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AAP: Children Most Likely to Present to ED With Burns From Hair Styling Tools

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Nov 1, 2023.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 1, 2023 -- Children younger than 10 are most likely to present to the emergency department with burn injuries sustained from hair styling tools, especially hair curlers and curling irons, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics, held from Oct. 20 to 24 in Washington, D.C.

Brandon L. Rozanski, M.D., from Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, and colleagues queried the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System database to evaluate the frequency of burn injuries from hair styling tools among individuals aged 0 to 24 years.

The researchers found that there were an estimated 30,839 burn injuries from hair styling tools from 2013 to 2022, generated from 1,050 actual emergency department encounters. Of the injured subjects, about 68 percent were younger than 10 years, and subjects were more likely to be female (65.1 percent). Overall, 72.3 percent of the injuries occurred within the home. Almost all (98.6 percent) of the burn injuries from hair styling tools required no escalation of care. Most (97.4 percent) of the burn injuries reported had the product code 1682 -- Hair Curlers, Curling Irons.

"This study demonstrated that children have the greatest propensity to present to the emergency department with burn injuries sustained from hair styling tools," Rozanski said in a statement. "Using this information, clinicians have a unique opportunity to provide targeted anticipatory guidance to educate families on the hazard surrounding everyday use of electric hair styling tools in addition to stressing age-appropriate use with and without parental supervision."

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Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted November 2023

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