FORT HOOD, Texas--If it’s really hot outside, it’s 20 to 40 degrees hotter inside your car, so under no circumstances, should you leave your child in the car, advise health professionals at Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center.
Already this year, 10 children in the U.S. have died from heat stroke while left unattended in vehicles, according to Jan Null, an adjunct professor of meteorology at San Francisco State University who studies the frequency of these deaths. Forty-nine children died in 2010, the worst year on record.
For more than 10 years, Texas has led the nation with more deaths than any other state. There were 13 deaths in Texas in 2010 and four of the latest deaths have been in central and south Texas.
“The bad news is, it’s a big problem in Texas,” said Anita Paniagua, trauma nurse coordinator for CRDAMC. “The good news is that we haven’t had any deaths at Fort Hood. We’ve had near misses, but we’re doing well considering our large population of young children.”
Paniagua and Beverly Fulton, trauma coordinator and registrar for the hospital, promote education, awareness and prevention of potentially life-threatening events leading to trauma.
There have been two incidents this year on post according to Fort Hood Fire Department Deputy Chief, Coleman Smith. In the first incident, a child was left in the vehicle while the mother went into the hospital and the second incident occurred in family housing. In both cases, the cars’ windows had to be broken to remove the child.
“Throughout the years, there have been cases of kids locked in cars, but it’s been more of an ‘honest mistake’ type of thing, where the parent accidentally locked the car with the keys and child inside. They immediately called 911 and stayed with the car/child until emergency technicians arrived and the child was rescued without suffering trauma,” he said. “Our problem at Fort Hood is that we have more of a transient population, and people from out of state just don't realize just how hot it gets, and how quickly Texas can heat up.”
Whatever the outside temperature, a vehicle’s interior temperature can rise 19 degrees in just 10 minutes. In one to two hours, it can rise 45 to 50 degrees, according to officials at Safe Kids, a nationwide network of organizations working to prevent unintentional childhood injury, disability, and death for children.
Temperatures inside a vehicle can quickly rise to over 100 degrees. Heatstroke occurs when the body core temperature reaches 104 degrees. A core body temperature of 107 degrees is considered lethal as cells are damaged and internal organs shut down.
“A child’s temperature regulating system is not as developed as an adult’s. A child’s body warms three to five times faster than an adult’s,” Fulton said. “They don’t have to be left in the car long before they begin having problems.”
Paniagua and Fulton arranged for the Safe Kids van to visit the hospital from the Central Texas Regional Advisory Council. Parked out front by the main entrance, the van had a digital display showing the inside temperature.
“Visitors were amazed at how hot the inside of the van got. It wasn’t a scorcher outside that day, but a closed-up van parked for a while can get hot,” Fulton said.
Even at relatively cool ambient temperatures, the temperature rise in vehicles is significant and puts infants at risk for hyperthermia (elevated body temperature). Leaving the windows opened slightly does not significantly slow the heating process or decrease the maximum temperature attained, according to Safe Kids officials.
Fulton and Paniagua said the other most-heard comment that day, was “I would never leave my child in the car.”
But according to statistical data for circumstances surrounding hyperthermia deaths from 1998 through 2010, 51 percent of the cases reported the child was "forgotten" by a caregiver.
“I know it’s hard to believe, but it does happen. And, it can happen to anyone, all ages, all races. Parents have so much on their minds and can get distracted and then zone out,” Paniagua said. “Another risk factor for leaving a child in a vehicle is when there’s any change in the normal routine. Perhaps the mother always takes the child to day care, but one day the father has to take the child. Since he’s not used to doing that he may forget, leave the child in the car.”
Experts say the stressed-out brain can bury a thought, something as trivial as a coffee cup or crucial as a baby. Paniagua and Fulton suggest the following tips from Safe Kids to help prevent leaving a child unattended in a vehicle:
" Keep a stuffed animal in the car seat; when the child is put in the seat, place the animal in the front with the driver.
" Place your purse or briefcase in the back seat as a reminder that you have your child in the car.
" Make "look before you leave" a routine whenever you get out of the car.
" Set your cell phone or Blackberry reminder to be sure you dropped your child off at day care. Set your computer calendar program to ask, “Did you drop off at daycare today?”
" Have a plan that if your child is late for daycare that you will be called within a few minutes. Be especially careful if you change your routine for dropping off little kids at day care.
" Teach children not to play in any vehicle. Check vehicles and trunks first if a child goes missing.
" Lock all vehicle doors and trunk after everyone has exited the vehicle " especially at home. Keep keys out of children’s reach.
If you’re thinking it’s “okay to leave your child in the car while you run in the store for just a couple minutes,” Paniagua warned, you couldn’t be more wrong. You may escape harm, but you can face legal consequences.
In Texas, it is a Class C misdemeanor to knowingly or intentionally leave a child unattended in a vehicle for longer than five minutes. If the child dies, it could be escalated to a felony of child endangerment or criminally negligent homicide.
Dial 911 immediately if you see an unattended child in a car. Emergency medical professionals are trained to determine if a child is in trouble.
For more information on preventing child heat stroke deaths, please visit www.ggweather.com/heat and www.safekids.org/nlyca.
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