Burns are nasty things. If you don’t take care of them when they happen, you can be sure that they will get infected. Yet, you might not be able to get to a hospital. You might have to take a first aid class to understand how to help someone who has been severely burned. Here we will guide you in the steps you should take to give the proper first aid treatment for burns until you can get them to the hospital to be checked out.
First, you need to know what degree of a burn they have. First degree will look a little red with some swelling and pain. There’s second degree burns that have blisters and looks splotchy. Then, there are third degree burns which will be charred, but might look white as well as dry. Now, you won’t treat all burns the same. The minor ones should be treated differently from the third degree burns which are the worst. Let’s look at the minor burns first as they are the easiest to cure. For minor burns, it’s rather simple to give first aid. The first thing you will want to do is cool the burn. Run it under cold water for ten to fifteen minutes. If you find that the pain stops before the ten to fifteen minutes, you can remove it from the water. If you can’t run it under water due the burn being in an awkward spot, then you need to go about and put a cold compress on it. This will help to take away the swelling.
After this, you then need to sterilize the burn. You want to get some gauze which should be in any first aid kit that you should have near you. Make sure it’s not cotton as this will stick to the wound. It also could get lint into it. Make sure that you wrap it lightly. You don’t want to put too much pressure on it. What this will do is protect it from the air which will then reduce the pain. After you do this, you might want to take pain medication that you can get over the counter. This will do and you shouldn’t have to see a doctor unless it’s oozing or seems to get worse. This is how to do first aid treatment for minor burns For major burns though, there are some differences in how you care for them. You will notice blisters, don’t pop them. As you get to the victim, don’t remove any of the clothing, don’t pop any blisters. The first thing you will want to do is call 911. While you are doing this, you will want to look and see if the person is breathing, coughing, or if there is any movement at all. If they aren’t breathing, you will want to do CPR.
If they are breathing or after you get them breathing, you then need to elevate the burned portion of their body. You want to be sure to raise the area above the heart. You don’t want to douse the wound with cold water as this could shock the person. Rather, you want to wrap the burned area with a cool, moist, and sterile cloth or bandage and wait for help. This is all that is needed for first aid treatment for burns.