[KBS Live, I like Mornings] Can an electric heated mattress pad and hot packs cause skin cancer?_ Dr. Woo-jin Song appeared
Registration date: 2017/09/15
As the weather gets colder, heating products such as electric mattress pads or hot packs are used a lot. However you can get your body burnt while you sleep with a hot pack attached to your body to keep warm, or use an electric mattress pad for a long time. Dr. Won-jin Song, Director of the Department of Burn Plastic Surgery at Hangangsoo Hospital, advised, “Once the skin is in contact with a hot pack and a certain part of the skin has come to be exposed to the heat for too long, it is possible that people can suffer from low-temperature burns, relevant to second-degree deep burns.” There are some dangerous behaviours which can cause low-temperature burns; touching a hot pack with bare hands, sleeping for an extended period of time with an electric mattress pad on, or using a heater nearby for a long time. People do not treat low-temperature burns immediately because low-temperature burns are not hurting intensely like other high-temperature burns. But, when we are aware of the burn, it is likely that the burn has already been in progress. If any initial symptoms of low-temperature burns appear, it is recommended to quickly go to a burn specialist. Dr. Woo-jin Song explained the symptoms of low-temperature burns, "If you have a low-temperature burn, you will feel itchy on the skin. If the skin gets blisters, yellow or black scabs, it can be considered that you have got a low temperature burn." In addition, he said, "It is important to cool down the heat for 20 to 30 minutes in cold running water and go to a burn-specialized hospital where first aid is available for a specific burn treatment."

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