When nine-year-old Cody Creech spilt noodles and boiling water onto himself, his mum knew it was serious.
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He suffered burns to 15 per cent of his body and was airlifted from Queanbeyan Hospital to Westmead Children’s Hospital in Sydney.
“The skin just came off… all of the skin peeled off,” said his mother, Renee Creech.
“We had no idea something so simple would lead to that,” she said.
But Cody’s experience is not uncommon.
Last year, nearly 80 per cent of burn injuries to children happened in the home, according to a report from the Burns Registry of Australia and New Zealand.
Scalds from hot drinks, water from saucepans or food were the most common causes of burns in children, causing 57 per cent of injuries, according to the report.
ACT public hospital emergency department statistics show the number of children aged up to 15 treated for burns has increased over four years, from 143 cases in 2013 to 212 cases in 2017.
Clinical nurse consultant Catherine Campbell said the increase in reported burns may be because more parents were taking their children to hospital for burn treatment.
Ms Campbell urged parents to remain vigilant of children around hot objects, particularly in the winter.
“Prevention is the key to reducing burn injuries,” she said.
“Young skin is very tender and easily damaged. Young skin is very, very precious.
“Being aware of first aid for burns has an enormous impact on the severity of the burn.
“Parents need to be aware that the only first aid for a burn is cold running water for 20 minutes… cover and seek medical attention. [It can be] seven to 10 days until the extent of the burn injury is revealed.
“[The right first aid treatment] can be the difference between a superficial rather than deep burn.”
Six months on from the accident, Cody is back playing football and has joined the Burns Support Foundation, which cares for burn victims and their families through a variety of activities.
“[The kids] just bond and play as kids who have been through similar situations,” Mrs Creech said.
She wants to teach her son one important lesson from his experience.
“It doesn’t matter if you have a scar on your leg … everybody is different,” she said.
The Creech family is hosting a gala night on October 5 to raise funds for the Burns Support Foundation. For more information contact Reneecreech1@hotmail.com.
