Charleston, South Carolina — The occasion, which is celebrated with food, friends, and family, also results in a rise in patients at the Medical University of South Carolina’s Burn Center.
MUSC has the only American Burn Association-certified adult and pediatric burn center in South Carolina and Georgia.
Dr. Steven Kahn, Chief of Burn Surgery, said the center sees up to a 40% increase in patients during the holidays. He claims that 80% of the people that come in on Thanksgiving have a deep second or third-degree burn.
Kahn believes the increase in injuries is due to more families cooking with fat on the holiday.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, the holiday is the most active day of the year for home fires in the United States. According to the group, there were over 1,400 home cooking fires reported to fire departments countrywide in 2023.
Kahn says he often sees injuries caused by grease left in pots and pans.
“Sometimes people panic and throw water on it, which causes an explosion, or people attempt to carry the pan out, and then they try to throw it outside,” according to Kahn. “And it ends up going on to someone else or coming back at them when they throw it.”
Kahn advises anyone with burns to run cool water over the area. He does not recommend using ice because it can worsen the burn.
Kahn suggests that all pot handles be angled away from the edge of the stove. He also advises families to maintain a three-foot distance between hot grease or water and themselves or their children.
Turkey fryers, he claims, pose a special holiday risk.
“They should be done outside on a level surface, nothing flammable, not on a deck or anything made of wood,” according to Kahn. “Never in the house, and people should keep children out of the turkey fryers.” Also, never use a frozen or too wet turkey in a turkey fryer.
Kahn recommends extinguishing fires with certified fire blankets or a Class ABC fire extinguisher. He claims pot lids can also be utilized if the fire is small enough.
