A new study conducted in the Sha'arei Tzedek Hospital in
Jerusalem indicates that every year, scores of children
suffer severe burns as a result of accidents from Shabbos hot
water urns. According to the study, which was published for
the first time in Yated Ne'eman, 20% of burns suffered
by children who were subsequently hospitalized were caused by
Shabbos urns.
Director of the Sha'arei Tzedek Plastic Surgery Department,
Dr. Yaakov Golan and Dr. Azis Shufani who conducted the
study, stressed that such accidents can be prevented. The
experts call upon the public to increase their awareness of
the danger and to seek technical solutions to prevent such
horrible accidents.
Ten cases in which children required hospitalization for such
burns occurred yearly for the past ten years. The incidence
of burns from Shabbos urns is actually much higher than
indicated by the study, since the study includes only severe
cases which led to hospitalization and severe functional
and/or esthetic damage, often lifelong. One case ended in
death, Rachmono litzlan.
These accidents are often serious because of the large amount
of hot water involved. The treatment is often long and
difficult, and is often not successful in reversing all of
the damage.
Dr. Shufani reports that the most common ages of those burned
is between 3 and 9 years old. A striking statistic is that
77% of those injured are girls.
The researchers speculate that this may be because the
clothing worn by girls is more likely to catch onto a
protruding cover or faucet of the hot water urn. Another
factor may be that girls spend more time in the kitchen where
the urns are.
Dr. Yaakov Golan, head of plastic surgery at Sha'arei Tzedek,
says that these tragic accidents are preventable. "I ask the
community and everyone who is active in this area to increase
the public's awareness of the dangers. Also, there should be
efforts in the direction of designing hot water urns that are
technically safer, including means of anchoring them in place
and developing a safety faucet."
