Toddler burnt her fingertips on stovetop! Recovery questions

[gollyimholly]

It is completely completely my fault and I loathe myself right now. Earlier this evening, I'd just finished cooking, turned the stove off and was washing up. My 2 year old DD came into the kitchen, climbed up and into her kitchen tower (those stands that allow children to stand at countertop level) reached over and touched the very very hot cooker ring (It had probably been off for about 5mims at this point). The scream that came out of her was just horrific. I immediately ran her hand under the cold water tap. We phoned 111 and took her to urgent care.

At urgent care, they ran it under water for a further 20 mins, put some soothing something on it and bandaged up her affected fingers. She has white pads on each fingertip on one hand. We have been asked to go back 48 hours later and they will undress the fingers and check for blistering and go from there. They said they won't know what the story will be until they take the dressing off in two days time but they generally did not seem too worried. They said to give her paracetamol and ibuprofen for the pain.

I don't know if this is like asking how long is a piece of string, but does anyone know how long it might be painful for? Poor DD cried so much she fell asleep without having any dinner. I'm so nervous for when she will wake up in the night and will be in pain. Has anyone had experience of burns in toddlers? Roughly how long is the healing process? All the questions are only coming to me now. I found a photo online of what DD's fingertips looked like (I was too panicked earlier to get a photo of Dd's fingers before they bandaged it up)

I feel sick with worry that she might have damaged some nerves or something. My poor poor baby. I can't believe how stupid I've been.

And I am sure most people are wiser than I am, but it really did take just seconds of turning my back, so please make sure to keep your kitchen towers well away from the stove (I am sure everyone already does).

My son deliberately touched the iron at a toddler age to see if it was hot (testing if I was lying ) and was similarly bandaged up etc. I remember the pain in an and e and how awful it was until he got bandaged and treated. I think once that was done calpol and the other kids one worked really well.

Thank you so much for the advice.
So reassuring to hear Calpol and ibuprofen (I hope that's what it is) work well. I'm so worried I can't sleep. We will keep DD topped up on the two medicines

My 5 year old recently did the exact same thing.. Whole palm of her hand though so was worse. I had just turned off the hob and taken the pan over to the counter. She screamed like I've never heard before! Did the water thing for over 10mins then wrapped it up but she was screaming again a few mins later so took her to urgent care. They ran water on it. Gave her some spray up her nose as pain relief before cleaning and dressing it. We had already given her brufen and calpol at home. No pain once dressed in the hospital. She did have a sling to elevate it during the day and we had a few more trips back for review. On one of them they took off the white skin as was full of fluid underneath. She didn't feel any pain doing that as skin was dead. After a week it was fully healed over very pink skin and some very dry areas. Moisturized several times a day and After about 2 weeks you could barely see the difference in skin colour.
Your child will be fine. I also felt huge guilt but these things happen to even the best of us.

Hi op hope you are sleeping and you toddler is too. Yes ibuprofen. I just remembered you can get hob guards - worth a google?

Hadn't thought about this and our little stool is kept right under our gas hob so I'm definitely going to move it from now on! Thank you! Hope your DD is ok

Aw no it made me so sad how you wrote to not keep your kid’s still near the hob (good advice) and then said I’m sure you probably don’t - of course some people do! A pp has just said they do and will now address this. That’s a positive change from this one post so well done you! We have ALL had these experiences. I have two that have come to mind just now which still make me cringe/flinch to think about. She’ll be ok soon. You’ll feel sick every time you think about this incident, of course..but is par for the course, I’m afraid! Truly, don’t beat yourself up.

Thank you for the advice and kind words.
Your poor DD, she sounds very brave! Glad to hear she made a good recovery xx

The white bits look like where the blister would form. Keeping the burn from being exposed to air helps, superficial burns do hurt ! Paracetamol and ibuprofen do help.

I really feel for you OP , it’s something so easily done !

similar thing happened to DS. They "deroofed" the blistered and all was healed in a week (or less). It seems horrific at the time but it doesnt take long. They "deroof" them to stop infection I believe. Good luck!

Thank you all so much for your very lovely replies.

Thankfully DD doesn't seem to be in too much discomfort today - we are giving her ibuprofen and Calpol as instructed. A little nervous as I read no pain can also mean nerve damage. It's been such a tough week for DD as it was her first week of settling in at nursery and then she had a cold and then I had a cold and has been extra clingy. She is being so good and brave. We will be going back to the urgent treatment central tomorrow for them to take the dressing off so fingers crossed.

I wanted to ask, for those whose DCs had burns, were you contacted by a social worker? I was emailed today by someone from my local council to see how DD was. I feel really awful and nervous about it as I feel like the hospital must have thought my DD is being abused or neglected.

@gollyimholly hope your dd is doing alright now, and that it was good news at the dressing change.
My then three year old dd suffered a large scald injury, to her arm and thighs. This was 5 years ago. At a&e they told me that an automatic referral would be sent to the HV team (I never actually heard from them). We were transferred to another hospital with a specialist unit later that night, and the burns psychology team assessed us on the ward and determined that no SW referral was needed.
I think (although I'm not sure) that the main factor is not how the accident happened, but how you deal with it afterwards. In our case dd was stood on a chair to help me cook. I was very confident that she understood the pan was hot and she mustn't touch it. She did. But somehow she just fell off the chair, and reflexively tried to save herself by grabbing the pan handle and ended up taking it down with her. Very avoidable, and 100% my fault. But I got her in the shower and called the ambulance straight away.
I think since you were seen in urgent care they probably aren't able to make their own assessment of you like the specialist unit could, but since you sought help straight away it will probably just be a conversation and then case closed.
Best wishes, and let me know if you have any questions about recovery.

No we were not contacted by social services but we were contacted by health visiting team (they get notified when your child goes to a&e) so it might be them rather than ss?

I’m really glad you were able to get her seen so quickly, burns on little ones are absolutely terrifying, and you reacted exactly the way any attentive parent would. The follow-up in 48 hours is standard, and it’s actually a good sign that the urgent care team wasn’t overly concerned. With superficial fingertip burns, the worst pain is usually within the first 24–48 hours, and then it gradually eases once the initial inflammation settles.

When my niece burned her fingertips on a pan recently, the first night was the hardest, but the pediatric provider told us that consistent dosing of children’s acetaminophen and ibuprofen makes a big difference. By day three she was using her hand again, cautiously but without tears. The bandages and dressings can look scary, but they really do protect the sensitive skin while new layers form.

If you’re anywhere near Spokane, places like Spokane Pediatric UC are used to seeing toddler burn injuries and offer really reassuring follow-up care. Their website has some helpful guidance on what signs to watch for, when to return sooner, and how to manage comfort at home, which might ease some of your worry while you wait for the recheck.

Try not to be too hard on yourself, toddlers are fast, curious, and fearless. The fact that you acted quickly, got medical care immediately, and are following up exactly as advised means she’s in the best position to heal well. If the pain seems intense tonight, don’t hesitate to call urgent care again for reassurance. Parents go through this far more often than you might think, and it almost always heals better than expected.

I know this is an old post but my little one did the exact same thing last night. He has white pads on each finger tip on one hand and a little bit on his palm. I feel terrible. I turned away for one second to move the saucepan, it was switched off but only just. It's horrible.

have you been to the docs? they might need to "deroof" them - apparently it helps healing for kids and helps avoid infection. Its awful isnt it but these things happen :-(

Hi OP, I hope you're all ok. Just to reassure you, a social services referral if it happens is very normal in these situations and not at all because they think she's being abused or neglected. They have to do their due diligence and it's good that they do - you don't even need to imagine the number cases where something serious was going on and the child had been seen in hospital previously - it's their responsibility to follow up.
It happened to my friend (a headteacher!) when her DD managed to access a packet of ibuprofen that had fallen out of her bag. They were sure she didn't eat any but couldn't be certain, got the child checked and then had a full SS review including a review of the home. It was absolutely fine and although my friend felt a lot of shame they didn't judge her at all.
Just be completely honest. You won't be the first or last parent in this situation!