Burn surgeon explains most common grilling mistakes, injuries

THANK YOU FIVE ON YOUR HEALTH THIS MORNING FOR SO MANY OF US, SUMMER MEANS FIRING UP THE GRILL. AND WHY NOT? IT’S TASTY. IT’S FUN. BUT THERE ARE ALSO SOME IMPORTANT SAFETY REMINDERS TO KEEP THINGS THAT WAY. JOINING US IS DOCTOR JEREMY GOVERNMEN GOVERNMENT. SORRY ABOUT THAT, SIR. HE’S A SURGEON AT MASS GENERAL SUMNER REDSTONE. BURN CENTER. DOCTOR. GOVERNMENT. GOOD MORNING. THANK YOU. THANKS FOR HAVING ME. SO HERE’S A NUMBER THAT GOT US AND IT’S GOING TO GET THE VIEWER’S ATTENTION EVERY YEAR NEARLY 20,000 PATIENTS END UP IN THE ER FOR INJURIES RELATED TO GRILLS. WHAT EXACTLY KIND OF INJURIES ARE WE SAYING ARE MOST COMMON? WELL, UM, OBVIOUSLY THE MOST COMMON INJURIES ARE BURNS. AND THESE ARE BURNS FROM FLAME HOT SURFACES OR HEATED COOKING UTENSILS. BUT THERE ARE OTHER INJURIES. A DISTANT SECOND WOULD BE, UH, CUTS AND LACERATIONS FROM KNIVES AND GRILLS. AND THEN THERE’S ALSO THE WHOLE ISSUE OF FOOD POISONING FROM IMPROPERLY COOKED MEAT OR POOR FOOD HANDLING. YOU SAID IT. YOU MENTIONED IT A MOMENT AGO. BURNS ARE AMONG THE MOST COMMON PROBLEMS WHILE GRILLING. TELL US ABOUT THE MOST COMMON MISTAKES PEOPLE MAKE AND HOW WE CAN PREVENT THOSE. UM, SO MOST COMMONLY, UH, IT’S NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO TO THE GRILL. RIGHT. LEAVING THE GRILL UNATTENDED. UM, SO IT’S REALLY IMPORTANT TO STAY CLOSE TO THE GRILL AND MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A SOBER, RESPONSIBLE ADULT. UM, YOU KNOW, ALCOHOL IS A HUGE CONTRIBUTOR TO BURNS. UM, SO SOBER ADULT IS KEY. ALSO, USING THE WRONG UTENSILS, TRYING TO USE AN IMPROPER UTENSIL OR A SHORT HANDLE. SO REALLY, YOU WANT TO HERE YOU WANT TO USE A LONG HANDLED, A LONG HANDLED, UH, HEAT RESISTANT TOOL. USE THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB. UH, WEARING THE WRONG CLOTHING. UH, FREQUENTLY PEOPLE WILL WEAR A LOOSE OR FLAMMABLE CLOTHING WHEN YOU WANT TO WEAR SOME FITTED CLOTHING. NO LOOSE SLEEVES. NO STRINGS, AND OPTIMALLY WEAR A HEAVY DUTY APRON. UH, AND EVEN SOME GLOVES. AND THEN LASTLY, THE OTHER ISSUE IS, UH, IMPROPER IGNITION TECHNIQUE. AND THAT CAN HAPPEN WITH EITHER GAS OR COAL WITH A GAS GRILL, ALWAYS OPEN THE LID, THEN TURN IT ON AND THEN LIGHT IT. NEVER CLOSE THE LID. LET THE GAS BUILD UP BECAUSE THAT CAN RESULT IN AN EXPLOSION. AND WITH COAL IT’S EITHER USING TOO MUCH LIGHTER FLUID AT THE BEGINNING AND YOU GET A FLASH, OR IT’S NOT USING ENOUGH. AND THEN TRYING TO ADD LIGHTER FLUID AFTER, UM, SO YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU GET IT RIGHT, AS WITH, UH, WITH THE GAS GRILL, YOU KNOW, USE THE MANUFACTURER’S INSTRUCTIONS A LITTLE BIT MORE ON THAT. DO THE DIFFERENT GRILLS COME WITH LIKE A WHOLE DIFFERENT SET OF RISKS, LIKE MORE FOR GAS OR COAL? CHARCOAL. YEAH. SO OVERALL, UM, I THINK THERE ARE JUST MORE GAS GRILLS. SO WE SEE MORE INJURIES FROM GAS. BUT THEY BOTH HAVE UM, THEY BOTH HAVE SOME SIMILAR RISKS WITH, WITH IGNITION. LIKE I SAID, FLASH BURNS FROM EXPLOSIONS. UH, CAN BE DUE TO PROPANE OR INAPPROPRIATE LIGHTER FLUID USE. UM WITH WITH WITH CHARCOAL. YOU ALSO HAVE THE ADDED RISK OF CARBON MONOXIDE, WHICH IS PRODUCED WHEN THE CHARCOAL BURNS. SO IT’S COLORLESS, ODORLESS. YOU HAVE TO ENSURE YOU’RE DOING IT IN A PROPERLY VENTILATED SPACE. UM, IT SOUNDS OBVIOUS, RIGHT? BUT, UH, NEVER USE IT IN A HOUSE. NEVER, NEVER BURN CHARCOAL IN A HOUSE OR IN A TENT OR A VEHICLE OR A CAMPER. ALWAYS MAKE SURE YOU’RE IN A WELL-VENTILATED AREA AND ANOTHER PROBLEM WITH COALS IS THE IMPROPER DISPOSAL OF THE COALS. WHEN YOU’RE DONE GRILLING. UM, IT REALLY TAKES ABOUT 48 HOURS WITH THE LID CLOSED FOR THE COALS TO COMPLETELY COOL. UM, AND THEN YOU WANT TO PLACE THEM IN A METAL CAN OR WRAP THEM IN FOIL BEFORE YOU THROW THEM OUT. UM, THERE HAVE BEEN, YOU KNOW, REPORTS OF HOUSE FIRES EVEN AFTER WAITING 24 HOURS. IF YOU, UH, YOU THINK THE COALS ARE COOL AND THEY’RE NOT SO MANY PEOPLE THINK IT WON’T HAPPEN TO THEM. THEY CAN MAYBE CUT, TAKE A LITTLE SHORTCUT AND THEY’LL BE FINE. AND IT’S NOT TRUE. YOU WANT TO FOLLOW THAT ADVICE, DOCTOR? JEREMY, GOVERNMENT, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US THIS MORNING. THANK YOU. THERMOMETERS. GOOD TO.