Boys 'face double the burns risk'

Boys are twice as likely to burn themselves as girls, a study suggests.

The Swedish team looked at 148 children aged up to six who had sought for treatment for burns in 21 Malmo health centres and one hospital.

The study, in the Journal of Clinical Nursing, found nearly three-quarters of those injured were under three, and that two-thirds were boys.

It also found 96% of accidents could have been prevented, and said parents should pay more attention to risks.

Making sure that pan handles don't overhang the cooker is just one of the simple safety tips that could prevent burns injuries to small children Dr Anna Carlsson

The Malmo University team found eight out of 10 injuries were scalds, with 71% being caused by hot liquids and 29% caused by hot foods.

Many of the accidents had happened because children tried to reach up and pull hot food or liquid off a stove.

The team found that there seemed to be a peak in childhood injuries between one and two years old - the age at which observation of the toddler is essential.

They suggested education about preventative measures could be useful.

Lead author Anna Carlsson said: "Parents need to be made more aware of the risks that children face in the home, particularly when they are in the kitchen.

"Making sure that pan handles don't overhang the cooker is just one of the simple safety tips that could prevent burns injuries to small children."

'More boisterous'

She added that particular attention needed to be paid to children under three because they were less aware of the dangers they face.

Dr Carlsson suggested that boys may be more at risk because they were more physically active.

"When I interviewed parents of children who had had accidents in an earlier study they talked about their children and said they were more alert and curious.

"It may be that boys are that to a greater extent than girls," she added.

Parents of small boys needed to be extra vigilant, she warned.

Roger Vincent, of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said most accidents could be prevented by parental supervision.

Simple measures

He said boys seemed to be more accident-prone than girls in the UK as well as in Sweden.

He said 2.7 million children in the UK had accidents every year and that half of these were under five.

"According to the latest figures some 267,000 of them are boys, while 209,000 are girls, and that goes on all the way through childhood," he said.

Research showed that, in 2002, 14,500 boys went to hospital as a result of some sort of burn or scald, compared with 11,500 girls, he said.

"It may just be a childhood thing or the boys may be more boisterous in play, although it does depend on the individual," Mr Vincent said.

However, simple measures like ensuring potentially dangerous items like lighters were put away properly could reduce accident rates, he added.