Hospital transport surges in the U.S….Babies, the elderly, and pets must be careful! Japan is no stranger to heat wave burns.
As the heat wave lingers in the U.S., the number of patients suffering from severe burns from touching hot ground or objects has skyrocketed. Arizona experienced a record heat wave, with 24 days of temperatures exceeding 43 degrees Celsius, setting a new record for the longest such streak. Asphalt temperatures in the state can reach 82 degrees. Doctors at the Arizona Burn Center told the BBC that the 45 beds in the burn ward are full, with one-third of the beds occupied by patients who fell to the ground and sustained burns.
Japan is no exception. The average temperature in July nationwide was 1.91 degrees Celsius above normal, and 3.0 degrees Celsius higher in central Tokyo, making it the hottest July in recorded history. There were a total of 13 extremely hot days (35°C or higher) in central Tokyo, the most ever in July, and the disaster-level heat shows no sign of abating in August.
Nobuko Yoshiki, a dermatologist and director of the Yoshiki Ginza Clinic, warned that danger lurks even in our immediate surroundings.
Touching something at 50 degrees Celsius for about three minutes can cause burns,” she says. If pressure is applied, or in areas where blood flow to the skin is poor, such as the ankles of the feet, burns are more likely to occur. There is a danger of getting a cold burn from sitting on a hot bench or from walking barefoot on a sandy beach and burning the soles of your feet.
A healthy person will not touch something for three minutes if it is hot, but be careful of babies who cannot tell when they are hot and the elderly, whose senses are weakened. There have been cases in the past where a child seat in a car parked in the hot sun was so hot that a baby sitting in it suffered burns. Other items in the sun, such as strollers that have been left outside for a while or playground equipment at the park, are also hot, so it is important not to touch them or allow them to be touched unintentionally.
