms for burn-related injuries. While older children are more likely to be injured by direct contact with fire, younger children are more likely to be injured by hot liquids or steam.
According to the American Burn Association, between 2013 and 2017 American emergency rooms treated an estimated 376,950 scald burn injuries associated with consumer household products and appliances. Of these injuries, 21 percent were to children 4 years old and younger.
Many young children are more likely to be injured by scalding because of their natural child characteristics, such as:
Children also have thin skin, so even brief exposure to steam and hot liquids can cause deeper burns.
Like young children, older adults have thinner skin, making make it easier to get a deeper burn.
Some older people may have a higher risk for being injured by scalding:
People with a disability might have conditions that make them more at risk while moving potential scalding material, such as:
Also, changes in a person's awareness, memory, or judgment could make it difficult to recognize a dangerous situation or respond appropriately to remove themselves from danger.
Here are some tips for reducing the risk of common household scalds and steam burns:
Steam burns, along with liquid burns, are categorized as scalds. Scalds are a relatively common household injury, affecting children more than any other group.
Steam burns often look like they have done less damage than they actually have and should not be underestimated.
There are specific steps you should take when dealing with a scald from hot liquids or steam, including cooling the injured area with cool (not cold) water for 20 minutes.
There are also a number of steps you can take in your home to lower the risk of scald injuries, such as turning pot handles toward the rear of the stove and setting your water heater's thermostat to a temperature below 120ºF.