This year, China has been experiencing an intense heatwave since the beginning of summer. In early July, a 72-year-old woman in Hubei province suffered severe burns on her buttocks after sitting on a stone for more than 10 seconds, resulting in third-degree burns that required skin grafting.
According to a report from the Hubei Daily on July 18th, on July 7th at noon, the temperature in Xiangyang reached a scorching 38°C. Granny Wang, 72, was working in her vegetable garden covered in sweat and decided to sit on a rock to take a rest. As soon as she sat down, the burning sensation alerted her to the danger, but due to mobility issues, she couldn’t get up. A neighbor quickly assisted her back on her feet in just over 10 seconds.
That evening, Granny Wang’s buttocks began to swell and the pain intensified. Early on the 8th, her family rushed her to the Burns Department of the Sixth People’s Hospital in Xiangyang.
After examination, Director Qian Ben of the Burns Department discovered that there were four palm-sized areas on her buttocks showing redness, swelling, and scabbing, indicating third-degree burns caused by the high-temperature scalding and external pressure leading to thermal compression injuries.
On July 11th, Qian Ben and his team removed the damaged superficial tissue and began daily wound cleaning and dressing changes to facilitate healing.
By July 17th, after assessing her condition, Qian Ben mentioned, “The wound is healing well, and we have scheduled a skin grafting surgery for next Monday (July 21st). Granny Wang is expected to be discharged successfully within a week after the procedure.”
Qian Ben emphasized that when the surface temperature exceeds 50°C, contact with the skin can induce blisters in just one minute; over 60°C, it can cause second-degree burns in one minute; and when the skin comes in contact with a surface over 70°C, burn severity is measured in seconds, resulting in superficial second-degree burns in one second, deep second-degree burns in three seconds, and third-degree burns in five seconds. Metal, cement surfaces, and stones exposed to outdoor summer sun are potential sources of scalding.
The report mentioned that the hospital’s Burns Department has treated seven patients with superficial scald injuries in the past month, caused by contact with stone products, children playing on slides or gym equipment, delivery riders touching metal parts of electric bikes, among others.
According to China Weather Network, on July 18th, Hubei province continued to be under the sweltering heat, with cities like Wuhan and Xiangyang reaching a high of 36°C, Ezhou and Enshi at 37°C, and Huanggang at 38°C.