Home care providers warned of fire risk posed by skin creams in shocking video

Home care providers are being warned of the dangers of skin creams and lotions in the homes of people relying on care and support by a shocking new video that demonstrates the fire risk they pose.

The UKHCA has collaborated with the National Fire Chiefs Council and the Medicine and Healthcare Products Agency in a new campaign to raise awareness of the fire risk associated with the use of skin creams to treat dry skin conditions.

The UKHCA has updated its guidance for home care providers on skin creams and lotions after seeking advice from the London Fire Brigade.

The updated guidance reflects the latest advice the Medicine and Healthcare Products Agency which urges minimising the risks linked with their use.

The agency warns 'Tests and research have shown that the dried-on cream makes the fabric more flammable and the resulting fire burns quickly and intensely, resulting in serious injury or death'.

In the campaign video, a woman talks about how she "didn't realise" the skin cream applied to her mother's skin dried on her clothes and made them "burn faster".

The video warns that creams applied on the skin can dry onto bandages, clothes and bedding to make them more flammable.

The warning comes after research from Anglia Ruskin University, De Montfort University and the NFCC’s Emollient Group confirmed that both paraffin and non-paraffin emollients can act as an accelerant when absorbed into clothing and exposed to naked flames or other heat sources.

Skin creams, sometimes known as emollients are used by many people to help manage different dry skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis and ichthyosis. The creams are easily transferred from skin onto clothing and bandages.

People who use emollients and smoke are at greater risk of setting themselves on fire, due to the flammable residue that may be left on clothes, bandages and bedding, warns the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC).

Wash laundry at 'highest temperature possible'

The UKHCA guidance states: 'The main risk to service users who regularly use skin care products is that of accidental ignition which may be due to: smoking, the use of candles or incense sticks, being close to heat sources such as heaters or cookers, electrical sources such as electric blankets and rechargeable batteries'.

The UKHCA guidance warns: 'Items which have come into direct contact with a skin care cream or lotion such as clothing, bed clothes and bed linen should be laundered daily to prevent potentially hazardous build-up'.

Home care providers are advised to wash 'at the highest temperature possible' allowed by the type of fabric (as shown on the care label).

'If dressings are used with an skin care cream or lotion, they should be changed daily'.

The UKHCA guidance 'Skin care creams and lotions - Guidance for Homecare Providers' can be found here