CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Playgrounds are being affected with ongoing high temperatures. 3NEWS spoke with a local pediatrician who shared ways to keep children safe from potential burns on playground equipment.
Pediatrician Dr. Eric Baggerman urges parents to be cautious since the surface material on most playground equipment has the ability to reach over 100 degrees.
The CEO of Amistad health told 3NEWS, "You can reach those temperatures anything over 120 degrees...depending on how long you're in contact with it, you're starting to get in danger of temperatures that can burn the skin."
Before letting children play, Baggerman recommends that parents touch the surface of the equipment their children will use to determine the temperature.
"The biggest thing is being aware of the surroundings. Placing your hands on monkey bars, placing hands on slides. You know if you can't hold your hand there for five seconds, then it's definitely going to be too hot for your kid to be sitting on or playing on," Baggerman advised.
Should a child receive a minor burn, Baggerman said the best thing to do is run cool tap water over the affected area or cover it with a cold compress.
"And then from there you have to judge if it's large or if it's deep. Especially if it's third-degree and goes through both layers of the skin and beyond, they need to be seen," Baggerman explained.
Baggerman said the good news is that burns from playground equipment aren't common. He still recommended parents to dress their children in appropriate clothing and always make sure they are wearing shoes on hot surfaces.
Baggerman leaves the following word of caution, "Get outside and play on the playground. It's still good to go down the slide, you just have to be aware that sometimes it can be too hot for the skin."
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