School is out. Kids are beating the heat at the pool. But it’s easy to forget how hot the pavement. Your children can easily burn the soles of feet if they aren’t wearing any shoes.
Gabriella Rizzo takes a dip three times a week for swimming lessons at the Garside pool. Her mom, Melyssa, said sometimes her 8-year-old daughter forgets to put something on her feet when she goes to and from the water.
“They think they can just get there and they won’t burn their feet,” Melyssa Rizzo said.
The heat can sneak up your child if they walk barefoot on the pavement, even by the pool. “It feels really, really hot. It really burns my feet,” said Gabriella.
Dr. Jay Coates, the Medical Director for the Lyons, Regional Burn Center at University Medical Center, said it’s easy to forget how high the ground temperature can rise. “I’ve had three of these cases coming in just the last week,” Dr. Coates said.
Coates said walking barefoot on scorching pavement can be dangerous.
“Anything over 110, 115 degrees, you’re going to start getting burned,” he said. “In a matter of 45 second to a minute, you can burn the layers of skin off your feet and have second or third degree burns."
The same goes for pets. We showed Scott Levin the temperature as he walked his dog across the parking lot of a strip mall. He couldn’t believe how hot the ground was. “One hundred thirty degrees. Oh my goodness! That's at lot!" Levin said.
Levin decided to give his pet some TLC. “Now, I'm going to make sure i pick her up."
Dr. Coates said make sure your kids wear shoes, especially ones with thick soles, when they go to the pool, the park or the playground. If you're walking your pets, take them out early in the morning or once the sun starts to go down when the ground is cooler.
