Why popular now homemade toy-lizun can be dangerous for children?

The popularity of toy-lizunov among children is growing steadily, but parents should remember that their creation at home can harm kids.

What happened

Kathleen Quinn, an 11-year-old schoolgirl from Massachusetts, began to feel tingling and burning in her hands after she made "slime" from a mixture of glue, water and borax, CBS News reported.

Kathleen complained to her parents that her hands hurt. When the mother of the girl Siobhan Quinn examined her daughter, she saw that her hands were covered with blisters. The girl was taken to the emergency room, where the doctors diagnosed chemical burns of the second and third degree, reports CBS News.

Causes

Children are increasingly making popular "slime" at home. But why does this toy burn the skin?

The reason is a borax, or sodium tetraborate, which is part of the lizard. It is a mineral that is sold in free access as a cleaning product.

"Bura is a mild irritant, so it usually does not cause such deep chemical burns," says Dr. Michael Cooper, director of the regional burn center at Staten Island University Hospital in New York. Cooper was not involved in the treatment of the girl.

What affects the severity of the burn

Nevertheless, there are three factors that determine the severity of the burn. They apply to both chemical burns and thermal burns.

"First of all, the time period when a person is in contact with a chemical substance or a source of heat is important," Cooper said, "The longer a person is exposed to chemicals or heat, the more severe the burn will be."

Secondly, the strength of the chemical substance or heat affects the degree of burn.

And, finally, the thickness of the skin also plays a role, and in children it is more subtle, compared with adults.

In this case, the girl's skin is relatively thin, and, in addition, she played with "slime" for a long time. These factors probably played a role in the seriousness of her burns. It is also possible that the borax in the "slime" was rather concentrated. In this case, it would cause more severe burns than if it had been diluted with water.

"A chemical burn occurs when a chemical causes skin damage," Cooper said. "Until it is washed away, it will continue to cause damage."

Second and third degree burns

If the burn causes damage only to the upper layer of the skin, called the epidermis, it is referred to the first degree. First-degree burns lead to reddening of the skin, but no blisters are formed.

"But Kathleen had second-degree and third-degree burns that are more serious, second-degree burns appear when the damage spreads under the upper layer of the skin and damages the dermis," Cooper said. Blisters form during the second degree burn. This is because the upper layer of the skin becomes so damaged that it dies and the body, in turn, produces fluid to separate the dead skin from the healthy that is below. "The treatment of such burns can take several weeks," Cooper said. During the healing process, it is recommended to gently wash the burn twice a day and apply antibiotic ointment on it to fight infections. Burn should also be protected with a bandage. Sometimes a person may have problems with the movement of the hand after recovery, if this part of the body was damaged. In such cases, physiotherapy is required, since the skin or muscles can be stiff after the healing process.

"Third degree burns occur when the damage reaches the tissues beneath the epidermis and the dermis," Cooper said. "These tissues include fat, muscle, and tendons." During third-degree burns, blisters usually do not form and the skin becomes white. "

Burns of the third degree can heal for several months, and in some cases, a surgical operation may be necessary. During the operation, doctors remove the damaged skin and tissues and replace them with healthy ones from other parts of the body.