Protect your home from accidents. Clothing fire is only one of many hazards lurking in the very comfort of your home.
Statistics of the Department of Health have brought home the gravity of domestic accidents sometimes with tragic consequences.
In 2003, for instance, there were 585 admissions to public hospitals due to domestic burn and scald injuries. In addition, there were 5 deaths as a result of domestic burn injury.
Not surprisingly, the elderly were among the more vulnerable to such accidents - 91 of the casualty cases and 2 of the fatalities were aged 60 or above.
But accidents recognize no age barrier. The statistics also showed that quite a number of the casualties of domestic burn and scald victims (126 admissions) involved able bodies of both genders aged between 30 and 50 years old.
The very young were also among these high risk groups. A recent Chinese University of Hong Kong research study has shown that young children of the age under 6 years old were most vulnerable among all children under 15 years old.
Consumers are strongly advised to pay special attention to the top three "black spots" at home:
- Dining room - in the use of electric pots, hot food and drinks, cigarettes and lighters, mosquito coils, electric light bulbs, electric irons and heaters, etc.
- Bathroom - bathtubs, shower nozzles, taps, hot water pipes, corrosive cleansing products, etc.
- Kitchen - cooking utensils and their handles, microwave ovens, toast makers, taps, hot water pipes, hot food and drinks, etc.
In first aid precautions, consumers are urged to bear in mind the following 5 don'ts:
- Do not use adhesive materials such as cotton cloth and adhesive plaster directly on the burn areas.
- Do not apply ice or ice pack directly on the burn areas.
- Do not apply any medicine, ointments, toothpaste, soya sauces, soap, oil and any other substances on the burn areas.
- Do not break any blisters.
- Do not move clothing attached around the burn areas.
The Consumer Council reserves all its right (including copyright) in respect of CHOICE Magazine and Online CHOICE ( https://echoice.consumer.org.hk/ ).