Children’s Burns Trust Urges Caution as Hot Water Bottle Burns to Children Rise by 55%

Children’s Burns Trust is issuing an urgent appeal to parents and carers following a worrying 55% increase in hot water bottle burns to children. New data from the International Burn Injury Database (iBID), shows that burn and scalds to children in the first eight months of 2024 increased by 55% compared with the same period in 2023.

Children’s Burns Trust has released this exclusive insight to raise awareness of the risks of hot water bottles and the devastating nature of burns and scalds. Scalds and burns caused by hot water bottles can result in severe pain, permanent scarring, and in some cases, lifelong physical and emotional trauma.

The ongoing cost of living crisis, and the financial pressures that households have been under for some time has led to a change in behaviour where parents and carers are looking for ways to keep their children and families warm without increasing their energy bills.

Children’s Burns Trust, the only UK charity dedicated to supporting burn-injured children and their families, is concerned that the ongoing financial climate and high cost of energy – compounded by the cut to the Winter Fuel Payment – will see more and more parents and carers using hot water bottles as the winter months begin.

12 year old, burned by a hot water bottle “I remember lifting the hot water bottle off the side and something caused the water to just explode out of the top. The water hit me directly in the face and on the top of the head, which made me panic and I dropped the hot water bottle which then spilt down my stomach. I remember the burning sensation…”

Ken Dunn, Consultant Burns and Plastic Surgeon (retired) and Vice Chair of The Children’s Burns Trust, said: “It’s alarming to see such a sharp increase in burns caused by hot water bottles, particularly in young children. We know that these injuries can lead to long-term physical and psychological effects, which is why prevention is crucial. As the colder months of the year approach – coupled with the financial strain that many households are under – we’re urging families to avoid using hot water bottles for children.

If you do use them at all in the home, you should remember two key pieces of information about how to use them safely – never fill them with boiling water and always check the rubber flower symbol found on the neck which shows which month and year the hot water bottle was made. Any bottle older than two years old should be replaced.”

The flower symbol, found on hot water bottles, indicates exactly when it was made which enables the person filling it to know if it is more than two years old and should therefore be replaced.

The number in the middle of the symbol shows the year it was made, the flower segments represent the 12 months of the year and the dots inside those represent the number of weeks.