Police have warned against a playground craze – “burning” one another with aerosols.
One officer said children in Sussex had suffered “nasty burns” – which are actually frostbite injuries – as a result of spraying one another with aerosols used to treat asthma.
PC Kate Brookman, who is the schools officer for south Wealden, issued a warning on a Facebook page she runs for pupils and parents in Sussex.
The officer, who looks after schools in Hailsham and Heathfield, said: “Just want to mention a little ‘craze’ that is going around at the moment.
“I’ve recently had to see a number of people about spraying parts of their body with aerosol asthma sprays.
“This has resulted in some nasty burns. One young man I saw actually had the skin on the back of his hand peeling off. This is dangerous, you could end up with an infection, but it could also get you into trouble.
“If you spray someone else and they then complain, it is assault. Please don’t do it, buy a yoyo instead.”
It is not believed other schools’ officers in Sussex have reported this.
A Sussex Police spokeswoman said: “It sounds like a ‘craze’ that is isolated to south Wealden.”
Safety advice
A spokesperson for Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said: “Do not pierce aerosols, even when they are empty, because there is always some pressure, and possibly some of the product left.
"It may be flammable or cause injury if you pierce the can.
“Keep aerosols out of the sun and in a cold dry place away from heat. The pressure inside the can increases greatly in the heat and may cause it to burst.”
The “burn” is caused by the pressurised gas within an aerosol spray cooling quickly.
This causes a sudden drop in temperature which causes frostbite.
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