Catrin Griffiths, 29, from Bangor in North Wales, is warning parents after her eight-month-old daughter Neli Hughes suffered severe burns when she dipped her hand into a hot gravy boat at a pub. The incident happened on August 16 during a family roast dinner, when a waitress placed the gravy boat on Neli's placemat. In a split second, Neli submerged her left hand into the hot liquid and, as she pulled it out, spilled the rest onto her left leg.
Immediate response and hospital transfer
The nursery worker stripped her screaming baby from her gravy-soaked clothes and held her hand under a cold tap for 10 minutes. She then wrapped Neli's hand and leg in a damp muslin cloth and took her to A&E at Ysbyty Gwynedd Hospital in Bangor. Due to the severity of the burns, Neli was transferred to Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool, Merseyside.
At the hospital, dead skin was scraped off the burns before they were covered in gel and dressed in gauze to help them heal. Catrin claims the doctor said her daughter had suffered a third-degree burn on her hand and a superficial burn on her left leg.
Mum's warning to other parents
Catrin described the incident as a silly mistake and is now urging people not to place hot liquids in front of babies or young children. She said: "The waitress started bringing the food out. She brought out a hot jug of gravy and she placed it on Neli's placemat so it was directly in front of her.
"It was a silly mistake that she [the waitress] did this. You would never put a pint of beer or cup of tea in front of a baby, so why would you do this?"
Ongoing care and fear of scarring
Catrin has taken Neli back for check-ups and to get her dressings changed. She fears Neli may be left scarred for life and says she'll have to be careful in the sun from now on. Catrin said: "She does have a lot of scarring on her hand now, and they don't know if this will heal or not.
"When she gets into the bath her hand changes colour and goes really red, we have to watch her in the sun as it was such a bad burn."
Catrin is now raising awareness about the dangers of placing hot items in the reach of children. She said: "I would just say, you need to be really careful and think before you put things down in front of a child. Make sure you put hot things further away from children. It's not even just hot things; you wouldn't put a knife and fork in front of a baby, due to the danger it carries.
"When they get to this age, they're so inquisitive and want to learn so they're constantly touching everything and picking things off the ground. They're into everything. If this had never happened to Neli, I wouldn't have thought this was something to worry about."
