A cup of instant noodles could save your hunger. But it can also end your children in a hospital. Shook? Well, that’s what recent studies have found. Piping hot noodles have been found to cause instant burns in children.
A recent study published by the University of Chicago researchers in the journal “Burns” found out that instant noodles are responsible for the burns of almost a third of children.
What has the study found?
The research team at UChicago Medicine’s Burn Center found out that in all pediatric patients, who were admitted with scald injuries caused by hot liquids between 2010 and 2020, most of them had them caused by instant noodles.
“Anecdotally, it felt like every other child we were consulted on for a burn was injured by instant noodles, so we wanted to dive into the data to see what the trend really was,” said senior author Sebastian Vrouwe, MD, assistant professor of surgery at UChicago Medicine. “Our hope is to develop the groundwork for future burn prevention programming, as essentially all childhood burns are in some way preventable.”
According to the survey, out of the 790 burn cases that were reviewed, 31 per cent were children.
Further, African American children and children who lived in areas with lower Childhood Opportunity Index (COI) scores were more likely to suffer these scald burns than their peers. Unsupervised children also faced higher risk: 40 per cent of instant noodle burns occurred when children were reported to be alone during a time of injury, the study found it.
Although the survey has a restricted geography, researchers hint at a larger narrative of the dangers being posed by instant food items.
How do instant noodles cause burns?
The starchy liquid of instant noodles can cause severe injury to the skin. Although it comparatively causes less harmful scald burns than others, it could still lead to situations where children could be hospitalised.
Despite prevention initiatives and caregiver education, an estimated 100,000 children in the United States each year suffer scald burns from food and beverages alone, the study notes.
What are the preventive measures?
Burns of this sort can be caused while removing containers from the microwave, along with spills while eating due to the narrow bases of instant noodle cups.
In terms of preventing noodle burns, researchers say that caregivers should always have an adult remove noodles from the microwave and keep them out of reach until sufficiently cooled. Eating at a table as opposed to on a lap, he said, is another way to reduce burn risk.
