Tap-water scald burns. Awareness is not the problem.

Review of admissions to a regional burn center showed that tap-water burns were an injury of pediatric, elderly, and neurologically impaired patients. A study was designed to measure general knowledge of tap-water injury and awareness of tap-water temperatures in homes. All those surveyed realized the potential for tap-water scald burns in their homes, and few believed that they could tolerate hot-only tap water at home for as long as 30 seconds. Respondents who had previous experience with tap-water burns had not lowered the settings of their water-heater thermostats. Economical but effective programs must be developed to encourage burn-reduction behaviors in high-risk groups.