To warn about the dangers of radiators and hot water bottles.

[GeekLove]

Children's skin is very sensitive to heat but it is warm rather than obviously hot objects that have their own hazard. Human skin will start to burn if in prolonged contact with objects more than 43c. This does not feel hot, more somewhat warm. Hence the danger in that should a child be in contact with such a surface when sleeping they might not move from the hear source.

My ds2 has a rather nasty 2nd degree burn on his leg as a result of the furry cover on his waterbottle slipping off in bed. Radius present a similar hazard unless covered with something to dissipate the heat and not go above the critical temperature. This is relevant conspiring radiator heat up gradually enough that a child might not know they are in danger.

[UterusUterusGhali]

I've got a scar on my arm from when I was younger and my bed was next to the radiator. I woke up one morning stuck to it. I turn the DCs radiators waaaay down now.

Dd once left her microwaveable snuggly cat in the microwave for a bit too long and nearly burned the house down. It was only a couple of minutes. (She was 14 at the time.) I tend not to allow those either.

We use a lot of blankets.

[deepestdarkestperu]

I was always told never to put boiling/scalding water into a hot water bottle. Just use the hot tap to fill it halfway, then push the bottle over to release the steam, then put the top on and the cover.

I don’t understand filling it with scalding water - it’s an accident waiting to happen! And no way does it need to be that hot!

[shouldnthavesaid]

Last time I was on the gynae ward they had lovely heat pads about the size of a pillow or so and about as thick as a macbook.. lovely they were. Think they were heat controlled as the nurses said it was perfectly safe to sleep with it under the sheets. Only £25-£50 I think ..

[Droogan]

If it's just from the hot tap, you can barely feel it through the cover, and it cools down too quickly. But shouldn't really be boiling hot, I accept.
Love hot water bottles, but also a bit afraid of them.
DD burned herself once when she disobeyed me and filled one herself. She was only little.

[GeekLove]

UPDATE: old the school about the more general danger of prolonged contact with warm heat sources (bottles, heat pads, laptops etc) and they are going to put a warning about it in the school newsletter.

[lalalalyra]

The heat pad I have has an auto cut off after 60 or 90 minutes. Much less risk of burns than having it on all night.

[specialsubject]

Turn the radiator down, or spend a bomb fitting a mesh guard.

Kids and hot water bottles, bad combo. Warm pyjamas, more covers.

[stopfuckingshoutingatme]

yes I have scar even now from my hot water bottle burn, and it didn't even hurt which was weird

I use hot tap water only, good reminder OP

[ThanksForAllTheFish]

I’ve never even considered people get burned from hot water bottles. I use mine all year round for my horrendous period pain (tummy, lower back and tops of legs). Also because I feel cold all the time. I fill it from the kettle and just move it around a bit when I feel it’s getting too warm. I also sit with my back against the radiator quite a lot. My skin will go red but I never burn or blister. I do think I have a strange tolorance to burns though. I had two cups of boiling hot tea spilled on my back as a child (accident) and walked away without a mark. If I get sunburn it vanishes completey after about 8 hours and I have never peeled etc. Strange. (I use SPF50 BTW but sunburn easily as I am a redhead)

I have a few hot water bottles in the go as and I do keep an eye on them as they start to perish as they age. I did have one leak on me last year where it had wore away but thankfully it was near the top and I didn’t get burned. The cover soaked up the water.

I do give DD a hot water bottle sometimes but tend to put it in her bed 30 minutes before bedtime to warm up the bed and let it cool down a bit.

We never have the heating on overnight and the bedroom radiators are all turned lower awayway as no one in this house likes to sleep I really hot bedrooms. It’s too stuffy.

[Kursk]

Not something I have considered, we use hot water bottles. We don’t have central heating. We do have wood burning stoves in each bedroom.

[wanderings]

I'll second the advice about expelling the air from the bottle: fill it two thirds full, and then fold it over so that water appears out of the top, before screwing the lid on. Store empty with the lid removed.

Sorry for derailing the thread a little, but does anyone remember the lovely book "Phoebe and the hot water bottles", now out of print and very rare and valuable? It contains lots of 1970s nostalgia, including things frowned upon nowadays: putting out fires yourself, giving children puppies as presents, to say nothing of Phoebe sleeping with not one, but one hundred and fifty-seven hot water bottles. The book was unusually about a single parent family as well. "No matter how much you love hot water bottles, they can never, never love you back."

[PenelopeFlintstone]

Wheat bags are a fire risk.
www.fire.nsw.gov.au/page.php?id=9047

[Knusper]

Our house is cold and we use hot water bottles every night from October to March. Have done since the kids were tiny. I fill a third with cold water, add a third of boiling and put them in the beds about an hour before bedtime.

We replace them every year or two but you've reminded me to check whether the rubber is perishing as these are on their second year.

Hope that your son is feeling better soon OP.

[VeganCow]

Sorry to hear that op, hope he is ok.
I do use a hot water bottle occasonally and always take one camping BUT I always wonder how often they can burst. Does anyone have any experience of one bursting ?

[Trumpton]

wanderings
We have that book ! It was dd's (36 years old )favourite book from the library when she was small and I found a copy online a few years ago and bought it for her !
Such a fab book as it is so dated !

[Kpo58]

I don't like the microwavable pads with grain in either. I had many many beetles hatch from one of them and it took ages to get rid of them all.

[blueshoes]

Thanks for the warning

[ProfessorCat]

I don’t understand filling it with scalding water - it’s an accident waiting to happen! And no way does it need to be that hot!*

I've used a hot water bottle every day of my life for the last 15 years. I fill it from the just boiled kettle every single time and it has a very thin, felt cover. It needs to be that hot for me or it does nothing for my pain. I've never had an issue.

[ProfessorCat]

Bold fail!

[deepestdarkestperu]

I was more referring to small children @ProfessorCat.

Little kids do silly things - like take the cover off, try and open them and are likely to sit on them, tread on them etc.

I was never allowed them very hot as child and even as an adult I would never fill them up from the kettle without adding cold water and expelling the steam. Burns hurt and the scars last forever.

[ProfessorCat]

Absolutely with you on the small children.

[GeekLove]

I'm also thinking of people who have poor nerve response or bad circulation such as diabetics - could be very easy to burn yourself considering it was painless until the blister burst.

[BlackeyedSusan]

auto correct is obviously in league with the evil radiators and hot water bottles...

any way . thanks.

[BlackeyedSusan]

//www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/hsis6.pdf

[GeekLove]

Another twist! Apparently injuries which occur at nighttime take up to 4times as long to heal as this in the day time. Guess I'll be doing a load more wound dressing to come