NEW YORK (April 2012) — Take extra care this Fourth of July and at all of your summer celebrations by ensuring that accidents do not interfere with summer fun. Dr. Roger Yurt, director of the Hearst Burn Center of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, and the New York City Fire Department recommend the following safety tips to avoid burns from barbecues, fireworks and other routine activities that can pose a hazard this summer.
• Fireworks. Leave them to the professionals! Fireworks and sparklers can get as hot as 1,200 degrees and can lead to devastating burns, fires and even death when handled improperly. Instead of trying to put on a show of your own, check out your local professional fireworks displays and remember to stay at least 500 feet away from the fun to stay safe this summer.
• Grilling. Keep it outdoors! You should never use your grill indoors, in fact, you want to position your grill in an open area at least 10 feet away from all buildings, deck railings and overhanging branches. Always light the match before turning on the propane gas and never leave your grill unattended once you light it.
• Protect yourself from barbecue burns. A few simple precautions can prevent you from experiencing common cooking burns: use barbecue utensils with long handles, wear short or tight fitting sleeves, have a garden hose or bucket of sand available to put out small grill flare-ups.
• Protect kids against severe burns. Road, sand and playground surfaces can get extremely hot, sometimes reaching temperatures of 180 degrees or more. Children should always wear shoes when playing on these surfaces to avoid injuries and foot burns.
• Always wear sunscreen. Always apply sunscreen to the skin at least 30 minutes before going outdoors and reapply it every 1 to 2 hours during the day to avoid severe sunburn. It’s also important to reapply sunscreen after swimming, sweating or exercising.
For more information, patients may call (866) NYP-NEWS. To get more practical fire safety tips for the entire family, visit the FDNY fire safety page at www.nyc.gov/html/fdny/html/safety/index.shtml.
NewYork-Presbyterian HospitalNewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, based in New York City, is the nation’s largest not-for-profit, non-sectarian hospital, with 2,353 beds. The Hospital has nearly 2 million inpatient and outpatient visits in a year, including more than 220,000 visits to its emergency departments — more than any other area hospital. NewYork-Presbyterian provides state-of-the-art inpatient, ambulatory and preventive care in all areas of medicine at five major centers: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian/The Allen Hospital and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Westchester Division. One of the most comprehensive health care institutions in the world, the Hospital is committed to excellence in patient care, research, education and community service. NewYork-Presbyterian is the #1 hospital in the New York metropolitan area and is consistently ranked among the best academic medical institutions in the nation, according to U.S.News & World Report. The Hospital has academic affiliations with two of the nation’s leading medical colleges: Weill Cornell Medical College and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. For more information, visit www.nyp.org.
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