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We have a warning for parents that you may have not have heard before. A toddler in Northern Illinois is recovering from second degree burns on his hand and you will be surprised how he got them. HOI 19's Jen Christensen talked to the family and doctors to make sure the same thing doesn't happen to your child.
One and a half year old Alex Gove of Northern Illinois suffered second degree burns on the top of his hand after touching the rotor of his parent's minivan. Alex stuck his hand through the wheel well, which is right at eye level, and touched the rotor.
Peoria mom Molly McKenna heard about the accident and contacted HOI 19 news. Molly McKenna said, "Yah, something you just don't think about. It's shocking. Your kids touch a million things. You baby proof your house. You can't baby proof the community, so you have to be really vigilant."
We wanted to know how hot the rotor gets, so we had a technician at Midas test the cars that came in that had been on for about 20 minutes. Surprisingly, the average temperature was 220 degrees. Skin burns at just 124 degrees. Emergency room physician Dr. Jason Stringer from Methodist Medical Center said, "Really you don't have to drive very far and they get very hot, absolutely you can get second, third degree burns." Dr. Stringer says this isn't the first time he has heard of this happening.
He said, "A child's skin is pretty sensitive to begin with and doesn't have a lot of the calluses and things that adults have so i think they are more likely to be injured by those kinds of things. so yah, it's a potential danger."
It might be a good idea to squat down to the height of a toddler and check to see which area's of your vehicle are the biggest danger. Dr. Stringer says the hood of the car and the exhaust could also burn little hands if the car was recently on. Molly said, "You don't think about your kids touching the parts of the car, but when they're real young like her and they use things to lean up against for balance, you have to be really careful about what they actually touch." Molly's telling everyone she knows about the danger, hoping awareness will keep her daughter and other kids safe near the car.
Dr. Stringer from Methodist Medical Center says the biggest danger he sees with vehicles are kids who are not properly restrained in a car seat and kids being hit by a car because the driver failed to look behind the car before leaving.
As many of you know, I have a toddler this same age. I didn't realize the rims on vehicles are more open now than they used to be and you can easily stick your hand in and touch the rotor on most vehicles. I usually keep him right next to me when I get him out of the car. Now I get all the items out first and then get him out of the car so he's not standing right next to the hot rotor. Have you ever heard of this?
-NewsAnchorMom Jen
Methodist Medical Center's new online healthcare program, MyMethodist eHealth, is a proud sponsor of this blog post. MyMethodist eHealth is the secure link to your doctor's office that lets you request appointments, order prescription refills, update your personal health record, and more. Sign up for MyMethodist eHealth here.
