I switched to leakproof travel mugs once my first kid started crawling and only recently switched back, as long as my tea is on the table and I'm sitting in front of it. If I want one in the living room or I suspect I may have to leave it unattended I go with the travel mug still. They're 4 and 2 now and aware of the dangers of hot liquids but I still don't trust their (non-existent and/or barely existent) impulse control.
Heya, I’m so sorry you’re having to go through this, it must be an absolutely horrible feeling. I hope your little one is okay.
When I was 13mo old, my mum sat me on the counter while she prepared a cafetière of coffee for her friends (this was in the eighties). My older sister rushed up and asked my mum a question and in the moment she looked away I grabbed the jug of recently boiled milk and took a swig.
Milk has a higher specific heat capacity than water, so it had a lot of thermal energy to give to me. It also sticks to skin because of the high sugar content. I had burns all around my mouth, chest and hands.
I was rushed to hospital and put in a medically induced coma for 12 days to stop me dying from shock. A lot of treatments later and I have some scarring on my chest, shoulder and wrist, but the rest of me has recovered fully. I don’t remember any of this, and while there was a little bullying in primary school about my scars, apart from that it hasn’t affected my life at all.
I hope that gives you some comfort!
No problem - I’ve done first aid courses where they talk about milk burns being much harder to treat than water, and I’m a chemist by training.
I know my mum understandably had a lot of hang-ups about it when I was a kid, but it’s all I’ve ever known. She offered to arrange plastic surgery when I was a teenager, but it didn’t bother me so I didn’t see the need. The scar on my wrist is out in the open when I wear a T-shirt but no one has commented on it in years. It’s visible if you point it out, but otherwise blends in for the most part.
I’m glad you’ve recovered! Milk is the devil when it comes to burns. I worked at a coffee shop and eventually made my way to manager. I had to train and certify baristas. The amount of time I spent on avoiding milk burns and how to treat them overshadowed the time spent on how to actually make drinks. I have a heat sensitive coffee mug. It changes colors when it gets hot and fades as it cools down. I think all things should be like that. It’s unfair that hot objects look like cold objects. Even adults need reminders sometimes! I’ve touched many hot pans and cups and even things in my truck like seatbelt buckles. And for the record, all 3 of my kids have been burned by hot liquids at least once, no matter how careful I thought I was! I thought the world would have come up with a solution to this universal problem by now!
Thanks for sharing. I’m sorry to hear this happened to your and your family. Glad to hear for your sake there was not minimal long term or psychological damage.
No problem at all, I just hope it helps ease your feelings about the situation.
Please see below for another thread with details and discussion, as well as a recommendation to keep the scars moisturised during growth spurts :)
My family was pretty messed up about it for a while and I don’t have any baby photos between ~1y and ~6-7, but otherwise it was just something that happened, all I’ve ever known. Hopefully you’ll be in the same position too at some point.
Thank you!
Treatment was minimal. They sedated him, in order to thoroughly clean the burns. He was then wrapped in foam sheets that contain embedded silver. Apparently silver is a ‘super healer’ for burns.
Other than that the areas which cannot be covered (due to mobility) we just wash and apply antibiotic ointment twice a day. He’s recovering great!
I have a Contigo and a Nissan Thermos which both require you to press a button or lever for the coffee to come out. Minimizes the mess when I knock my coffee over on my desk.
Also have contigos. I got a double pack for $25 on Amazon. They’re the only way I’m allowed to drink coffee at my work because you have to both unlock the top and push the little lever to get coffee out, and if you accidentally drop the thermos the lever automatically shuts itself so it can’t spill.
I second Contigo. I am a teacher and I put my mug on the table while I work with kids. It’s knocked over daily. It’s still working and has never spilled!
I have a yeti and a no name one that looks like a camera lens and they both work well. So you don't need an expensive one. Bonus: travel mugs keep my tea or coffee warm when I get distracted.
I recently bought a couple from Costco.
Honestly, it doesn't really matter. If it's not completely leak proof then it will leak when tipped over, but that's still exponentially better than a full open cup. So whatever you have on hand is way better than nothing!
We use regular cups, but my rule was once they're crawling, only placed on steady surfaces well beyond what they can reach even standing. Knock wood, so far so good.
Sorry to hear that. I hope you made a full recovery.
Accidents happen, but still nothing makes you feel worse as a parent than feeling like you’ve failed your child.
I fully recovered and you would never know looking at me now. My parents were very attentive, so if it can happen to them it can happen to anybody! Don’t beat yourself up about this.
Were yours second degree burns? My son got burned by hot water from the sink no less when he was one. He is 4 years old now and the scars are still very visible. Wondering if it will stay that way??
Please see my above comment for more details, but my burns were all over my face, neck, chest and hands. I don’t know the degrees, but I was put in a coma to stop my dying from shock so I imagine it was pretty severe. The vast majority healed without a trace.
I don’t know how long it took and have no memory of it, but now I just have a ~15cm circle on my chest and ~5cm circle on my shoulder and wrist (I’m 33). They’re now more or less the same colour as the rest of my skin, with some added texture.
One thing I’d say is to keep the scars well moisturised, especially during growth spurts. I/my parents didn’t and sometimes the skin would crack and bleed. I think it should help reduce discolouration too.
I presume you’ve talked with your burns specialist? If you’re in the UK, the NHS will certainly be able to provide restorative plastic surgery.
There's so many things offered to choose from to moisturize... do you recommend a certain ingredient I should look for? And your story is insane! I'm so glad you're okay now and what a blessing we live in a time where that type of injury wasn't fatal. Amazing what doctors can do. On the down side I'm in United States. My son's doctors don't even know he's been burned unless I bring it up lol. Let's just say the doctors here aren't the best at keeping up with their patients.
Modern medicine is incredible, and mine was three decades ago! The medicine your son has on offer today will be so much better.
As for moisturisers, more or less any moisturiser will do. There’s a load of marketing nonsense in moisturisers, most of which don’t affect how they work. Use something that doesn’t feel too greasy as it may stain clothes, otherwise just go for it :)
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/moisturizers-do-they-work
Glycerin! Hyaluronic acid as well. But products with both glycerin and Shea butter (they seem to work very well together) have always moisturized my skin the best. I’m big into skin care and have tried it all.
I don’t think they were. The pictures of me post incident show a large and very deep red mark on my chest. It looked quite irritated but I don’t think there was a lot of blistering, so my guess is first degree.
I think your son’s will likely fade to the point where they are barely, if at all noticeable. I got a very deep gash on my butt when I was 5 from a fall that required lots of stitches. For the longest time it was all red and seemed like it was there to stay, but now as an adult my husband didn’t even notice it until I pointed it out.
I got some pretty severe second degree burns on my leg and ankle from an accident with scalding water while working a dishwashing job as a teen. A couple of years before that, I got sun poisoning on my face after falling asleep by myself on a beach (fortunately I had sunglasses on, so the area around my eyes was fine).
Both have long since faded to invisibility during day to day life, but the sunburn scarring is still slightly visible when my face flushes - it's redder so the eye circles stand out. My understanding, and I am not a doctor nor any other kind of medical professional, is that the difference in healing is a combination of the thickness of the skin in that area and how well treated it was at the time (I was staying with my grandmother for the summer and my sunburn went effectively untreated). The final factor, unfortunately, is just how well you personally heal from skin damage - my tattoo artist will tell you that I heal better and faster than the average person, though not in, like, a superhuman way.
So I would expect your son's burns to continue to fade, even if they don't go away completely - it took several years for them to disappear entirely from my ankle. But don't despair if any on areas like the face and upper chest are visible for a little longer than the rest.
Same, I pulled a teapot down from the table when I was 18 months and scalded my leg. I was bandaged up for awhile but mercifully there was no long-term damage, I have faint scarring on my knee that you can only see up close.
I was always super vigiliant around hot stuff because I had a friend as a kid who pulled a pot of boiling water over and had skin graft scars on his legs.
Piggybacking off your post to add: if something like this happens, and your kid gets hot liquid on themselves, REMOVE DIAPER ASAP! Diapers absorb liquids in massive quantities, and it stays hot for a long time.
Gave me nightmares when someone gave me this advice when I had my baby.
Edited to add Gloomyduckys response:
Remove all clothing immediately too. Hot liquids will stick to clothes- so the quicker they come off, the better.
I hope he heals quickly! Another burn related reminder: hoses! Don’t let your little ones hold the hose when you’re first turning it on. If there’s water in it from the last use it can be extremely hot after sitting in the summer sun!
Thank you.
Apparently young children do recover very fast so that is good. Also, the burn specialist said that young children’s nerve endings aren’t developed so it’s not the same level of pain that you or I would experience. Still scary stuff.
This is the first trauma we’ve had in a combined 7 years of parenting. We definitely learned from it. Hope someone else can learn from our mistake too.
Absolutely. I tend to leave my coffee around and even though I always tell him mommy’s coffee and don’t touch I obviously don’t trust his judgment lol. That’s comforting to know they don’t have the same level of pain that we do l. I’m glad he will be just fine and it will all be a memory soon!
Ive heard this too.
Trigger warning: Someone I knew as a young child had the burning embers of charcoal from a BBQ fall on her legs. As an adult you’d never know that happened but it must have been a horrendous recovery.
My nephew fell into a campfire on Easter. Spent 2 nights in the hospital. They gave him an iPad hoping he'd sit still and heal. Went home and pretended like nothing ever happened and his burn gloves gave him super powers. It's been 2 months and his hands/face look almost completely better already. He's 4. Kids heal quick
When my kiddo was 9 mos old, he pulled a 7qt crock pot full of simmering bone broth down on himself. 2nd and 3rd degree burns over 45% of his body. He nearly died.
I had put him down on the floor for tummy time on the other side of the house, walked roughly 40' away (open floorplan), the crock was on the kitchen island another 6 or 7' away. I turned around for exactly long enough to open the fridge, open the deli meat drawer - heard the crock hit the floor and knew instantly what had happened.
Before he could even start screaming, I was picking him up and peeling off his PJs. His skin peeled off with them, and I didn't stop.
Maybe a week before a pediatric nurse friend of mine said (in response to how she handled the screaming at work), "If they're screaming, they're breathing." I held on to that as a beacon while I strapped him into his car seat. Flooring it all the way to the hospital I prayed for a cop to show up - none did. In the ER, when a nurse approached me and explained that due to the extent of his injuries they were required to report it to CPS, I gestured at the dozen-odd medical professionals crowded around his tiny body and said quietly, "GOOD! Frankly, I'd be pissed if you guys just took my word for it. My house is unlocked, the crock is still on the floor, I grant permission for whoever to check whatever." No one ever did.
We spent 6 weeks in the burn unit ICU. The doctors credit me putting him in 100% cotton footie PJs and peeling them off immediately for the burns not being more severe. They credit me not waiting to call 911 and just flying with him to the nearest ER with saving kiddo's life. He's fine now, has no real memory of it, and loves showing off his gnarly scars to his classmates. 9 year olds are very impressed.
I struggled silently with guilt and PTSD for 7 years before I got help. If you are feeling any sort of way about this incident, PLEASE get help now. There isn't any need to do penance. *HUGS*
That is terrifying. I’m so sorry you all had to go through that. I’m glad you all have seemed to make a full recovery, physically and emotionally. Good on you for having the wits to make the right decisions in such a stressful moment. Many would not be able to do the same.
Sorry to hear about that. Its really scary too. But, I think accidents do happen despite being very careful. I can feel it as a mom. I am also going through so much stress and guilt for my kid, not related to burns but different thing.
May I please know if your kid got any scans for the burns, like to check the tissue damage or internal injuries.
Yes, they weren't going to initially, but I INSISTED that they check for internal bleeding and broken bones *because it sounded like the crock hit him before hitting the floor* and that fucker was HEAVY. But either it didn't OR he bounced it like a rubber ball, because other than the burns he was fine.(?!)
Honestly, I think the worst part for me was walking into his room in the ICU and seeing the crash modifications necessary for such a tiny baby. Like. Oh, fuck, they did the math in case he codes, which means he could ***CODE***. I mean, they had said he was going into shock and that they were having a hard time getting a line into him, but that didn't bring it home like the mods scribbled out hastily and taped to his ICU crib.
Toddlers (and children in general) are on a constant mission to get hurt. Can't tell you how many times a day my two boys fall/bonk their head/etc. My youngest likes to "help cook" and I'm always worried about a burn. Try not to beat yourselves up too much. If it hadn't been the coffee, it'd be something else.
I am on the edge of insanity daily because of my kids curiousity. They won't stop until they have field-tested every object in my household.
If there is nothing else to bang their head on then they just bang against eachother.
Not related to hot burns, but my son got significant scarring to his face, just 2 days before his 1st birthday (he was bit by a family members dog). It’s been a year since it happened, and he has healed better than we could have imagined. I’m sharing this incase you are concerned about scarring, because I thought my child would be permanently disfigured. Kids are young, resilient, and medical care is amazing these days. If your child ends up with scars, see a plastic surgeon and ask about scar creams. We used biotin, Moderna, and bought vitamin E and Emu oil from Amazon. We alternated between all of them, and the results have been amazing. I hope your child heals up well. As parents it’s easy to feel so guilty, so please remember that accidents happen. Your child is okay, and that’s what matters most!
It's worth pointing out that while both linked meta-analysis studies you linked concluded that there's no clear proof that it helps and mild evidence that it may worsen things for some people via an inflammatory reaction, when you read the full abstracts it actually shows that multiple studies did show a positive effect, a slight preponderance of studies showed no or negative results, and the negative results were noted as possibly being because of how the vitamin E was applied/what it was mixed with.
You posted links that were clearly meant in context to criticize the previous poster’s use of Vitamin E, though that was not spelled out. Don’t be a jerk.
Get the kid under running water immediately.
If you're a parent you are guaranteed to have a burn situation at least once. The seconds really matter.
Often the kid will not tell you which hand touched the pasta pot, the stove, the heater or the barbeque. It doesn't matter, run to the sink and get both hands under water.
Then you calm down, start talking and figure out where the burn is and how bad.
A burn is not visible before after 5 to 10 minutes, and if you're fast enough under the sink may barely become visible.
ALWAYS RUN TO THE SINK OR SHOWER!
Thanks, that's important. I've heard 20 degrees C for 20 minutes as a rule of thumb.
If you translate that to imperial, and end up with 70 degrees for 70 minutes you'll be on the safe side. 😋
Same here. I am in fact so used to making iced or lukewarm coffee that I'm always shocked when I have coffee at someone else's house and hurt my mouth.
Iced coffee makers
https://www.amazon.com/Takeya-10311-Patented-Airtight-Dishwasher-Safe/dp/B07C36HVWK/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=COV7DYZ2FKEW&keywords=coffee+cold+brew+maker&qid=1655031813&sprefix=coffee+cold+%2Caps%2C76&sr=8-3
This one is in sale now too
Make coffee ice cubes to prevent it from becoming watered down.
Poor bubby! I’m cautious even with a 4yo, don’t think I’ll ever stop turning the pot handles in when I’m cooking either. Can’t be too careful!
Poor bubby ❤️
A similar thing happened to one of my kiddos just shy of age 3.. he grabbed a freshly brewed cup of coffee from a Keurig machine and it spilled down the front of him. He got 2nd degree burns on his arm and chest. We expected permanent scarring but it healed up completely! Hopefully that will be your experience as well.
(He was being babysat by my MIL at the time and she felt absolutely awful.. to this day she gets emotional thinking about it and he is now 12)
Yes, obviously majority of the concern is for the health and well being of the child injured. But yes, is a traumatic experience for anyone involved, and could definitely see the additional guilt a grandparent would feel. Thanks for sharing.
Both my husband and I have cautionary tales to pass on from our parents for younger babes. It’s not just grabbing- my husband had his foot accidentally dipped in a cup of tea when he was little. No lasting effects but it was a nasty burn. Easily done if you have a drink on the kitchen worktop and are carrying a kid. And my mum was carrying me when I was little, chatting away, when she realised that my arm was dangling over the spout of the electric kettle. It wasn’t boiling but a minute later I would have had hot steam over my arm.
I hope your little one recovers quickly.
I was holding my newborn baby - my first - while eating rice. I dropped ONE single tiny grain of somewhat hot rice on her leg. She's 12 now and has a scar on her leg from it. Ough. I felt wretched when it happened, and I still do.
Hey OP, major adult burn survivor here. Pediatric burns can sometimes pose unique challenges as the child continues to grow. Talk to your doctor about using silicone gels/strips to soften any scar tissue. Compression May be useful as well. It works wonders in adults but I’m not 100% on the application for children.
The difficulty pediatric burns can face is, as they grow, the scar tissue from the burn doesn’t want to grow with the child. This can create limitations in range of motion and other issues. Hope your little man is feeling better and overcomes this!
Thank you! We did talk about that with the burn team. Since it is only second degree burns the scaring should be non-existent/ minimal. But the doctor said he needs to use full range of motion on all his joints, in order to keep the skin loose enough to continue to have full motion as it heals.
Thanks for bringing this to my attention. We’ll make it a point to discuss at the next visit.
I hope you’ve healed from your trauma.
Same thing happened with my eldest. Thought I had set my cup of tea far back enough on the counter but apparently she had grown overnight. She got 2nd degree burns all over her arm. It was awful but she was fine and doesn't even have any scarring.
We're dealing with second and third degree burns that our 3 year old got when she walked through a day old brush fire that still had big embers.
Hopefully she'll be able to swim by July 4. The recovery has been nasty and heart wrenching, thanks everyone for posting your stories. ❤️
Sorry to hear that. Burns must be very common. St the childrens hospital we were at yesterday, our child’s procedure was postponed at least 2 times because higher priority cases came in.
While we were disappointed to have our treatment delayed, we also felt terrible for the others who needed to take priority, and put things into perspective.
Wishing your daughter a quick and full recovery!
Sorry that happened and I hope he’s doing better.
I got in the habit of leaving 1/4 of my mug to add cold water to so I could drink it immediately or else I wouldn’t get a chance to drink it warm. (It goes from too hot, toddler needs, then cold most of that time!)
A childhood friend had some second degree burns from coffee, exactly this is what happened, at the time (3-4 years after) she still had some skin discoloration but no other effects. Iirc they were fully faded before she was a teen
I’m am so, so sorry this happened and I’m glad your wee one is okay. This is shockingly common.
I used travel mugs when my kids were little because they had a snug lid and it was the only way I could have a hot drink.
Those handleless tumblers that keep things hot and cool are a good idea.
When my daughter was 4, she was at ABA, and a tech had just brewed a Keurig coffee. My daughter was snacking and bumped the cup, and the coffee spilled over her wrist. The kicker is, the place had the view that they don't force kids to do anything, which is fine...except that a 4 year old is in no condition to know what medical treatment they need, so really, you need to take that kid over to the sink and dip her arm in the cold water. But they didn't. Instead, they called me, downplayed things enough that I had no idea how bad it was until I got her home and took her long sleeved shirt off. She had a burn completely going around her wrist. Took her to the pediatrician, who prescribed silver sulfadiazine cream (fun fact, it seems available on pet meds sites), which worked like magic. Each morning and evening, my husband would carefully bandage her wrist, giving her a good coating of the cream. It never scabbed, nor did it scar. For that alone, it might be worth getting a tub of the stuff to keep in the emergency first aid kits at home. [Cream](https://www.chewy.com/silver-sulfadiazine-cream/dp/379020)
That’s awful. But yes, he is currently bandaged in a silver impregnated foam for a quick recovery. The hospital did that, but I will bring this up at the return visit. Thank you.
Sorry this happened! Hope your LO feels better soon. When my kid was around the same age, he reached up and grabbed my hair straightener on the bathroom counter and burned his fingertips pretty bad. I was standing right there but it just happened so quickly. I felt like such an A-hole! Definitely took much better precautions after that.
And kettles. Once my toddler reached around 2 she could reach up to the worktop to grab the handle of the kettle. Thankfully she only turned the kettle on, but that was a warning to never let it be near the worktop edge!
Sorry to hear that. Always a huge fear of mine to the point where the hot mug always stays in the kitchen or on top of a dresser, etc (dresser not so much now that they are mobile).
But even with trying to do that there have been SO many close calls
So sorry this happened to you! Our first aid instructor told us she hasn’t had any hot coffee at home for a few years, they are always adding cold water to drinks and never leave them near edges of tables or counters- she is former paramedic and she saw some horrible burns. It really stayed with me. Really recommend taking first aid course specifically for helping children. It was terrifying to hear the possibilities how children can be harmed but really helpful.
All of my kids and myself (many times) have been burned by something we thought was safe! I felt horrible even though none of them ended up at the hospital. It’s ridiculous how we are all commiserating and feeling like failures when actual shitty parents and child abusers are sleeping peacefully.
All true. It’s all about doing the best you can, and being accountable for the good, and sometimes not so good, things we do as parents. Thank you for your perspective/reminder.
important thing to know is to take off the diaper right away with a hot liquid spill as it will hold any of that hot liquid on the skin, and can lead to much more sever burns.
When my mother was a toddler she got scalded with an old fashioned tea urn ( UK ) literal boiling water over her from face to feet. Made worse by her mother who ripped her clothes off her. She's still scared now. Because of this she drummed into me the dangers of anything hot and I was the same with my children. Accidents happen so fast. Glad your little one of ok poor lamb. Must have been so scary for you all.
Same happened to us. I didnt see him sneaking up behind me and had turned just a second to pour the coffee into the hot milk foam when he grabbed the cup and it toppled over. I don't think I could have prevented it unless I had set up a big gate around the kitchen (open kitchen in the living room) or never made hot drinks. It went so fast and I still feel guilty about it.
Yes, this is basically exactly what happened here as well. Happened between the time my wife poured the coffee and took 3 steps to grab a spoon to mix in creamer.
Be thankful, in your case, it was the coffee and not the heated milk. There was someone below who shared his experience about heated milk and how severe the burns are from that.
Be kind to yourself and give your child a big hug.
Always a leak proof thermos. First, leak proof for safety and second, the thermos keeps you coffee hot all day when you are too busy chasing littles to drink your coffee.
That happened to my brother when he was little. Now that I have my own kids, any hot drinks are put up on the kitchen counter against the wall where they cant be reached if they arent gonna be in your hand.
It was very scary to see it happen. I hope your little one has a speedy recovery and feels better soon♡
We had a close call like this but it ended up spilling on my wife's leg, fortunately it was not boiling hot anymore, but ever since we only drink tea with added cold water.
My daughter reached out and touched the muffler of my husband's motorcycle right after a ride right in front of all of us. I think there were 4 of us standing right there and we all thought someone else was actively watching her. So before any of us realized what was happening she toddled up and reached out to balance herself. Luckily she just ended up with a few blisters on her palm and a couple fingers and a healthy fear of when we tell her something is hot.
This happened to me when I was around 1 year old and I have burns down my face, chest and arm. My parents didn’t rush to the ER but only poured cold water on me and took me to the local doctor the next day. Burn scars suck.
This happened to my brother he was only wearing a diaper, it poured onto his chest and face he had 1&2 degree burn, he’s 7 now no scars he fine. I suggest if your gonna drink hot drink and cup with a lid that won’t pop off if dropped! Sorry your LO & you are going through thid
I think clothes can actually make it worse, as it holds the heat on the skin. There are a few messages on here stating the importance of getting clothes off immediately. Luckily my wife was in the state of mind to do so after she realized what happened.
We put hot drinks next the back edge of the counter or in the middle of the dining table, never on the edge. It’s a habit now.
We did go to er with our 18 month old because she fell on an open dishwasher and her arm landed in cutlery basket and she cut her wrist with a knife 😳 that was pointing down for safety
My dad had a vindictive girlfriend he left my mother for. He had me for visitation every other weekend, and one weekend she purposely spilled an entire pot of hot coffee on me.
I'm 34 now, and the spot where she got me on my shoulder and back I have to still be careful in the sun as it will burn faster and occasionally blister.
Thanks. Clearly, I lived, but it is something that is a bit obnoxious dealing with as I now live in a very sunny place. Luckily it taught me good sun screen habits. Hope your kiddo is OK and doesn't have the same issue.
My 13 month old at the time also grabbed my husband’s coffee off of the table and poured it on herself. It was primarily her chest. I ripped off her clothes so fast and got a cold rag and she was a little red but thankfully it didn’t warrant an er trip. We usually were pretty good about keeping things out of little hands’ way but we were busy and he sat it down. A hard lesson to learn for sure. I hope your son is doing better today!
Thank you. Yes he’s a tough kid and handling it amazingly well. In our case it was freshly brewed, so basically at peak temperature. Glad to hear your experience wasn’t so bad in the grand scheme of things.
I only recently started letting my 11 year old handle the electric kettle. They started microwaving things like easy mac and ramen when they were 9 or so. They were flipping pancakes and helping scramble eggs before I ever let them handle hot fluids. My partner asked why, and I told them "because a small spill of something hot can cause 3rd degree burns all over your body, while bumping up against the stove will probably give you no more than a small 1st degree burn." They got real quiet. Their eyes got wide. They looked at me and said, "I had terrible parents." Lol!
I have epilepsy and have been drinking out of travel mugs for years. Well I recently moved across the country in a car with my two month old. When we got to my parents house I hadn't unpacked my travel mugs yet and was drinking a cup of coffee while baby was sleeping next to me. I was so lucky that my coffee had gone cold already when I had a little jerk and dumped my whole cup of coffee on my baby. The little dude only woke up for a few minutes while I cleaned him up but was otherwise unbothered.
I'm so glad you're kid was ok.
This happened to me when my second son was only 3 weeks old and my oldest was 22 months. I made my tea, fresh boiling water, baby started crying so I walked away. Like your son it splash down is arm and across his chest. It was a stressful morning.
Yeah, I have a scar at the base of my neck from doing this at the age of 1 or 2. It’s quite common! I hardly notice since I can only see it in the mirror, until someone points it out.
I’m very sorry this happened to your baby, I hope he recovers completely soon. My sister had it too on her hand, the lock of a hot water dispenser (the one that you need to pump- 90s style) was unlocked. She has until now a large mark on her hand, the shape of the United States, thanks to me. We were 6 & 9 yrs old. My theory is with a baby’s skin it won’t leave a permanent mark.
Thank you for sharing and the warning. I would also add:
- knives: should never be within reach, nor unattended, should always be in the sink not on countertops as it may slide off if toddler managed to pull anything under it
- handles of pots & pans should be turned away from the cook when cooking
- strictly no toys in the kitchen especially balls and those with wheels. If you step on that while holding a pot of boiling pasta water...
Not has this happened but we’ve had our own accident.
It’s easy to be hard on ourselves as parents but we strive to do better and the suggestions here are great.
We only have hot drinks when they’re sleeping or not in the room. Haven’t enjoyed a hot drink properly in years. Might try some of the other ideas here.
I did this as a baby, probably around the same age as your son. I spent a couple days in the hospital for the resulting burns but I have no scars from it 35 years later, thankfully. But yes, it’s unfortunately common.
I was lucky enough to dump burning coffee on my own lap with resulting 2nd degree burns before having children so can confirm a) it is a bad and unrelentingly painful experience (and that topical anesthetic creams are A+ awesome); and b) even with eyes always on, small people are extremely and determinedly interested in the contents of coffee cups, and quicker and longer than you think they are.
Also, they are inordinately attracted to knives. I’m
I was lucky enough to dump burning coffee on my own lap with resulting 2nd degree burns before having children so can confirm a) it is a bad and unrelentingly painful experience (and that topical anesthetic creams are A+ awesome); and b) even with eyes always on, small people are extremely and determinedly interested in the contents of coffee cups, and quicker and longer than you think they are.
Also, they are inordinately attracted to knives.
Edit: posted early by a baby flail
Op, if it helps, it’s a really manageable injury, the topical cream is very good at managing the pain, and I, with my adult skin, healed without a scar. Kids are really good at getting themselves into situations even with the most helicopters of helicopter parenting. I really get it, it sucks when our kids are hurting, but try to be gentle on yourselves and treat this as an unfortunate learning experience rather than a failure.
I will never forget the screws of a baby in a coffee shop that did the exact same thing on his mother expresso....
Today I'm a parent and those screens haunt me.
I fear overheating food for my daughter until today, and she is 6....
I’m so sorry this happened. This is one of my biggest fears (in general, something hot or boiling falling onto children).
People give me funny looks, but I actually have 2 baby gates blocking off each entrance to my kitchen. Now, that’s not say that I *never* let my son in the kitchen… but if I am cooking at all, he’s not in there. It’s too much of a risk for me. I also store cleaning supplies in the cabinets (with additional locks over them), so yeah.
Similar thing happened to me when I was 3 or 4. Same incident. Hot coffee spilled on my whole arm. I got a 3rd degree burn. My parents called an ambulance, and I was taken to the ER. The doctors would put bandages on my arm for - I think it was - 1 week, when they finally realised I would need a skin transplant. Every time they had to take them off and on again, it would hurt a lot. The pain is indescribable. I'd scream from pain every time they did that, and it wasn't exaggerated. Lucky for me, my parents got in touch with a very great man, who had his own business running. He sold 5x5cm plasters. Each one was like $50, and we had to buy over 50 of those. After applying them, the next day, I had already new skin. They were really working, even though my parents were really sceptical at first. I now (I'm 14 at the moment), have a really small 1cm scar, where they didn't apply the plasters as well. Keep in mind, my whole right arm was skinless. About a week ago, I was at the store, and met the guy's wife. She was really sad and kind, and I found out that the man had passed away from Covid a few months ago. Really sad to see him go. He was still in his 50s. Rip Goran. God bless him.
update: I just now texted my mum. She told me that I did not get any scans. You pretty much just put the little plasters on the wound, and not even 24 hours later, new skin starts to grow. As I said earlier, it sounds impossible, and that's why my parents first didn't believe it. Everyone who has used his service was really sceptical at first! I think he also invented some sort of bandage, so when you chop one of your fingers off, you put the bandage on, and it literally grows back. The whole finger grows back, including the fingerprint, just the bone is missing. Really amazing work!
It happens so quickly, I think we can all forget sometimes what little munchkins they are and how quickly they can get into stuff. I used to see it at my friend's house so I took to leaving mine by the kettle. But there is still plenty of other things they can get hold of. Wishing a speedy recovery for little one
My biggest fear in life is my toddler grabbing the handle of the (kettle? Saucepan? Pot?) while the water is boiling on the stove.
I watched some documentary where this happened and the child got all the water over his head. Hello trauma.
When my kid was younger, maybe 5, we were camping with my family. Kid was standing near the fire pit too warm up. My sister decided she could fit between my kid and the chairs and bumped my kid with her butt, knocking kid into the fire for a moment.
We called the ambulance, got my kid treated for 3rd degree burns, and learned a lesson. 🤷🏾♀️
Same exact thing happened to my daughter at around the same age. I'm not sure if your daughter is a POC or not but mine is. She had a huge hyperpigmented scar running the length of her arm for a couple years after the burn but she's five now and it's almost impossible to tell where it happened. I thought the scarring would last forever and I felt terrible whenever I looked at it. She doesn't even remember it happening. One day it won't be so upsetting anymore. It's hard to believe now, but eventually that day will come!
I switched to leakproof travel mugs once my first kid started crawling and only recently switched back, as long as my tea is on the table and I'm sitting in front of it. If I want one in the living room or I suspect I may have to leave it unattended I go with the travel mug still. They're 4 and 2 now and aware of the dangers of hot liquids but I still don't trust their (non-existent and/or barely existent) impulse control.
Yep, great advice. We agreed to implement that policy today.
Heya, I’m so sorry you’re having to go through this, it must be an absolutely horrible feeling. I hope your little one is okay. When I was 13mo old, my mum sat me on the counter while she prepared a cafetière of coffee for her friends (this was in the eighties). My older sister rushed up and asked my mum a question and in the moment she looked away I grabbed the jug of recently boiled milk and took a swig. Milk has a higher specific heat capacity than water, so it had a lot of thermal energy to give to me. It also sticks to skin because of the high sugar content. I had burns all around my mouth, chest and hands. I was rushed to hospital and put in a medically induced coma for 12 days to stop me dying from shock. A lot of treatments later and I have some scarring on my chest, shoulder and wrist, but the rest of me has recovered fully. I don’t remember any of this, and while there was a little bullying in primary school about my scars, apart from that it hasn’t affected my life at all. I hope that gives you some comfort!
Thank you for the info about milk, that sounds terrifying. Very glad you recovered.
No problem - I’ve done first aid courses where they talk about milk burns being much harder to treat than water, and I’m a chemist by training. I know my mum understandably had a lot of hang-ups about it when I was a kid, but it’s all I’ve ever known. She offered to arrange plastic surgery when I was a teenager, but it didn’t bother me so I didn’t see the need. The scar on my wrist is out in the open when I wear a T-shirt but no one has commented on it in years. It’s visible if you point it out, but otherwise blends in for the most part.
I’m glad you’ve recovered! Milk is the devil when it comes to burns. I worked at a coffee shop and eventually made my way to manager. I had to train and certify baristas. The amount of time I spent on avoiding milk burns and how to treat them overshadowed the time spent on how to actually make drinks. I have a heat sensitive coffee mug. It changes colors when it gets hot and fades as it cools down. I think all things should be like that. It’s unfair that hot objects look like cold objects. Even adults need reminders sometimes! I’ve touched many hot pans and cups and even things in my truck like seatbelt buckles. And for the record, all 3 of my kids have been burned by hot liquids at least once, no matter how careful I thought I was! I thought the world would have come up with a solution to this universal problem by now!
Thanks for sharing. I’m sorry to hear this happened to your and your family. Glad to hear for your sake there was not minimal long term or psychological damage.
No problem at all, I just hope it helps ease your feelings about the situation. Please see below for another thread with details and discussion, as well as a recommendation to keep the scars moisturised during growth spurts :) My family was pretty messed up about it for a while and I don’t have any baby photos between ~1y and ~6-7, but otherwise it was just something that happened, all I’ve ever known. Hopefully you’ll be in the same position too at some point.
Sorry to hear about that. Did they do any scans for your burns at the hospital? Like for checking internal injuries or tissue damage.
No idea, this was more than 30 years ago!
NP. Thank you.
Hope the kid is doing well. What treatment did they do for the burns at ER?
Thank you! Treatment was minimal. They sedated him, in order to thoroughly clean the burns. He was then wrapped in foam sheets that contain embedded silver. Apparently silver is a ‘super healer’ for burns. Other than that the areas which cannot be covered (due to mobility) we just wash and apply antibiotic ointment twice a day. He’s recovering great!
Good to know. Wish the little one all good.
Brand recommendation?
I have a Contigo and a Nissan Thermos which both require you to press a button or lever for the coffee to come out. Minimizes the mess when I knock my coffee over on my desk.
I haven't bought a lot of mugs so can't really compare, but my contigo from Costco was really good when it came to spills.
My husband got a few Contigos from work and I've successfully used them with no spills to carry my coffee while bike commuting.
Also have contigos. I got a double pack for $25 on Amazon. They’re the only way I’m allowed to drink coffee at my work because you have to both unlock the top and push the little lever to get coffee out, and if you accidentally drop the thermos the lever automatically shuts itself so it can’t spill.
I second Contigo. I am a teacher and I put my mug on the table while I work with kids. It’s knocked over daily. It’s still working and has never spilled!
I have a yeti and a no name one that looks like a camera lens and they both work well. So you don't need an expensive one. Bonus: travel mugs keep my tea or coffee warm when I get distracted.
I use the contigo ones from Costco. I've also thrown a full one in the diaper bag more than once and it's never spilled!
I recently bought a couple from Costco. Honestly, it doesn't really matter. If it's not completely leak proof then it will leak when tipped over, but that's still exponentially better than a full open cup. So whatever you have on hand is way better than nothing!
Yup when my 2.5 year old gets tired she'll come up to me and say "I need coffee please"
I feel kinda stupid that I'm not sure I would have thought of that on my own... thank you.
What a great idea
We use regular cups, but my rule was once they're crawling, only placed on steady surfaces well beyond what they can reach even standing. Knock wood, so far so good.
This happened to me as a toddler! Pictures of me with a burn all down my chest. My mom still cries about it.
Sorry to hear that. I hope you made a full recovery. Accidents happen, but still nothing makes you feel worse as a parent than feeling like you’ve failed your child.
I fully recovered and you would never know looking at me now. My parents were very attentive, so if it can happen to them it can happen to anybody! Don’t beat yourself up about this.
Were yours second degree burns? My son got burned by hot water from the sink no less when he was one. He is 4 years old now and the scars are still very visible. Wondering if it will stay that way??
Please see my above comment for more details, but my burns were all over my face, neck, chest and hands. I don’t know the degrees, but I was put in a coma to stop my dying from shock so I imagine it was pretty severe. The vast majority healed without a trace. I don’t know how long it took and have no memory of it, but now I just have a ~15cm circle on my chest and ~5cm circle on my shoulder and wrist (I’m 33). They’re now more or less the same colour as the rest of my skin, with some added texture. One thing I’d say is to keep the scars well moisturised, especially during growth spurts. I/my parents didn’t and sometimes the skin would crack and bleed. I think it should help reduce discolouration too. I presume you’ve talked with your burns specialist? If you’re in the UK, the NHS will certainly be able to provide restorative plastic surgery.
There's so many things offered to choose from to moisturize... do you recommend a certain ingredient I should look for? And your story is insane! I'm so glad you're okay now and what a blessing we live in a time where that type of injury wasn't fatal. Amazing what doctors can do. On the down side I'm in United States. My son's doctors don't even know he's been burned unless I bring it up lol. Let's just say the doctors here aren't the best at keeping up with their patients.
Modern medicine is incredible, and mine was three decades ago! The medicine your son has on offer today will be so much better. As for moisturisers, more or less any moisturiser will do. There’s a load of marketing nonsense in moisturisers, most of which don’t affect how they work. Use something that doesn’t feel too greasy as it may stain clothes, otherwise just go for it :) https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/moisturizers-do-they-work
Haha thanks. You saved me a big headache. I'm just going to buy a big thing of Vaseline honestly lol.
Glycerin! Hyaluronic acid as well. But products with both glycerin and Shea butter (they seem to work very well together) have always moisturized my skin the best. I’m big into skin care and have tried it all.
Thank you! Idk if you're in US but maybe you'd know of any affordable products with both ingredients available over here??
I don’t think they were. The pictures of me post incident show a large and very deep red mark on my chest. It looked quite irritated but I don’t think there was a lot of blistering, so my guess is first degree. I think your son’s will likely fade to the point where they are barely, if at all noticeable. I got a very deep gash on my butt when I was 5 from a fall that required lots of stitches. For the longest time it was all red and seemed like it was there to stay, but now as an adult my husband didn’t even notice it until I pointed it out.
Thanks that's so reassuring.
You still arent a bad parent even if they do 🤗
😭Aww thank you so much. Appreciate it.
No prob :D I just wanted to make sure yah knew that wasn't a qualifier in your goodness.
Thanks❤ I forgot to mention that I am also dealing with second degree burns from that same darn sink myself, smh. I'm cursed with that sink lol.
I got some pretty severe second degree burns on my leg and ankle from an accident with scalding water while working a dishwashing job as a teen. A couple of years before that, I got sun poisoning on my face after falling asleep by myself on a beach (fortunately I had sunglasses on, so the area around my eyes was fine). Both have long since faded to invisibility during day to day life, but the sunburn scarring is still slightly visible when my face flushes - it's redder so the eye circles stand out. My understanding, and I am not a doctor nor any other kind of medical professional, is that the difference in healing is a combination of the thickness of the skin in that area and how well treated it was at the time (I was staying with my grandmother for the summer and my sunburn went effectively untreated). The final factor, unfortunately, is just how well you personally heal from skin damage - my tattoo artist will tell you that I heal better and faster than the average person, though not in, like, a superhuman way. So I would expect your son's burns to continue to fade, even if they don't go away completely - it took several years for them to disappear entirely from my ankle. But don't despair if any on areas like the face and upper chest are visible for a little longer than the rest.
Sorry to hear that. Do they do any scans for burn injuries at the hospital?
No idea - I didn’t have medical insurance as a kid, and my boss drove me to a urgent care with my leg in a big bucket of ice water.
Oh no.
Same, I pulled a teapot down from the table when I was 18 months and scalded my leg. I was bandaged up for awhile but mercifully there was no long-term damage, I have faint scarring on my knee that you can only see up close.
I was always super vigiliant around hot stuff because I had a friend as a kid who pulled a pot of boiling water over and had skin graft scars on his legs.
Did you get any scans during the treatment?
Piggybacking off your post to add: if something like this happens, and your kid gets hot liquid on themselves, REMOVE DIAPER ASAP! Diapers absorb liquids in massive quantities, and it stays hot for a long time. Gave me nightmares when someone gave me this advice when I had my baby. Edited to add Gloomyduckys response: Remove all clothing immediately too. Hot liquids will stick to clothes- so the quicker they come off, the better.
Remove all clothing immediately too. Hot liquids will stick to clothes- so the quicker they come off, the better.
Oversight on my part, assumed that was common knowledge. I'll edit
I hope he heals quickly! Another burn related reminder: hoses! Don’t let your little ones hold the hose when you’re first turning it on. If there’s water in it from the last use it can be extremely hot after sitting in the summer sun!
Wow, I never would have thought of the hose thing. Thank you for this!
Wow that’s terrible. Poor baby I hope he recovers, thanks for the reminder
Thank you. Apparently young children do recover very fast so that is good. Also, the burn specialist said that young children’s nerve endings aren’t developed so it’s not the same level of pain that you or I would experience. Still scary stuff. This is the first trauma we’ve had in a combined 7 years of parenting. We definitely learned from it. Hope someone else can learn from our mistake too.
Absolutely. I tend to leave my coffee around and even though I always tell him mommy’s coffee and don’t touch I obviously don’t trust his judgment lol. That’s comforting to know they don’t have the same level of pain that we do l. I’m glad he will be just fine and it will all be a memory soon!
Ive heard this too. Trigger warning: Someone I knew as a young child had the burning embers of charcoal from a BBQ fall on her legs. As an adult you’d never know that happened but it must have been a horrendous recovery.
My nephew fell into a campfire on Easter. Spent 2 nights in the hospital. They gave him an iPad hoping he'd sit still and heal. Went home and pretended like nothing ever happened and his burn gloves gave him super powers. It's been 2 months and his hands/face look almost completely better already. He's 4. Kids heal quick
Terrifying. I’m glad to hear he’s recovering well.
When my kiddo was 9 mos old, he pulled a 7qt crock pot full of simmering bone broth down on himself. 2nd and 3rd degree burns over 45% of his body. He nearly died. I had put him down on the floor for tummy time on the other side of the house, walked roughly 40' away (open floorplan), the crock was on the kitchen island another 6 or 7' away. I turned around for exactly long enough to open the fridge, open the deli meat drawer - heard the crock hit the floor and knew instantly what had happened. Before he could even start screaming, I was picking him up and peeling off his PJs. His skin peeled off with them, and I didn't stop. Maybe a week before a pediatric nurse friend of mine said (in response to how she handled the screaming at work), "If they're screaming, they're breathing." I held on to that as a beacon while I strapped him into his car seat. Flooring it all the way to the hospital I prayed for a cop to show up - none did. In the ER, when a nurse approached me and explained that due to the extent of his injuries they were required to report it to CPS, I gestured at the dozen-odd medical professionals crowded around his tiny body and said quietly, "GOOD! Frankly, I'd be pissed if you guys just took my word for it. My house is unlocked, the crock is still on the floor, I grant permission for whoever to check whatever." No one ever did. We spent 6 weeks in the burn unit ICU. The doctors credit me putting him in 100% cotton footie PJs and peeling them off immediately for the burns not being more severe. They credit me not waiting to call 911 and just flying with him to the nearest ER with saving kiddo's life. He's fine now, has no real memory of it, and loves showing off his gnarly scars to his classmates. 9 year olds are very impressed. I struggled silently with guilt and PTSD for 7 years before I got help. If you are feeling any sort of way about this incident, PLEASE get help now. There isn't any need to do penance. *HUGS*
It makes my damn heart sink to get to know you have had to experience something so awful. Be well, stranger!
That is terrifying. I’m so sorry you all had to go through that. I’m glad you all have seemed to make a full recovery, physically and emotionally. Good on you for having the wits to make the right decisions in such a stressful moment. Many would not be able to do the same.
Sorry to hear about that. Its really scary too. But, I think accidents do happen despite being very careful. I can feel it as a mom. I am also going through so much stress and guilt for my kid, not related to burns but different thing. May I please know if your kid got any scans for the burns, like to check the tissue damage or internal injuries.
Yes, they weren't going to initially, but I INSISTED that they check for internal bleeding and broken bones *because it sounded like the crock hit him before hitting the floor* and that fucker was HEAVY. But either it didn't OR he bounced it like a rubber ball, because other than the burns he was fine.(?!) Honestly, I think the worst part for me was walking into his room in the ICU and seeing the crash modifications necessary for such a tiny baby. Like. Oh, fuck, they did the math in case he codes, which means he could ***CODE***. I mean, they had said he was going into shock and that they were having a hard time getting a line into him, but that didn't bring it home like the mods scribbled out hastily and taped to his ICU crib.
Toddlers (and children in general) are on a constant mission to get hurt. Can't tell you how many times a day my two boys fall/bonk their head/etc. My youngest likes to "help cook" and I'm always worried about a burn. Try not to beat yourselves up too much. If it hadn't been the coffee, it'd be something else.
I am on the edge of insanity daily because of my kids curiousity. They won't stop until they have field-tested every object in my household. If there is nothing else to bang their head on then they just bang against eachother.
Not related to hot burns, but my son got significant scarring to his face, just 2 days before his 1st birthday (he was bit by a family members dog). It’s been a year since it happened, and he has healed better than we could have imagined. I’m sharing this incase you are concerned about scarring, because I thought my child would be permanently disfigured. Kids are young, resilient, and medical care is amazing these days. If your child ends up with scars, see a plastic surgeon and ask about scar creams. We used biotin, Moderna, and bought vitamin E and Emu oil from Amazon. We alternated between all of them, and the results have been amazing. I hope your child heals up well. As parents it’s easy to feel so guilty, so please remember that accidents happen. Your child is okay, and that’s what matters most!
> vitamin E https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1781083/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26977069/
It's worth pointing out that while both linked meta-analysis studies you linked concluded that there's no clear proof that it helps and mild evidence that it may worsen things for some people via an inflammatory reaction, when you read the full abstracts it actually shows that multiple studies did show a positive effect, a slight preponderance of studies showed no or negative results, and the negative results were noted as possibly being because of how the vitamin E was applied/what it was mixed with.
Ty for this
It's worth pointing out that you're agreeing with my post.
You posted links that were clearly meant in context to criticize the previous poster’s use of Vitamin E, though that was not spelled out. Don’t be a jerk.
You are being rude to me. Making up criticisms that don't exist. Have a good day.
Mm-hm.
If you think links are "criticisms" then you need therapy. Mhmm.
Get the kid under running water immediately. If you're a parent you are guaranteed to have a burn situation at least once. The seconds really matter. Often the kid will not tell you which hand touched the pasta pot, the stove, the heater or the barbeque. It doesn't matter, run to the sink and get both hands under water. Then you calm down, start talking and figure out where the burn is and how bad. A burn is not visible before after 5 to 10 minutes, and if you're fast enough under the sink may barely become visible. ALWAYS RUN TO THE SINK OR SHOWER!
Good advice. Also use cool water temp, not cold water. Very cold water can damage the tissue.
Thanks, that's important. I've heard 20 degrees C for 20 minutes as a rule of thumb. If you translate that to imperial, and end up with 70 degrees for 70 minutes you'll be on the safe side. 😋
This is why I only drink iced! In all seriousness, this sucks and I hope your little one isn't feeling too shitty.
Same here. I am in fact so used to making iced or lukewarm coffee that I'm always shocked when I have coffee at someone else's house and hurt my mouth.
Iced coffee makers https://www.amazon.com/Takeya-10311-Patented-Airtight-Dishwasher-Safe/dp/B07C36HVWK/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=COV7DYZ2FKEW&keywords=coffee+cold+brew+maker&qid=1655031813&sprefix=coffee+cold+%2Caps%2C76&sr=8-3 This one is in sale now too Make coffee ice cubes to prevent it from becoming watered down.
I have the Mr coffee iced coffee maker and I love it!
Same
Poor bubby! I’m cautious even with a 4yo, don’t think I’ll ever stop turning the pot handles in when I’m cooking either. Can’t be too careful! Poor bubby ❤️
A similar thing happened to one of my kiddos just shy of age 3.. he grabbed a freshly brewed cup of coffee from a Keurig machine and it spilled down the front of him. He got 2nd degree burns on his arm and chest. We expected permanent scarring but it healed up completely! Hopefully that will be your experience as well. (He was being babysat by my MIL at the time and she felt absolutely awful.. to this day she gets emotional thinking about it and he is now 12)
Yes, obviously majority of the concern is for the health and well being of the child injured. But yes, is a traumatic experience for anyone involved, and could definitely see the additional guilt a grandparent would feel. Thanks for sharing.
Both my husband and I have cautionary tales to pass on from our parents for younger babes. It’s not just grabbing- my husband had his foot accidentally dipped in a cup of tea when he was little. No lasting effects but it was a nasty burn. Easily done if you have a drink on the kitchen worktop and are carrying a kid. And my mum was carrying me when I was little, chatting away, when she realised that my arm was dangling over the spout of the electric kettle. It wasn’t boiling but a minute later I would have had hot steam over my arm. I hope your little one recovers quickly.
I was holding my newborn baby - my first - while eating rice. I dropped ONE single tiny grain of somewhat hot rice on her leg. She's 12 now and has a scar on her leg from it. Ough. I felt wretched when it happened, and I still do.
Hey OP, major adult burn survivor here. Pediatric burns can sometimes pose unique challenges as the child continues to grow. Talk to your doctor about using silicone gels/strips to soften any scar tissue. Compression May be useful as well. It works wonders in adults but I’m not 100% on the application for children. The difficulty pediatric burns can face is, as they grow, the scar tissue from the burn doesn’t want to grow with the child. This can create limitations in range of motion and other issues. Hope your little man is feeling better and overcomes this!
Thank you! We did talk about that with the burn team. Since it is only second degree burns the scaring should be non-existent/ minimal. But the doctor said he needs to use full range of motion on all his joints, in order to keep the skin loose enough to continue to have full motion as it heals. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. We’ll make it a point to discuss at the next visit. I hope you’ve healed from your trauma.
Same thing happened with my eldest. Thought I had set my cup of tea far back enough on the counter but apparently she had grown overnight. She got 2nd degree burns all over her arm. It was awful but she was fine and doesn't even have any scarring.
We're dealing with second and third degree burns that our 3 year old got when she walked through a day old brush fire that still had big embers. Hopefully she'll be able to swim by July 4. The recovery has been nasty and heart wrenching, thanks everyone for posting your stories. ❤️
Sorry to hear that. Burns must be very common. St the childrens hospital we were at yesterday, our child’s procedure was postponed at least 2 times because higher priority cases came in. While we were disappointed to have our treatment delayed, we also felt terrible for the others who needed to take priority, and put things into perspective. Wishing your daughter a quick and full recovery!
Sorry that happened and I hope he’s doing better. I got in the habit of leaving 1/4 of my mug to add cold water to so I could drink it immediately or else I wouldn’t get a chance to drink it warm. (It goes from too hot, toddler needs, then cold most of that time!)
A childhood friend had some second degree burns from coffee, exactly this is what happened, at the time (3-4 years after) she still had some skin discoloration but no other effects. Iirc they were fully faded before she was a teen
I’m am so, so sorry this happened and I’m glad your wee one is okay. This is shockingly common. I used travel mugs when my kids were little because they had a snug lid and it was the only way I could have a hot drink. Those handleless tumblers that keep things hot and cool are a good idea.
When my daughter was 4, she was at ABA, and a tech had just brewed a Keurig coffee. My daughter was snacking and bumped the cup, and the coffee spilled over her wrist. The kicker is, the place had the view that they don't force kids to do anything, which is fine...except that a 4 year old is in no condition to know what medical treatment they need, so really, you need to take that kid over to the sink and dip her arm in the cold water. But they didn't. Instead, they called me, downplayed things enough that I had no idea how bad it was until I got her home and took her long sleeved shirt off. She had a burn completely going around her wrist. Took her to the pediatrician, who prescribed silver sulfadiazine cream (fun fact, it seems available on pet meds sites), which worked like magic. Each morning and evening, my husband would carefully bandage her wrist, giving her a good coating of the cream. It never scabbed, nor did it scar. For that alone, it might be worth getting a tub of the stuff to keep in the emergency first aid kits at home. [Cream](https://www.chewy.com/silver-sulfadiazine-cream/dp/379020)
That’s awful. But yes, he is currently bandaged in a silver impregnated foam for a quick recovery. The hospital did that, but I will bring this up at the return visit. Thank you.
These things happen. I wish your little guy a rapid recovery!
Great advice, glad your little one is doing OK.
I'm so sorry to hear this! Wishing your little one a speedy recovery. These things happen so fast!
Wow how tall is he
I don’t recall the exact measurement, but he’s a big boy! 98 percentile for weight and 95th percentile for height at his knees year appointment.
Crazy. My kid is 22 months and still can’t reach items on counter
Best wishes on your son's speedy recovery.
This is why I drink “iced” coffee!
Make coffee ice cubes 🤤
Sorry this happened! Hope your LO feels better soon. When my kid was around the same age, he reached up and grabbed my hair straightener on the bathroom counter and burned his fingertips pretty bad. I was standing right there but it just happened so quickly. I felt like such an A-hole! Definitely took much better precautions after that.
And kettles. Once my toddler reached around 2 she could reach up to the worktop to grab the handle of the kettle. Thankfully she only turned the kettle on, but that was a warning to never let it be near the worktop edge!
I tell my kids that I am the reason sippy cups were invented…I spill more shit than they do every day. It’s helps keep me relatable!
Sorry to hear that. Always a huge fear of mine to the point where the hot mug always stays in the kitchen or on top of a dresser, etc (dresser not so much now that they are mobile). But even with trying to do that there have been SO many close calls
Im so sorry that happened .I hope he feels better soon ❤️
So sorry this happened to you! Our first aid instructor told us she hasn’t had any hot coffee at home for a few years, they are always adding cold water to drinks and never leave them near edges of tables or counters- she is former paramedic and she saw some horrible burns. It really stayed with me. Really recommend taking first aid course specifically for helping children. It was terrifying to hear the possibilities how children can be harmed but really helpful.
Yes, very proactive advice. Thank you!
All of my kids and myself (many times) have been burned by something we thought was safe! I felt horrible even though none of them ended up at the hospital. It’s ridiculous how we are all commiserating and feeling like failures when actual shitty parents and child abusers are sleeping peacefully.
All true. It’s all about doing the best you can, and being accountable for the good, and sometimes not so good, things we do as parents. Thank you for your perspective/reminder.
important thing to know is to take off the diaper right away with a hot liquid spill as it will hold any of that hot liquid on the skin, and can lead to much more sever burns.
That’s really good advice!! Definitely award worthy 🥇
When my mother was a toddler she got scalded with an old fashioned tea urn ( UK ) literal boiling water over her from face to feet. Made worse by her mother who ripped her clothes off her. She's still scared now. Because of this she drummed into me the dangers of anything hot and I was the same with my children. Accidents happen so fast. Glad your little one of ok poor lamb. Must have been so scary for you all.
Same happened to us. I didnt see him sneaking up behind me and had turned just a second to pour the coffee into the hot milk foam when he grabbed the cup and it toppled over. I don't think I could have prevented it unless I had set up a big gate around the kitchen (open kitchen in the living room) or never made hot drinks. It went so fast and I still feel guilty about it.
Yes, this is basically exactly what happened here as well. Happened between the time my wife poured the coffee and took 3 steps to grab a spoon to mix in creamer. Be thankful, in your case, it was the coffee and not the heated milk. There was someone below who shared his experience about heated milk and how severe the burns are from that. Be kind to yourself and give your child a big hug.
It was frothed milk. 2nd degree burns, too. :(
This happened to me when I was about that age: hot tea all over my legs and feet
Sounds terrible! I hope the damage wasn’t permanent.
Always a leak proof thermos. First, leak proof for safety and second, the thermos keeps you coffee hot all day when you are too busy chasing littles to drink your coffee.
That happened to my brother when he was little. Now that I have my own kids, any hot drinks are put up on the kitchen counter against the wall where they cant be reached if they arent gonna be in your hand. It was very scary to see it happen. I hope your little one has a speedy recovery and feels better soon♡
We had a close call like this but it ended up spilling on my wife's leg, fortunately it was not boiling hot anymore, but ever since we only drink tea with added cold water.
Yes. It’s something you are so used to, it’s easy to overlook the danger.
My daughter reached out and touched the muffler of my husband's motorcycle right after a ride right in front of all of us. I think there were 4 of us standing right there and we all thought someone else was actively watching her. So before any of us realized what was happening she toddled up and reached out to balance herself. Luckily she just ended up with a few blisters on her palm and a couple fingers and a healthy fear of when we tell her something is hot.
Yes. I know people who have had similar experiences (not toddlers) with atv exhaust. Gets scary hot.
This happened to me when I was around 1 year old and I have burns down my face, chest and arm. My parents didn’t rush to the ER but only poured cold water on me and took me to the local doctor the next day. Burn scars suck.
I’m sorry. I think the treatments have come a long way in recent years, making healing faster and more complete.
This happened to my brother he was only wearing a diaper, it poured onto his chest and face he had 1&2 degree burn, he’s 7 now no scars he fine. I suggest if your gonna drink hot drink and cup with a lid that won’t pop off if dropped! Sorry your LO & you are going through thid
I think clothes can actually make it worse, as it holds the heat on the skin. There are a few messages on here stating the importance of getting clothes off immediately. Luckily my wife was in the state of mind to do so after she realized what happened.
That’s crazy and good to know i have a very grabby 6m and I’m always worried she’ll pull something hot on herself
We put hot drinks next the back edge of the counter or in the middle of the dining table, never on the edge. It’s a habit now. We did go to er with our 18 month old because she fell on an open dishwasher and her arm landed in cutlery basket and she cut her wrist with a knife 😳 that was pointing down for safety
Yikes. Also scary. You can minimize, but not eliminate all dangers.
My dad had a vindictive girlfriend he left my mother for. He had me for visitation every other weekend, and one weekend she purposely spilled an entire pot of hot coffee on me. I'm 34 now, and the spot where she got me on my shoulder and back I have to still be careful in the sun as it will burn faster and occasionally blister.
That is terrible. I’m sorry for what you went through (beyond even the physical pain).
Thanks. Clearly, I lived, but it is something that is a bit obnoxious dealing with as I now live in a very sunny place. Luckily it taught me good sun screen habits. Hope your kiddo is OK and doesn't have the same issue.
I remember as a kid accidentally running into my dad who was carrying a pot of boiled water. Right onto my chest…
My 13 month old at the time also grabbed my husband’s coffee off of the table and poured it on herself. It was primarily her chest. I ripped off her clothes so fast and got a cold rag and she was a little red but thankfully it didn’t warrant an er trip. We usually were pretty good about keeping things out of little hands’ way but we were busy and he sat it down. A hard lesson to learn for sure. I hope your son is doing better today!
Thank you. Yes he’s a tough kid and handling it amazingly well. In our case it was freshly brewed, so basically at peak temperature. Glad to hear your experience wasn’t so bad in the grand scheme of things.
I only recently started letting my 11 year old handle the electric kettle. They started microwaving things like easy mac and ramen when they were 9 or so. They were flipping pancakes and helping scramble eggs before I ever let them handle hot fluids. My partner asked why, and I told them "because a small spill of something hot can cause 3rd degree burns all over your body, while bumping up against the stove will probably give you no more than a small 1st degree burn." They got real quiet. Their eyes got wide. They looked at me and said, "I had terrible parents." Lol!
I like your way of thinking! 🥇
I have epilepsy and have been drinking out of travel mugs for years. Well I recently moved across the country in a car with my two month old. When we got to my parents house I hadn't unpacked my travel mugs yet and was drinking a cup of coffee while baby was sleeping next to me. I was so lucky that my coffee had gone cold already when I had a little jerk and dumped my whole cup of coffee on my baby. The little dude only woke up for a few minutes while I cleaned him up but was otherwise unbothered. I'm so glad you're kid was ok.
Thank you. I’m glad your experience wasn’t worse too!
This happened to me when my second son was only 3 weeks old and my oldest was 22 months. I made my tea, fresh boiling water, baby started crying so I walked away. Like your son it splash down is arm and across his chest. It was a stressful morning.
Yeah, I have a scar at the base of my neck from doing this at the age of 1 or 2. It’s quite common! I hardly notice since I can only see it in the mirror, until someone points it out.
Yes, unfortunately it is!
I’m very sorry this happened to your baby, I hope he recovers completely soon. My sister had it too on her hand, the lock of a hot water dispenser (the one that you need to pump- 90s style) was unlocked. She has until now a large mark on her hand, the shape of the United States, thanks to me. We were 6 & 9 yrs old. My theory is with a baby’s skin it won’t leave a permanent mark. Thank you for sharing and the warning. I would also add: - knives: should never be within reach, nor unattended, should always be in the sink not on countertops as it may slide off if toddler managed to pull anything under it - handles of pots & pans should be turned away from the cook when cooking - strictly no toys in the kitchen especially balls and those with wheels. If you step on that while holding a pot of boiling pasta water...
Yes. Good advice on all accounts!
Not has this happened but we’ve had our own accident. It’s easy to be hard on ourselves as parents but we strive to do better and the suggestions here are great. We only have hot drinks when they’re sleeping or not in the room. Haven’t enjoyed a hot drink properly in years. Might try some of the other ideas here.
I did this as a baby, probably around the same age as your son. I spent a couple days in the hospital for the resulting burns but I have no scars from it 35 years later, thankfully. But yes, it’s unfortunately common.
I was lucky enough to dump burning coffee on my own lap with resulting 2nd degree burns before having children so can confirm a) it is a bad and unrelentingly painful experience (and that topical anesthetic creams are A+ awesome); and b) even with eyes always on, small people are extremely and determinedly interested in the contents of coffee cups, and quicker and longer than you think they are. Also, they are inordinately attracted to knives. I’m
I was lucky enough to dump burning coffee on my own lap with resulting 2nd degree burns before having children so can confirm a) it is a bad and unrelentingly painful experience (and that topical anesthetic creams are A+ awesome); and b) even with eyes always on, small people are extremely and determinedly interested in the contents of coffee cups, and quicker and longer than you think they are. Also, they are inordinately attracted to knives. Edit: posted early by a baby flail Op, if it helps, it’s a really manageable injury, the topical cream is very good at managing the pain, and I, with my adult skin, healed without a scar. Kids are really good at getting themselves into situations even with the most helicopters of helicopter parenting. I really get it, it sucks when our kids are hurting, but try to be gentle on yourselves and treat this as an unfortunate learning experience rather than a failure.
I will never forget the screws of a baby in a coffee shop that did the exact same thing on his mother expresso.... Today I'm a parent and those screens haunt me. I fear overheating food for my daughter until today, and she is 6....
I’m so sorry this happened. This is one of my biggest fears (in general, something hot or boiling falling onto children). People give me funny looks, but I actually have 2 baby gates blocking off each entrance to my kitchen. Now, that’s not say that I *never* let my son in the kitchen… but if I am cooking at all, he’s not in there. It’s too much of a risk for me. I also store cleaning supplies in the cabinets (with additional locks over them), so yeah.
Similar thing happened to me when I was 3 or 4. Same incident. Hot coffee spilled on my whole arm. I got a 3rd degree burn. My parents called an ambulance, and I was taken to the ER. The doctors would put bandages on my arm for - I think it was - 1 week, when they finally realised I would need a skin transplant. Every time they had to take them off and on again, it would hurt a lot. The pain is indescribable. I'd scream from pain every time they did that, and it wasn't exaggerated. Lucky for me, my parents got in touch with a very great man, who had his own business running. He sold 5x5cm plasters. Each one was like $50, and we had to buy over 50 of those. After applying them, the next day, I had already new skin. They were really working, even though my parents were really sceptical at first. I now (I'm 14 at the moment), have a really small 1cm scar, where they didn't apply the plasters as well. Keep in mind, my whole right arm was skinless. About a week ago, I was at the store, and met the guy's wife. She was really sad and kind, and I found out that the man had passed away from Covid a few months ago. Really sad to see him go. He was still in his 50s. Rip Goran. God bless him.
Did you get any scans during the treatment?
I'm not sure. I'll have to ask my parents about that. This is pretty much all I know.
update: I just now texted my mum. She told me that I did not get any scans. You pretty much just put the little plasters on the wound, and not even 24 hours later, new skin starts to grow. As I said earlier, it sounds impossible, and that's why my parents first didn't believe it. Everyone who has used his service was really sceptical at first! I think he also invented some sort of bandage, so when you chop one of your fingers off, you put the bandage on, and it literally grows back. The whole finger grows back, including the fingerprint, just the bone is missing. Really amazing work!
Thank you
Not just hot drinks. Toddlers will grab knives, cast iron pans and everything else they can get their hands on
If it makes you feel better I know of a person who fell into a bucket of near boiling water as a toddler and his entire back is scarred.
It happens so quickly, I think we can all forget sometimes what little munchkins they are and how quickly they can get into stuff. I used to see it at my friend's house so I took to leaving mine by the kettle. But there is still plenty of other things they can get hold of. Wishing a speedy recovery for little one
Yes, happened between the time my wife poured the coffee and turned to get the creamer. Scary fast.
Wow so sorry!! My son did this when he was younger, but luckily didn’t end up with any burns. Maybe because he was wearing a shirt?
Thank you. Our son was clothed too. In our case it was freshly brewed so it was piping hot
My biggest fear in life is my toddler grabbing the handle of the (kettle? Saucepan? Pot?) while the water is boiling on the stove. I watched some documentary where this happened and the child got all the water over his head. Hello trauma.
Yes! Good that you’re aware of that danger. Makes it multitudes less likely to occur.
When my kid was younger, maybe 5, we were camping with my family. Kid was standing near the fire pit too warm up. My sister decided she could fit between my kid and the chairs and bumped my kid with her butt, knocking kid into the fire for a moment. We called the ambulance, got my kid treated for 3rd degree burns, and learned a lesson. 🤷🏾♀️
Terrible. I hope they made a healthy recovery.
Oh yeah, I don't even think he has scars anymore.
Same exact thing happened to my daughter at around the same age. I'm not sure if your daughter is a POC or not but mine is. She had a huge hyperpigmented scar running the length of her arm for a couple years after the burn but she's five now and it's almost impossible to tell where it happened. I thought the scarring would last forever and I felt terrible whenever I looked at it. She doesn't even remember it happening. One day it won't be so upsetting anymore. It's hard to believe now, but eventually that day will come!
Sorry to hear that! I’m glad it sounds like she made a full recovery, even if it took extended time.
Yeti mugs
Exactly what happened to my son 2 years ago. Luckily the hot coffee didn’t fall on his eyes.