What should I do for a hot water burn?

Most burns occur at home, in everyday life. Everyone knows that when handling hot liquids, you need to be extremely careful, but sometimes injuries happen, so it is important to know how to behave in such a situation and what to do if you get burned by hot water, boiling water or steam.

First of all, you need to eliminate the effect of hot water on the skin, i.e. remove clothing, then cool the affected area under a stream of cold water for several minutes (from 5 to 20 minutes, depending on the severity of the burn), which will reduce the pain of the burned area. You can also use ice packs or cold air. If the pain is severe, you can take (inject) a painkiller. To prevent infection, you need to cover the wound with a sterile bandage.

Treatment of the burn depends on the extent of the damage; self-opening of blisters is prohibited.

It is contraindicated to lubricate the burned area with blisters with alcohol-containing products, iodine, manganese, vegetable oil, as well as fat-based preparations.

For burns, it is recommended to use special preparations - levomekol, panthenol, which will help reduce inflammation, restore damaged cells and speed up the healing process.

If you don’t have any special burn remedies at hand, you can use traditional medicine methods.

You can wash the wound with cooled tea leaves (green or black), or you can apply a bandage soaked in tea to the affected area.

If possible, it is recommended to apply a cut aloe leaf to the burn, which will help relieve inflammation and restore damaged tissue.

The most effective remedy for burns is considered to be sea buckthorn oil or propolis ointment.

Sea buckthorn oil has long been used as a tissue repair and scar prevention agent. If you use sea buckthorn oil immediately, the healing process will be faster.

What to do if you get scalded by boiling water?

Burns are often caused by careless handling of hot liquids. Most burns from hot water are caused to children, so parents should know what to do in case of a burn.

If a child accidentally spills boiling water on himself, you need to remove his wet clothes as quickly as possible.

The burned part of the body must be cooled (under a stream of cold water, cold air, etc.). It is important to know that you cannot cool the burned skin with ice water or ice, since the sudden change in temperature can cause complications and shock.

After this, you need to treat the affected area with any anti-burn medication, which should always be in your home medicine cabinet. The most effective for burns are Panthenol and Levomekol, which are good pain relievers, relieve inflammation, swelling, and restore damaged tissue.

If the burn is first degree, there is slight redness, the affected area is small, then self-treatment is allowed. If blisters appear after the burn, the skin is very red, swollen, you should seek medical help. If the child feels unwell after the burn, the temperature rises, etc., you should immediately visit a doctor (or call an ambulance), regardless of the degree of the burn.

What to do if you get a steam burn?

Many people do not know what to do if they get burned by steam. Such burns are classified as thermal, but the damage from steam burns is several times greater than from open fire.

As with any other thermal burn, the integrity of the skin is damaged, the top layer of skin partially dies, blood circulation is disrupted, inflammation and swelling appear.

In case of steam burns, you should act in the same way as with other types of thermal burns, first of all, you need to remove the victim from the source of steam, if necessary, remove clothing (you need to remove it as quickly as possible, you can use scissors or a knife). Next, the burn site should be cooled with water, which will help prevent a burn in the deeper layers of the skin. You can give the victim painkillers to drink (analgin, pentalgin, etc.). After treating the wound with a special agent (Panthenol), you need to apply a clean bandage and seek medical help.

Great care should be taken in case of third and fourth degree steam burns; in this case, you should immediately call an ambulance or take the victim to the hospital, since self-treatment can lead to serious complications.