The Burn and Reconstructive Center offers safety tips to prevent burns during Burn Awareness Week

Las Vegas, NV – The Burn and Reconstructive Center of Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center is recognizing Burn Awareness Week February 2-8. This year’s theme from the American Burn Association is “Contact Burns – Hot Surfaces Damage Skin!”

“Nearly everything left in the hot Las Vegas sun can burn your skin. We treat many injuries, often from things you do not expect to be dangerous,” said Dr. J. E. Coates, medical director of the Burn and Reconstructive Center of Sunrise Hospital in partnership with Burn Centers of America, the largest burn network in the world.

In 2019, the American Academy of Professional Coders™ approximated that every minute someone in the United States endures a burn injury severe enough to require treatment. Dr. Coates said many of those injuries could be avoided with a little caution and preparation.

“Even if these items do not produce large burns, they can be quite painful,” Dr. Coates said.

Safety tips include:

• When children are around, create a three-foot safe zone around any hot surface, whether it is a stove, fireplace or grill.
• When cooking, keep hot pots and pans toward the back of the stove and away from countertop edges.
• Before leaving the bathroom, make sure all curling irons, hair dryers, steamers or flat irons are unplugged. These can stay hot long after you have stopped using them or turned them off, so make sure that they are out of children’s reach.
• Check playground equipment and pavement before letting children play: if it’s too hot for you, it’s too hot for them.

In addition, it’s important to regularly check your smoke detectors and develop and practice an escape plan for your family.

“Contact burns are often serious, so we always urge people to apply the proper caution to avoid them in the first place,” Dr. Coates said.

To learn more about The Burn and Reconstructive Center of Sunrise Hospital, visit Sunrise Burn Center

Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center and Sunrise Children’s Hospital offer high quality, patient-centered healthcare to the residents of Southern Nevada, its surrounding region, and the millions of visitors that come to Las Vegas. Sunrise Hospital serves as Nevada’s largest acute care facility and Level II Trauma Center, which is located just minutes away from the Las Vegas Strip. Occupying the same campus is Sunrise Children’s Hospital, Nevada’s largest, most comprehensive children’s hospital. Together, both facilities offer a full range of services for both children and adults. The Burn and Reconstructive Center of Sunrise Hospital offers comprehensive burn and wound care for adult and pediatric patients. To learn more about The Burn and Reconstructive Center of Sunrise Hospital, visit the Sunrise Burn Center website