What do you do when you get a burn?

Mortality from burns is quite high, so every person needs to know what to do in case of a burn to prevent negative consequences. In addition, it is necessary to imagine an approximate classification of burns and methods of first aid.

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Burns are divided into thermal, i.e. as a result of exposure to steam, hot water, fire, and chemical, resulting from chemical substances coming into contact with the skin.

First-degree burns affect the top layer of skin, and such injuries are considered the least dangerous injuries. With a first-degree burn, the skin turns red and a small swelling appears. If the burn occupies more than 25% of the area (in an adult), then the injury is considered severe.

In case of a thermal burn, it is necessary to eliminate the source of high temperature (fire, steam, hot water) and, if possible, cool the affected area with cold water for several minutes. If a chemical substance gets on the skin, it is necessary to rinse the affected area well with cool water. After that, the affected area is treated with a special anti-burn agent (panthenol, etc.) and covered with a sterile bandage (do not use plasters or alcohol solutions). As a rule, first-degree burns recover in 7-10 days, chemical burns take a little longer to heal.

With a second-degree burn, in addition to redness, watery blisters appear. Blisters should only be punctured in a hospital setting to prevent infection. The affected area should not be treated with oils or ointments, as this creates a favorable environment for bacteria to multiply. With second-degree burns, you need to cover the affected area with a dry bandage and seek medical help. If the affected area is not large, you can apply a special agent to the wound. The recovery period usually takes 10-14 days.

Any burns to the respiratory tract are considered second-degree burns.

Third and fourth degree burns significantly damage the skin and muscle tissue, and if a large part of the skin is burned, a fatal outcome is possible. Often such burns cause shock in a person.

When transporting the victim on your own, it is important to minimize contact of the burned areas with a non-sterile surface.

In this case, burns are treated only in a hospital, and the sooner a person receives qualified medical care, the better. In some situations, skin grafting surgery is necessary. Before the ambulance arrives, you can give the victim a painkiller and plenty of fluids.

What to do if you have a skin burn?

The first thing to do when you have a skin burn is to rinse the affected area under cool running water. In the case of a thermal burn, this will help cool the skin surface and prevent further damage. In the case of a chemical burn, water will help wash away any remaining substance from the skin surface and stop the burning effect.

Next, if the burn is not significant, it is recommended to apply an epidermis-restoring cream or ointment (Panthenol, Bepanten) to the affected area. In case of severe burns, it is necessary to seek medical help as soon as possible.

What to do if you burn your hand?

A hand burn is the most common injury. Usually such burns occur when touching an iron, fire, boiling water, as well as when handling chemicals carelessly. Treatment depends on the severity and area of the lesion. What to do with a hand burn first is to cool the burned surface or wash off the remains of chemicals. Further actions depend on how badly the hand is burned. If the burn is not severe, you can use Panthenol, Bepanten, etc. If a large part of the hand (or the entire hand) is affected, you must call an ambulance.

What to do if you burn your finger?

A burn of a finger, like any other part of the body, requires immediate first aid. First of all, this is cooling the finger or washing off the remains of the chemical. Keep the finger under running cold water for quite a long time until the pain begins to subside. After that, if necessary, blot with a clean dry napkin, apply a skin regeneration product with an anti-inflammatory effect to the affected finger (Bepanten, Panthenol, Levomekol). In case of deep burns, a doctor's consultation is required.

What to do if you burn your leg?

What to do if you have a leg burn depends on several factors (depth of damage, area of the burn, etc.). With any burn, it is important to provide assistance in the first minutes, i.e. wash the affected area with cool water (in the case of a thermal burn, this will help cool and reduce pain, and in the case of a chemical burn, remove the remains of the drug that caused the burn).

After providing first aid, for minor burns (without blistering), a burn remedy with wound-healing and anti-inflammatory properties (panthenol, solcoseryl, etc.) should be applied to the affected area.

Deep burns should be treated under the supervision of a specialist.

What to do if you have a facial burn?

When there are burns on the face, many people ask the question of what to do with a burn in order to get rid of the marks as quickly as possible.

In case of deep and severe injuries, it is not recommended to apply bandages with ointments or creams to the face, as this may prevent specialists from assessing the depth of the burns. When transporting to the hospital, you can cover the face with a light, dry gauze bandage to avoid exposure to external irritants.

Hospital treatment is only necessary for deep burns, as damage to the eyes or respiratory system is possible.

Treatment of minor burns is carried out at home according to the doctor’s recommendations.

In case of thermal burns of the skin of the face after cooling of the skin, it is recommended to treat the wound with cooling creams, disinfectant ointments. If there are no blisters, you can lubricate the affected area with medical alcohol. Treatment of minor burns is carried out in an open or semi-open way (short-term application of compresses with medicinal preparations).

What to do if your eye is burned?

Eye burns can occur for various reasons: exposure to high temperatures (steam, boiling water, fire, etc.), ultraviolet radiation, infrared radiation, or chemicals coming into contact with the mucous membrane of the eye.

In case of an eye burn, it is necessary to quickly provide first aid to the victim, after which it is necessary to wait for an ambulance or go to the hospital yourself.

The first thing to do when you burn your eye is to rinse it thoroughly with running water. It is not recommended to use any neutralizing solutions, as unpredictable reactions are possible. To treat burns, a specialist prescribes painkillers and antibacterial ointments, drops, and physiotherapy procedures.

What to do if you burn your tongue?

Burns of the tongue are common in everyday life. Usually, there is a mild degree of damage, with redness and slight swelling, which occurs due to too hot food or drink. Chemical burns of the mucous membrane of the tongue are less common. Burns are extremely rare due to radiation or electricity.

What to do if you burn your tongue is a question that interests many. So, if you burn, you should rinse your mouth with cold water for a long time, after which you can treat the affected area with a weak solution of furacilin. If blisters appear on the tongue, it is recommended to seek medical help (surgery may be required).

In case of chemical burns, after rinsing thoroughly, painkillers are recommended, as well as treatment of the damaged mucous membrane with anti-inflammatory agents (sodium tetraborate). After a few days, you can use traditional medicine (honey, fish oil, rosehip oil, sea buckthorn oil). For faster healing, you should not eat foods that irritate the mucous membrane (citrus fruits, salty, sour, spicy foods).

What to do if you burn your lip?

Lips are the most delicate part of the face. Burns can be thermal (boiling water, hot objects, etc.) or chemical. What to do with a lip burn practically does not depend on the type of injury; in the first minutes after the injury, it is necessary to thoroughly wash the affected area with running water (the exception is burns with quicklime, which should not be washed off with water).

Chemical burns should be treated with neutralizing solutions, then treated with anti-inflammatory and wound-healing agents (panthenol, rescuer, solcoseryl).

If blisters or ulcers appear, an antiseptic should be applied before eating. You should also avoid spicy, salty, and sour foods during treatment.

What to do if you have a burnt throat?

What to do with a throat burn depends on what caused the burn. After gargling with cool water, in case of a chemical burn, you need to neutralize the effect of the substance that caused the burn (with soda or diluted acetic, citric acid). In case of thermal damage to the mucous membrane of the throat, after gargling with cool water, you can give a drink (or give an injection) of painkiller (novocaine). After providing first aid, a specialist consultation is necessary.

What to do if your palate is burned?

The first thing to do when burning the palate is to try to alleviate the condition of the victim. Plain cool water is a good pain reliever, you need to rinse your mouth until the condition improves (burning, pain stops). After that, it is recommended to use anti-inflammatory drugs (sodium tetraborate). Honey, which is a natural anti-inflammatory, healing agent with an antibacterial effect, also has a good healing effect.

What to do if your gums are burned?

Gum burns can occur not only due to high temperatures (hot food, etc.), but also when chemicals come into contact with the gums (for example, during dental treatment).

It is quite difficult to determine what to do in case of a gum burn, since only a doctor can assess the extent of the injury. In case of a burn, it is necessary to provide first aid to the victim: reduce the effect of the burning substance (remove the remains of the chemical from the oral cavity), give a painkiller (in case of severe pain), rinse the mouth.

Further actions depend on the degree of injury. Minor injuries are treated by rinsing with solutions with an antiseptic effect (furacilin) and healing agents (sea buckthorn oil). In addition, rinsing the mouth with herbs (chamomile, St. John's wort) may be prescribed to reduce inflammation and speed up recovery. Treatment of more severe burns is carried out under the supervision of a specialist.

What to do if you have a head burn?

What to do in case of a head burn also depends on the degree of damage, the cause of the injury, etc. A head burn can occur from prolonged exposure to the open sun without a hat, from exposure to chemicals (hair dyeing at home, applying masks to the scalp, etc.), and a head burn can also be caused by radiation therapy or a hot object.

In case of a chemical burn, it is necessary to thoroughly rinse the head and remove the remains of the substance; in case of sunburn (after cooling with cool water), it is recommended to use sunburn creams; in case of thermal injury, the victim must be taken to the hospital as quickly as possible.

Self-treatment of head burns is not recommended, as it can cause negative consequences (baldness, infection, etc.)

What to do if you have a burn blister?

The formation of blisters on the skin surface indicates deep tissue damage, in which case the burns are classified as second-degree, i.e. life-threatening. Blisters can form immediately after the burn or after some time. Usually, blisters appear on the skin after burns with boiling water or after excessive tanning. Such burns are very painful, in addition, the general condition after the injury can significantly worsen.

Piercing or damaging the resulting blisters in any way is something that is strictly prohibited in the case of a second-degree burn. Only a specialist can decide to open a blister in the case of suppuration (in case of infection and inflammation). Opening is only performed in a hospital.

Treatment of burns with blistering is carried out independently only when the affected area is no larger than the palm of the hand (treatment with anti-inflammatory and wound-healing agents); in other cases, hospitalization and treatment in a hospital are required.

What to do if a child has a burn?

Burns in children require urgent care. The effectiveness of burn treatment in this case depends on timely first aid.

What to do if a child has a burn depends on the severity of the injury. If the burn is not large, you should immediately wash it with cold water, apply a cool compress, treat the wound with a special agent (panthenol, furacilin ointment, Boro-plus, Rescuer), if necessary, you can apply a bandage. If it is difficult to treat the wound, you can soak gauze with a burn remedy and apply it to the affected area (change 2-3 times a day).

You should call an ambulance immediately if the affected area turns purple, becomes covered with blisters, or if clothing sticks to the burnt area. For minor burns, when treatment can be done independently, it is recommended to use natural-based preparations (with aloe, honey, sea buckthorn oil).

What should you do in case of a burn?

The first thing to do when you get a burn is not to panic. If the burned area is no more than 10%, then the burn is practically not life-threatening. It is recommended to immediately rinse the burn under water. In the case of a thermal burn, this will help cool the surface and prevent damage to the deep layers of the skin. In the case of a chemical burn, running water will help remove the remains of the substance so as not to damage the deep tissues.

If the burn is minor but blisters are formed, you need to make sure that inflammation does not begin. Cloudy yellowish liquid in the blister and redness around it may indicate an infection in the affected area. In this case, you need to seek immediate medical help.

Severe, multiple and extensive burns, as well as burns of the mucous membranes, require urgent medical care. Before the ambulance arrives, you can wash the affected area with cool water and cover it with a dry, clean bandage.

How to bandage a burn?

Dressings for burns are necessary to prevent dust, infection, etc. from getting into the wound and to avoid causing severe inflammation (suppuration).

The bandage on the burnt surface should not be tight, so as not to further injure the inflamed areas and not to disrupt blood circulation (otherwise, tissue death is possible). Also, the bandage should be well fixed on the wound.

If necessary, the gauze bandage can be soaked in medicine (furacilin solution, novocaine).

What to do in case of a burn and how to bandage a wound are the first questions that arise with this type of injury.

First of all, it is worth noting that the bandage should be done only with clean hands, a sterile napkin should be applied to the wound, then carefully secured with a bandage to the damaged area (not too tightly).

What should not be done in case of burns?

What should not be done with burns is an important question. As a result of incorrect actions with such injuries, the process of healing and tissue restoration can increase, in addition, serious consequences are possible (inflammation, suppuration, etc.).

So, you cannot treat the affected area with fat (vegetable oil), brilliant green, iodine, alcohol (in case of deep tissue damage) immediately after a burn. Such actions can aggravate the situation and prevent specialists from determining the degree of the burn, which will lead to initially incorrect treatment. You also cannot use ice to cool the damaged area, as this can provoke tissue frostbite.

If blisters appear, you should not open them yourself (pierce, scratch, etc.), as this can lead to infection and severe inflammation.

What to do after a burn?

When a burn occurs, not only the burned area of the body suffers, but the entire body as a whole. With burns that occupy more than 15% of the body surface, a significant deterioration in the general condition is possible (burn disease), so it is better to spend some time under the supervision of specialists.

What to do with a burn and after it depends on the severity of the injury. With a mild burn, regular wound treatment with special products is recommended, if necessary, you need to change the bandage 1-2 times a day, and follow a gentle regimen.

In case of severe and extensive burns, hospitalization is required.

What to do in case of a burn and how to provide first aid is important for everyone to know, since these injuries often occur not only at work, but also at home. Household burns are the most common type of injury, especially among small children. In such a situation, the main thing is not to get confused and provide first aid in a timely manner, which will help not only to alleviate the condition of the victim (reduce pain), but also make the recovery process easier and faster.