Home Fireworks Dangerous, Illegal in Ariz.

Contact: Darryl Henning, 623-535-VIEW
07/04/2006

The following article was published in the West Valley View on July 4, 2006.

Darryl Henning
assistant managing editor

The sale and use of consumer fireworks — sparklers, bottle rockets, firecrackers and the like — is illegal in Arizona. Nevertheless, every Fourth of July, neighborhoods across the Valley echo with home fireworks being fired off.

And while for most people, Independence Day conjures up visions of barbecues, swimming pools, flags and municipal fireworks displays, it also brings not-so-pleasant memories of fireworks accidents to others, including Dr. Ian Wood of Banner Estrella Medical Center.

Wood has seen firsthand what fireworks accidents can do.

“You get a number of localized finger burns and whatnot, whether it be from the matches or the wick itself of the firecrackers,” Wood said. “I have heard of and seen a number of cases throughout the last several years of more traumatic injuries, such as partial amputation of fingers as well as fairly large-scale burns of hands, arms, some to the face.

“Working at Maricopa Medical Center, the burn center there, I’ve seen flash burns from firecrackers going off prematurely.”

Dr. Brian Dursteler, chairman of the emergency department at West Valley Hospital in Goodyear, also is cognizant of the results of fireworks injuries.

“Forty percent of all people injured by fireworks are children,” he said. “And 10 percent of those children injured will have permanent injuries.”

Such injuries probably are more prevalent than that, he added, the full extent not being reported. And they’re not just burns.

“Twenty percent of fireworks injuries are to the eyes,” Dursteler said. “And hearing loss as well.”

Preliminary treatment
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimated that about 8,800 people were treated in hospital emergency rooms for injuries associated with fireworks in 2002. More than half the injuries were burns, and most of the injuries involved the hands, eyes, and head.

Should a burn occur while using the home fireworks, the correct course of action or treatment is “protecting the area with some moist compresses generally,” Wood said.

“For very simple burns, where there’s some redness to the skin, it’s typically an anti-inflammatory pain reliever [and] keep it clean,” Dursteler said, agreeing with Wood for the treatment. “The red area is a first-degree burn. When you start to see blistering, it’s second degree.”

What about the old wives’ tale or mother’s remedy of applying butter to a burn?

“No — cool compresses to the localized area help … and provide some systematic relief until you get can it further evaluated,” Wood said.

“We’ve even seen people put toothpaste on,” Dursteler added. “Apparently, south of the border, that’s a frequent use for a burn. But it doesn’t work for burns like it does for the mouth. Bottom line is anything that you put on a burn that can hold heat against it can cause problems. Once the skin is broken and there’s open skin — skin is the best covering for skin — then you can use an ointment, like Bacetracin, which is over the counter, or Polysporin, something like that. But that’s only on open skin. Closed skin you don’t want to put ointments on.”

Aloe vera, which cools as it dries, is another possibility, he added.

“As long as the skin is closed and you’re not allergic to it, aloe vera is a natural antistaph product as well, for a superficial burn that you want to help cool that doesn’t cover a large area of the body, absolutely,” Dursteler said. “Any burn that involves the face, the genitalia, the hands, the eyes — anything significant like that, no matter what degree, you obviously would want a doctor to evaluate that.”

If a person sustains burns over a large area of the body, cold compresses are to be avoided, both Dursteler and Wood said.

“If they’re large-scale burns, you don’t even want to do that because it cools them too fast, and you lose valuable body heat,” Wood added. “If you have flash burns to a larger portion of the body, say the chest and multiple body parts, putting cool compresses on them will actually facilitate heat loss, which already is happening, and hypothermia can occur.”

Burns that have no sensation or that turn white are very serious, Dursteler said.

“Those are deep burns — the nerves have been burned and are dead,” he said. “Those, obviously, you’d want to have medical attention as well.”

And for more serious injuries, “If there are any appendages or body parts that have been removed from their original source, looking for them and putting them in ice,” Wood said. “That’s enough to cool it down and buy some time until someone may or may not be able to put it back on — they can evaluate its viability.”

As with most medical procedures, the answer to the question, ‘How likely will be the success of reattachment?’ is: “It depends,” Dursteler said.

“And any there’s a flash burn or a flame burn to the head or neck, you want to be aware of inhalation of hot air or chemicals,” Wood added. “That can be recognized with charred eyebrows, singed nasal hair and perhaps soot around the mouth. Those people should be brought in for evaluation right away.”

Both doctors recommended staying away from the most invasive or powerful fireworks.

“As fun as they are, they’re unpredictable,” Wood said. “Some of them have short fuses that don’t last a long time. It’s not worth losing a finger or a limb or even getting a burn — severe burns are horrible and very traumatic. They’re not worth it.”

Darryl Henning can be reached by e-mail at .