Clothing burns in Zaria.

From 1980 to 1989, 45 patients with clothing burn injuries were admitted into the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Nigeria. Children aged 15 years and below numbered 30 and adults aged 16 years and above totalled 15. There was a female preponderance in the ratio of 1.8:1. The cumulative monthly frequency between October and February recorded the highest number of admissions (77 per cent) with a peak in January (31 per cent). The involvement of women and children especially those below the age of 5 years is noteworthy. Eighty per cent of the patients had a major injury with a total mortality of 42 per cent. The improvement in the economic standard of the populace shown by the improvement in cooking methods, the proper use of gas cookers and kerosene lanterns, the avoidance of bedside fires during the night, the guarded use of loose indigenous garments, and the use of nursery schools for the care of children below 5 years of age will help to lower the incidence of clothing burn injuries in our environment.