Urgent hot water bottle warning as hospitals see rise in injuries
A significant increase in burn injuries linked to hot water bottles has sparked urgent safety warnings as new figures reveal a worrying trend.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) is urging the public to be careful, check bottle age and condition and avoid overfilling ahead of National Burns Awareness Day on 15 October.
Data from the Children’s Burns Trust and the International Burn Injury Database (iBID) show an 11% increase in hot water bottle-related burns between 2023 and 2024, reaching 978 cases. This marks the highest annual total in more than two decades.
Meanwhile, figures show the number of injuries has almost doubled in five years, from 499 in 2019.
Ken Dunn, retired consultant burns and plastic surgeon and deputy chairman of the Children’s Burns Trust, said: “It is worrying to see such a sharp increase in burns caused by hot water bottles, especially in young children.
“We know that these injuries can lead to long-term physical and psychological effects, so prevention is key.
“With the colder months of the year approaching and the ongoing financial strain of many households, we are urging families to avoid using hot water bottles for their children.
“If you use these at home, you should keep two important pieces of information in mind on how to use them safely: Never fill them with boiling water, and always check the rubber flower symbol on the neck, which indicates which month and year the hot water bottle was made. Bottles that are more than two years old should be replaced.”
This comes after the British Standards Institute (BSI) re-commissioned its national committee to review and update the hot water bottle standard in response to growing concerns about burns.
The last standard was published in 2012 and the committee that oversaw it disbanded in 2024 as part of BSI’s standards review process, with no current chair.
Adrian Simpson, head of policy at RoSPA, said: “We are pleased that the hot water bottles and microwaveable kettles committee has been re-appointed by the BSI to provide clear guidance to manufacturers on improving product safety.
“RoSPA is proud to have been invited to chair the standards committee to help ensure these products reflect the latest security requirements.
“However, these items – especially old ones – can still pose a risk, so we urge the public to follow simple safety steps to stay warm without injury. We will also address this issue in future discussions with policymakers and standards bodies.”
