4 July 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – Ascension Via Christi is reporting an increase in burns compared to previous years ahead of the Fourth of July Tuesday.
A nurse at Ascension Via Christi St. Francis says they have treated six patients since fireworks went on sale six days ago for firework-related injuries.
“More than normal for this point of the shooting season for fireworks, that’s for sure,” said Sarah Fischer, Ascension Via Christi Burn Program supervisor and nurse.
Fischer estimates that more than half of the injuries they’ve treated are from mortar or other aerial fireworks.
“It’s definitely a mix between injuries from maybe stepping on fireworks, things that are too hot, or fireworks that have detonated and then some sort of shrapnel comes flying into the crowd,” said Fisher.
Staff at the burn unit say their patients usually range from children to younger adults, typically because they have received injuries while playing with fireworks and throwing them at each other.
“They’ll have different bottle rocket wars where they’ll run after each other shooting those types of fireworks at each other where it’s a flaming ball of sparks come shooting out of a tube it seems to be pointing at somebody at some point,” said Fischer. “We’ve had people who have completely lost eyes, so that’s eyesight gone for the rest of your life over something that was fun for about five minutes or less.”
Younger children tend to get hurt by stepping on fireworks or getting burned by handheld sparklers.
“A lot of times, we’ll see … injuries from maybe holding things like smoke bombs or some of the different sparklers or like morning glories, some of the different handheld types of fireworks,” said Fischer. “Some of them even say that they’re meant to be held in your hand, but they still get very hot especially sparklers. They’re like 1,200 degrees plus and chemical and very short sticks that are made of metal, so we still see lots of injuries with children to their hands from things like that.”
To prevent this, healthcare workers remind people to wear shoes and for adults to dispose of hot fireworks.
“Fireworks that are no longer being used, they stay hot, so if there can be a place where those can kind of be placed to the side where it’s a ‘no kid zone,’ a bucket of water or a hose, or something like that to douse those spent fireworks make sure they get cooled down quickly, those are always helpful,” said Fischer. “[Use] a flat surface. That way, the fireworks that are being ignited and set off by adults and don’t accidentally tip over.”
If something catches on fire, the first thing to do is make sure that whatever caught fire is definitely out.
“Cool it down just briefly with some lukewarm water. I would suggest going inside sometimes, hoses can contain that water that’s been sitting for a little bit, and some bacteria can grow, so if you can get into the cleanest water possible, lukewarm water, no ice, and then just keeping it covered will help a lot with the pain so just some sort of a nonstick dressing or cloth is totally fine,” said Fischer.
Firework burns aren’t the only thing people need to be aware of around this time of year.
“Sunburns; It really is all about trying to keep your pain under control, so over-the-counter medication, trying to keep things clean, sometimes it can be hard to shower, but it’s really important to shower. You don’t have to have a hot shower, and then finding some sort of a lotion or something that can help soothe you is always good,” said Fischer. “Not going back out after that initial sunburn is very important because that’s when the burn can get bad, things can start blistering, and you then have a second-degree burn instead of just a first-degree burn, and your body responds differently once you have a second-degree burn so somebody that has a major burn or maybe has a bunch of chemicals on them, we’ll bring them, we call it our ‘hot room,’ our admission area.”
The “hot room” is equipped with specialized machines to monitor and assist patients breathing and blood flow. The room’s temperature is nearly 100 degrees.
“Once you get burned, your body loses temperature, so we need a place that’s warm, a place that’s clean so we can try to limit infection,” said Fischer.
The room also has a special bed where patients can be bathed. Once their burn wounds are cleaned, dressings can be applied, and the patients can be moved to a hospital room.
If a fire starts that cannot be safely contained, or someone has received major injuries, call 911.
If someone has received a burn, even if it’s a minor burn, make sure to keep it clean to avoid infection. If someone has received a burn to a large portion of their body, has a very painful burn, or is simply worried about it, they are urged to head to the hospital before it gets worse.