Exploding vapes and e-cigarettes causing burn injuries

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — Kids may think vaping looks cool, but there are lots of kids who’ve gotten burned by exploding e-cigarettes.

“Between the years of 2015 and 2017, there were over 2000 exploding e-cigarette and vape devices that caused burn injuries in our country,” said Kara Judd, the burn injury prevention coordinator at the Clark Burn Center at Upstate Hospital.

And the Clark Burn Center is seeing it too.

“We’re starting to see more frequency in these, three to four a month,” Judd said. “And we really want to get ahead of it to see if we can prevent these injuries from happening because burns are lifelong.”

Hands, thighs and hips are getting burned.

“Anywhere they might be carried close to the body. And these injuries, because of the intensity of the explosion and the heat of the flame, they are typically third-degree burn injuries.” Judd explained.

These are serious burns, requiring hospitalization, grafting or many surgeries. And it happens so fast.

“Once thermal runaway starts, you have tenths of a second before a burn injury can occur,” Judd said.

Parents, pay attention and educate your kids. And let them know what can happen if they do vape.

“They should not be using any that have drop damage any damage to the batteries. They should not be using off-brand chargers or inexpensive, cheap chargers to charge these devices because of the risk of house fire from the devices if they were hidden somewhere, in a bedroom, for example,” Judd said.

Plenty of examples why vaping is not a safe option for your teens.