Introduction. Hot water bottles are commonly used to relieve pain and for warmth during the colder months of the year. However, they pose a risk of serious burn injuries. The aim of this study is to retrospectively review all burn injuries caused by hot water bottles presenting to our regional burns unit. Methods. Patients with burns injuries resulting from hot water bottle use were identified from our burns database between the periods of January 2004 and March 2013 and their cases notes reviewed retrospectively. Results. Identified cases involved 39 children (aged 17 years or younger) and 46 adults (aged 18 years or older). The majority of burns were scald injuries. The mean %TBSA was 3.07% (SD ± 3.40). Seven patients (8.24%) required debridement and skin grafting while 3 (3.60%) required debridement and application of Biobrane. One patient (1.18%) required local flap reconstruction. Spontaneous rupture accounted for 48.20% of injuries while accidental spilling and contact accounted for 33% and 18.80% of injuries, respectively. The mean time to heal was 28.87 days (SD ± 21.60). Conclusions. This study highlights the typical distribution of hot water bottle burns and the high rate of spontaneous rupture of hot water bottles, which have the potential for significant burn injuries. 1. Introduction Hot water bottles are commonly used within the United Kingdom to provide warmth during the colder seasons and to relieve pain associated with conditions such as pancreatitis, cholecystitis, back pain, and pain related to menstruation. There are no formal figures on the number of hot water bottles sold within the United Kingdom; however, in Australia it is believed that well over 500,000 bottles are sold annually [1]. Hence it would not be unreasonable to assume this number to be well above a million bottles a year within the United Kingdom where the population is almost three times greater and the climate even colder. The financial hardships following the United Sates financial crisis of 2007-2008 resulted in a global recession with an immediate knock-on effect in the European region with the United Kingdom also being significantly affected [2]. A number of causes for the financial crisis have been postulated, each with different degrees of importance, and include high risk financial products, undisclosed conflicts of interest, and failure of the regulators of the financial industry [2]. The crisis resulted in the loss of thousands of jobs and a decrease, or even stagnation of pay, fostering an environment of austerity within the home. This, together with
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