Health officials warn against handing sparklers to children this holiday

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - Many people will celebrate Independence Day with a firework show, but if you are planning to set some off at home, local doctors said not to use sparklers with kids this year.

Doctors with Children’s of Alabama said they are gearing up for a busy fourth of July. They said they usually see kids suffering from burns because of handheld sparklers.

Pediatric emergency medicine fellow, Dr. Alicia Webb, said many people think sparklers are safe to hand kids because they don’t shoot off into the air, but she said that’s not the case.

Webb said sparklers can get up to one thousand degrees, which can even melt some types of glass. She said they burn quickly, and the sparks are strong enough to leave serious burns on your kids’ skin.

“Those can be very challenging; they are very painful. But also, can cause scarring and long-term complications too,” she said.

Dr. Webb said kids recover well from most things, but depending on the severity of the burn from a sparkler, it can be challenging and impact their ability to use their hand in the future.