Scalds in the very young: prevention or cure?

Childhood scalds are a regrettable, but common cause for admission to the McIndoe Burns Centre. A survey of the recent literature confirms that this is not a local but an international problem, and furthermore that the majority of scalds affect children less than 2 years of age. With hindsight, it is possible that a sizeable proportion of these scalds could have been prevented. Taking into account a survey carried out at Waikato, New Zealand, we should like to propose a scheme for public health education; this will be carried out by medical and nursing staff from the unit and will form the basis for a prospective study.