Beauty and the Beasts
To adults, they seem like harmless mainstays of the beauty table: the hot curling iron, bobby pins, hair clips and barrettes.
Yet thousands of children a year visit hospital emergency rooms after hurting themselves with the styling tools, whether it’s burning themselves with an iron or sticking the metal pins into electric sockets.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s most recent report estimates that more than 18,600 children nationwide suffered injuries in 1997 from these products. The majority of the incidents occurred among children 5 years old and younger.
Topping the list were children grabbing the metal part of curling irons, according to the commission’s data collected from 100 hospital emergency rooms nationwide.
Bruce Achauer, who directs UC Irvine’s regional burn center, has seen numerous cases of children who handled the hot metal for just a fraction of a second, causing such severe burns that they required skin grafts.
“When a child does grab a curling iron, it’s a fairly bad injury,” Achauer said. “It’s deep and requires surgery. They grab on, and it takes time for them to realize what’s going on. . . . The person using the curling iron has to be superaware that it is a real danger to a child.”
Hospitals also reported treating wrist, shoulder, forearm and feet burns after the youngsters waved the iron around or dropped it. To prevent injuries, adults can purchase curling iron holders sold at home improvement and retail stores. The holders are fastened high on the wall to secure the iron above the reach of children.
Youngsters also burned themselves by mishandling hot hair curlers, but far less frequently than they did with curling irons, officials said.
“You’ve got to realize what the kids do and try to have them avoid being able to come into contact with these things,” said Peter Anderson, an emergency room physician for Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center. “I don’t think there’s any magic here. It has to be common sense for the parents to keep it out of reach of the kids.”
Nevertheless, adults aren’t immune from accidents involving these styling tools. The problems are just of a different nature. Rather than grabbing the curlers and hurting their hands, many teens and adults burned their foreheads, eyelids or eyeballs after carelessly styling their hair, according to officials.
Other hair-care products can be hazardous to kids. Some youngsters stuck the slim metal pieces into their ears, resulting in scratched ear canals or punctured eardrums. Others inserted the pins into household outlets, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
One 2-year-old boy suffered electrical burns on his hand when he put a bobby pin into an outlet, a federal study found. A 4-year-old girl who did the same thing suffered electrical burns to three fingers.
Experts said adults should keep bobby pins away from children or purchase plug protectors and secure them over the outlets.
A number of children have swallowed barrettes. Others who wore the barrettes injured themselves after bumping into objects or other children.
A barrette cut a 2-year-old girl in the scalp after her head hit the arm chair she was jumping on, according to the commission. A 3-year-old girl cut her forehead after falling down some bleachers and getting the barrette stuck in her head.
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Hair Curling Dangers
To avoid injury, follow these safety precautions when using curling irons, blow dryers, hairsetters and other hair styling products:
CURLING IRONS, HAIR SETTERS
Curling iron barrel: Up to 212 F
Metal hair setter heating elements: Up to 150 F
Rollers: Up to 80 F-100 F
Hazards
* Small children have been seriously burned by touching hot metal curling irons or electric hair setter heating elements. Injuries have also occurred when children have pulled the hot appliance onto themselves by tugging on the cord.
* Accidental burns to skin and eyes are common in adults.
Precautions
* Insert curling iron barrel into a potholder mitt.
* Place curling iron or hair setter at the back of the bathroom counter or on a high shelf.
* Do not leave hot appliances unattended around small children.
* Pay attention: Curling iron accidents happen when users are distracted or cannot see well. Put your glasses or contacts on before using.
ELECTRIC HAIR DRYERS
Air temperature: Up to 250 F measured one inch from barrel opening
Heating element: Up to 300 F
Hazards
* Children may stick their fingers down the barrel and burn themselves on the heating element.
* Plugged-in dryer may fall into water-filled bathtub or sink, resulting in electrocution.
Precautions
* Make sure barrel guard is intact
* Never leave appliance unattended when small children are present
* Unplug when not in use
* Do not immerse in water
* Do not use in or around a bathtub or sink with water in it
* Get a new dryer. Those sold after after 1991 are equipped with an immersion detection circuit interrupter which automatically stops the flow of electricity if plugged-in dryer falls into water.
* Install ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) on all electrical outlets located near sinks and bathtubs. These function similar to immersion detection devices.
BOBBIE PINS
Hazard: Burns from inserting these into electrical outlets are common injuries among young children, as are punctured eardrums from sticking them into ears.
Precautions
* Keep out of the reach of children.
* After each use, check the floor for any that may have fallen.
* Install childproof electrical outlet protectors on outlets throughout the house. Various types are available.
Source: Underwriter’s Laboratories, Times reports
Graphics reporting by JANICE JONES DODDS/Los Angeles Times
