While most parents are scrupulous about slathering on sunscreen on our children, few of us are aware of the summer staple that can cause terrible burns to a tot's delicate skin.
While riding the current heatwave, Arizona mom Dominique Woodger decided to let her 9-month-old boy cool off in the baby pool.
Unfortunately the hose had been sitting in the sun, and the water in the pool instantly left the infant with second-degrees burns over much of his body.
"It's heartbreaking..." said Woodger. "All of it was peeling. He had blisters all over the right side."
Although her son will recover, Woodger doesn't want the same fate to befall other wee ones this summer.
You wouldn't immerse your baby in a bath of water straight from the kettle. But when you fill a pool with a garden hose, the water may be just as hot.
Dr. Kevin Foster, director of the Arizona Burn Center, claims hose water can get up to 190 degrees Fahrenheit. Not boiling, but close to it. At that temperature, burns happen instantly and tend to run deep, since infant skin is thin.
I don't know about you, but I rarely check the temperature of the water coming out of my own hose since I assume it's glacially cold. Not so.
Foster recommends storing garden hoses indoors if possible, or at the least on a hose wheel to ensure the water is drained before use. It's never a good idea to let a hose sit in direct sun.
Prevention is the best medicine. But we're parents, who are we kidding?! In spite of our best efforts, accidents sometimes still occur.
If burns do happen, immerse in cool water - not ice - and seek medical attention immediately for areas larger than the palm of your hand or deeper than a pink surface.
Don't do what elders once considered a good remedy circa 1970s and coat the burn in butter! Butter should be only used for frying eggs. I have a dandy reminder of that stroke of genius on my hand to this day.
Accidents will happen, but scars don't have to.
RELATED: Summer Skin Safety 
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