Firework Burns – Injuries by Sparklers
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Okay, this is totally off topic but that’s what the “Etc” category is for!
I have played with sparklers all my life – for 32 years. They’re so pretty and fun and innocent – NOT.
Last night, me and my 2 boys shot fireworks. It was sparkler time – I pulled one out and lit it and it SHOT a flame down my finger! OMG – OUCH! It hurt like HELL. Mind you fireworks are made with chemicals so firework burns are considered chemical burns.
I was in terrible pain for a good 4 hours. I went in and ran cool water over it and because I could get NO relief, I put ice on it – bad mistake. Ice makes the burn worse, ugh.
Not knowing better, I tried the home remedies – butter, salve, mustard, aloe plant; they all made it burn ten times worse!
I read up online about firework burns and found out that you’re not supposed to use any of that stuff because it retains the heat in the tissue. You’re only supposed to run cool water over it and then cover it with a loose dry cloth or loose gauze.
I also found out that sparklers cause most firework injuries and cause the worst firework injuries. Uh, not cool. The handheld firework we love so much burns at around 1650 degrees F – the same temperature used by welders! Our beloved sparklers have sent many kids and adults to the ER with terrible burns.
I read a few posts on a mom forum about this last night and also added my story from last night. You can read them here: Sparkler Burns. That thread started with a sparkler dropping a spark into a child’s shoe and melting the shoe, leaving a 2nd degree burn.
I was chatting with a few of my neighbors last night after it happened and one of them told me that they bundled up a bunch of sparklers once and put them inside a watermelon – the watermelon blew up like a bomb. Yeah, I know but boys will be boys…but it just goes to show that sparklers are no more innocent that the rest of the fireworks and that no firework should be handheld. Fireworks are dangerous enough as it is, so let’s get them as close to our body as possible!
Needless to say, I threw the rest of the pack away and I’m done with sparklers. Me and my kids can live without that danger. I guess I never really thought about it because they did seem so innocent but why would you hold…or give your kids to hold…something that shoots off sparks and heats up to 1650 degrees? It just doesn’t make sense now that I know more about it.
One of the posts on that forum mentioned how this girl has some friends that use sparklers to do quick welds. WTH!
I know they’re pretty and they’re fun but we should leave the fireworks in the sky. No sense in burning ourselves or worse, having our children burned.
That’s my rant for the day!
P.S. – If you have a story, please share it! Or even if you want to tell me I’m crazy…I already know this but if you think so, feel free to let me know that too!
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Categories: Etc.
Tags: chemical burns, firework burns, firework chemical burns, firework injuries, fireworks, sparkler burns, sparkler injuries, sparklers
17 comments to “Firework Burns – Injuries by Sparklers”
July 5th, 2008 at 11:45 am
I didn’t know they were that hot. Just kind of scary how giving a sparkler to a baby is like giving a miniature flamethrower to a baby. I also got a chemical burn yesterday. PAIN in the @$$. So I know what you’re saying.
July 5th, 2008 at 11:56 am
Yeah I didn’t know they were that hot either. And it’s def scary that it is the equivalent of giving a mini-flamethrower to a baby – nicely put!
Sorry to hear about your burn =( It’s no fun!
July 6th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
The same thing happened to me last night. I was lighting sparklers for the kids. I was sticking them into the ground so nobody had to touch them. The end melted off of one of them and fell right onto my index finger. It hurt like crazy. I, too, put ice on it for relief. But it was only a temporary fix. It continued to hurt for the rest of the night.
Today, it is nasty looking and still hurts a bit.
I am a journalist, and had to go into work and try to type with a terrible burn on my inex finger! …Not fun at all.
Keep the kids away from the sparklers!
July 6th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
It’s crazy the amount of stories I’ve read about injuries by sparklers from this 4th alone! And, I, like you, have to type for a living – I work online and I know exactly what you mean about having to type with a nasty burn on your index finger (and a wrapped up one in my case)!
Now mine has blistered up and it’s nasty looking as well as gross feeling! Plus it burns again when I have to put it in warm water to do dishes or take a bath! Not worth it!
July 10th, 2008 at 4:06 am
Just this past 4th of july I was lighting a sparkler. It took a really long time because they were atleast a year old. All of a sudden it sparked off to the side instead of out the tip, right on the side of my right thumb. It hurt so bad at first. Covered in powder, I went to rinse my finger. My skin was all weird yellowish. I am guessing due to the chemicals. About an hour later all pain stopped. It was completely numb for like 2 days. The skin was thick and white. Then it became a blister and popped on its own. Now it hurts more than ever. I can’t do anything without it hurting. Like opening the car door or putting on clothes. It’s been 6 days now and it doesnt seem like it will be healed anytime soon. I really never knew how hot they were. I will never have the guts to light one ever again. I have had many burns in my life and nothing has compared to the way it felt when that sparkler burned me. It almost felt like my whole arm was burning from the inside out. From my thumb all the way up to my sholder. I serisouly couldn’t imagine a child getting burned by one. How could people allow children to play with something so dangerous. I am glad I know now before I have children of my own.
July 29th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
Great work once again. I am a medical engineer student and I love visiting your site and learning about the latest news. Keep it up!
July 31st, 2008 at 3:34 am
Your article is much more informatics for all of the visitor. I am very happy to read it. This is really very nice. Thank you for it.
August 26th, 2008 at 10:36 am
I didn’t know a fireworks burn was as bad as a chemical burn Thank you for this bit of advice, even though this was off topic for this blog this was very important info. thanks
July 15th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
Hi,
I found your blog on google and read a few of your other posts. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Keep up the good work. Look forward to reading more from you in the future.
Regards,
Jane
October 9th, 2009 at 9:19 am
I always figured that sparklers were the most innocent of the fire work family. It’s the firework you get for the kiddos. Good to know and thanks for the heads up.
October 9th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
Exactly…the fireworks you get for the kiddos…and the most dangerous of them all due to the temperature of the heat (used for light-weight quick welds) and the fact that they’re held in your hand!
Once I got burned by one, I started looking online for a way to relieve the excrutiating pain I was in only to find horror story after horror story about these extremely dangerous fireworks that are viewed as so innocent. I know the kids love them but don’t let them play with them, you’ll be sorry you did if they get burned. Child birth was probably as equally painful as the chemical burn that hurt terribly for dayssss that I got from the pretty little sparkler (and I’m an adult!!!)
July 2nd, 2010 at 9:59 pm
sparkelers dangerous yes. but have u ever thought about smoke bombs. nice little incent item. not. my 8 year old daughter had one fall over after lighting it tonight and it shot sparks back and burn her little thumb. i was not for sure what to do until i read some of the stories on here. she is feeling better now.
July 6th, 2010 at 11:26 pm
I just found out how dangerous sparklers can be, up close and personal! On July 4th, 2010, my family and I decided to end the night with sparklers. I took 6 sparklers (one for each person) out of the box and bunched them together in order to light them. My four year old boy was standing too close to me while I was unsuccessfully trying to light them. I realized that his proximity to the sparklers was dangerously close, so I turned away from him. Just as I turned away, all of the sparklers ignited at once and exploded in my hand! I couldn’t see my hand for all of fire coming from it! By the time I was able to drop the sparklers, my thumb, index, middle, and ring fingers were completely covered with third degree burns! All of the skin was gone from my index finger before the sparklers hit the ground! My entire thumb was a blister! The next thing I knew, I found myself in the burn unit at Vanderbilt Hospital, in Nashville, TN. I have broken several bones in my lifetime (34 years), and I have never felt, and hope I never, ever feel pain like I experienced from those burning sparklers, again!!!
As bad as I was hurt, I think back and realize how close those sparklers were to blowing up in my little boy’s face! If they would’ve done half the damage to his face that they did to my hand, it would’ve had life-altering effects on him and our family!
You wouldn’t give your child a lit plasma-cutter, why in the world would you give your child a sparkler????
July 10th, 2010 at 12:49 pm
I got burned by a neon black cat sparkler this 4th. I took many pictures throughout the stages. Needless to say it is still ( and wont be for weeks) not healed. U should see them. Un real a friggin sparkler gave mr 2nd-3rd degree burns on the inside if my palm near my thumb when lighting it for a small child. Wow…
August 7th, 2010 at 9:24 pm
@E Yeah those sparklers are really dangerous, we don’t fool with them since my nasty burn from those supposedly innocent hand-held welding tools!!!
August 7th, 2010 at 9:27 pm
@Chad OMG that’s terrible! So glad your son didn’t get burned! Yes that is a one-of-a-kind pain…because it’s a chemical burn, I only burned one finger and it was extremely painful for DAYS! I can only imaging having burned several of them. Sparklers should not be hand-held, don’t know why I didn’t realize before burning myself that NO firework should be hand-held. They are extremely hot and they can do unexpected things.
August 7th, 2010 at 9:28 pm
@J.G. So very true, sparklers aren’t the only dangerous fireworks…technically they can all be very dangerous. Glad she is feeling better, so sorry she was another victim to something that appears so innocent.