First Aid - Treating Burns and Scalds
Treating Burns and Scalds
When skin meets a substance or object, whose temperature is greater than 120º Fahrenheit, depending on the length of exposure, the hot object can burn the skin. Scalds are a form of a burn involving liquid or steam over 120º degrees Fahrenheit. Burns to the body can vary in degrees. First aid can be administered depending on the degree or level of damage to the area. A medical professional must treat burns quickly if there is a burn to joints, the face, eyes, genitals, the inner ear or the mouth. A non-professional may treat most minor burns. There should not be any fat, muscle or bone showing. If there is, this is not a first or second-degree burn. Do not attempt first aid on any burn greater than a second-degree burn.
A first-degree burn causes damage to the epidermis, which is the top outer layer of skin. The burn should not be larger than 3 inches in diameter. A first- degree burn is pink to red in color and there may be slight swelling. With a second-degree burn, there is damage to the dermis. The dermis is the inner layer of skin that lies beneath the epidermis. The skin is very red and may appear wet and shiny. There may be some blistering, which should not be popped. Again, in order to successfully treat this kind of burn, the affected area should be no larger than 3 inches in diameter.
First aid for these types of burns or scalds is simply cooling the skin down and not allowing the heat to penetrate. Run cool water or apply cool compresses to the area for 10 minutes. A topic antibiotic or ointment may be used to prevent infection. Afterwards, lightly wrap sterile gauze over the area to keep it clean from debris. A mild over the counter pain reliever can be taken to help manage the pain from the burn. Change dressing daily and look out for pain, swelling, streaking, oozing or a strong smell.
First and second-degree burns unfortunately happen. Thankfully, first aid for burns and scalds is relatively simply.
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