Health visitor shares ‘biggest’ accidents that land babies in A&E

A health visitor issued a warning to parents about common accidents that can lead to children being rushed to A&E.

Ruth Watts, known as @ruthwattshv on TikTok, highlighted several incidents that frequently result in hospital visits for babies, toddlers and older children. Surprisingly, the “biggest” culprit is hot coffee and tea related incidents, with drinks without milk reportedly being “much hotter”.

She explained how easily a disaster can occur when a hot drink is left unattended or forgotten about. However, she stressed a baby’s skin is “much thinner” than an adult’s, so severe burns can occur if extra caution is not taken.

The safest course of action is to keep all hot drinks completely out of reach.

She added: “Another one is babies rolling off the bed, or off the sofa onto hard surfaces. Many people don’t think babies can roll, which they usually don’t, but sometimes they do and this can lead to significant head injuries.

“Cleaning products – typically those stored under the sink. I don’t mean to sound patronising by stating that these items are dangerous, particularly if ingested, they can be fatal but also cause serious burns.”

She added: “I have had my own experience with this with my daughter. She managed to get into the cupboard, the lock was off for some reason.

“We’re all human, parents are just human, we all make mistakes – and she managed to ingest fabric conditioner. So, it happens, it happens to the best of us.”

Ruth also highlighted the hazards of young children tumbling down the stairs, and stressed the necessity of stairgates, particularly when babies are “unsupervised”.

For older kids, Ruth underscored the perils of plummeting off scooters without a helmet, noting that head protection is imperative, regardless of how fast they go.

The video has since racked up over 2,000 views, sparking a flurry of comments and shared anecdotes.

One individual replied: “My baby lost her finger in a door. At the plastics, they see so many accidents with fingers.”

Someone else commented: “My daughter rolled off the bed, and I literally looked away for a second. Felt so guilty, I cried so much.”

Meanwhile, another person added: “In a cafe and this lady was holding a tray of hot drinks above my baby. I was on edge.”