How to treat a first-degree, minor burn

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First aid for treating minor burns

Speaking of Health

Tuesday, May 16, 2023

Topics in this Post

• Safety
• Emergency Medicine

It’s easy to get a burn on your arm or hand from a hot pan while cooking. Extremely hot water — over 110 degrees Fahrenheit — can cause burns, as can stoves, fires, hot food and the sun.

Most burns are minor and you can manage them at home, but it’s important to know the signs of a more serious burn. More severe burns can cause serious complications and may require emergency treatment. One of the most important things to do is to act fast.

Burns cause different degrees of damage.

• A first-degree burn is minor. It affects only the outer layer of the skin.
• A second-degree burn affects the second layer of skin, called the dermis.
• A third-degree burn reaches into the deeper layers beneath the skin.

Treating a minor burn

There are many myths about how to treat a minor burn. Your questions may include: Should you pop the blister? Do you use hot or cold water on it? Is it good to cover a burn with a bandage?

Follow these tips for treating a minor burn:

• Place the burned area under running water slightly colder than room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes or until the pain eases. Or put a cool, clean, damp cloth on the burn.
• Be aware that the burned area may swell. Remove tight items, such as rings or clothing, from the burned area as quickly as possible.
• Do not break a blister if it’s bigger than your little fingernail. If the blister does break, clean it with mild soap and water. Apply an antibiotic ointment, and cover the area with a bandage or gauze.
• Applying moisturizer, aloe vera gel or other pain relief gels may provide temporary relief. Don’t slather on butter — sometimes mentioned as a home remedy — because it retains heat and could be contaminated with bacteria.
• Keep the wound covered with a loose dressing to help it stay clean and decrease pain.
• Ease the pain with an over-the-counter pain reliever, such as Ibuprofen, naproxen or acetaminophen.
• Make sure you’ve had a tetanus shot within the last 10 years because you can get tetanus through an open wound in the skin.

When to see your health care team after a burn

See your health care team if the symptoms worsen or a larger blister develops. Large blisters are best removed by health care professional as they rarely will remain intact on their own.

Also, seek care if the burn:

• Covers a large area of the body
• Has other associated injuries
• Has infection-like signs, such as oozing from the wound, increased pain, redness and swelling
• Involves the area around the eyes, nose or mouth
• Is severe or deep

Call 911 for emergency medical help for major burns.

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• Don’t let unsafe toys spoil holiday fun
• Use caution with fireworks
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• Household safety checklist for senior citizens

Paul Horvath, M.D., practices emergency medicine in Eau Claire and Menomonie, Wisconsin.

Topics in this Post

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• Emergency Medicine

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First aid for burns: do’s and don’ts

Health

May 1, 2022

Instructions for different types of burns, which will help you not to lose your head at the moment of danger.

A burn is an injury to the skin or mucous membranes, usually caused by high temperatures, but also by chemicals, radiation or electricity. These injuries are the 4th most common type of injury worldwide.

When to see a doctor

Minor burns can be treated at home: they disappear quickly and do not leave marks. But it is necessary to call an ambulance or come to the hospital if:

• the burn was caused by electric shock or lightning;
• it is due to the action of chemicals;
• difficulty breathing or burning of the airways. Symptoms may not appear immediately, so pay attention if the person is coughing, has a sore throat, singed hair on their head or nose;
• the burn affects deep-lying tissues – large blisters on the skin that merge with each other;
• skin looks dry or charred, with white, brown or black patches;
• site of injury swells rapidly;
• the lesion is located on the face, buttocks or genitals;
• a child or an elderly person was burned;
• there are signs of shock – cold and clammy skin, shallow breathing, weak pulse;
• received other injuries;
• have serious chronic diseases, such as diabetes.

First aid for burns

Burns can become inflamed, scarred and even life-threatening, so it is important to act as soon as possible. Action will vary depending on the cause of the injury.

First aid for thermal burns

Most often, such injuries occur at home. For example, because of hot food or drinks, as well as kitchen appliances. To make a small burn go away quickly and leave no traces, proceed as follows:

1. Immediately remove the wound away from the hot. The sooner you interrupt the high temperature, the less tissue will be affected.
2. Cool the affected area with cool or lukewarm running water.
3. Cover with a clean cloth to protect the skin. It is not necessary to tightly wrap the burn site, the bandage should not press.
4. For severe pain, you can take an over-the-counter pain reliever such as ibuprofen or paracetamol.

If a burn occurs, for example, during a fire or a traffic accident, there may be other injuries or smoke poisoning. Therefore, in such cases, be sure to call an ambulance and provide first aid.

1. Protect the person from fire, steam or hot objects if you can do so without endangering yourself.
2. Check breathing and pulse. Start CPR if necessary.
3. Remove any clothing and jewelry near the burn, as injured tissue swells quickly.
4. Loosely cover the area with a clean cloth or gauze.
5. If possible, raise the wound above the level of the heart.
6. Watch for signs of shock.

First aid for sunburn

Even on a cloudy day near the water, you can get sunburned, so doctors recommend not to be in the sun from 10:00 to 16:00, and always use sunscreen the rest of the time. If the skin is red, warm and sore, you should:

1. Move to a cool place or shade.
2. Take a cool shower or bath to cool down. You can gently wipe the skin with a damp towel.
3. Use a light after-sun lotion or gel, such as aloe vera.
4. Drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration.
5. Protect skin from direct sunlight with clothing until burns are gone.

Usually sunburns disappear on their own, but if they recur or are very painful, it is worth contacting a therapist.

Find out more 🌞

• Do’s and Don’ts for Sunburn

First aid for chemical burns

Burns caused by acids and lyes can be very dangerous. They are not visible, and the solutions penetrate deep into the tissues, so:

1. Put on gloves and carefully remove the chemical, remove contaminated clothing. If this is, for example, a T-shirt, then do not try to pull it over your head so as not to accidentally stain your neck, head and hands – it is better to cut the fabric right away.
2. Wash the affected area with as much water as possible. Do not rub the solution over the skin, as this may increase the area of ​​the burn.
3. As we said above, chemical burns require a mandatory examination by a doctor – seek help.

First aid for electrical injuries

Electric shocks are dangerous in that they may not have any external manifestations and at the same time disrupt the functioning of internal organs. For example, kidney or heart.

Here’s what to do in case of electrical damage.

1. If you can move on your own, break contact with the current. If you see someone injured from a low-voltage source, such as household appliances, use a wooden stick or other non-conductive material to move the device away from the victim. Do not approach a person who is connected to a high voltage source, such as a transformer, current collector of an electric train, or a conductor rail in a subway.
2. Let us remind you that in case of any electrical injury, you should definitely see a doctor. So call an ambulance or go to the hospital.

Definitely not to do for burns

• Do not open blisters to avoid infection.
• Do not try to remove anything stuck to the skin to avoid further injury.
• Do not use ice for cooling: cold also damages tissues, because of it, the injury will only become deeper.
• Do not apply greasy and thick creams, ointments or oils – they will create a film, the skin will not cool under them.
• Do not use “folk remedies”: sour cream, eggs, honey and others. You can introduce an infection, and it will be difficult for doctors to clean the wound.

This article was first published in August 2017. In April 2022, we updated the text.

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what to do at home

A hot frying pan, a pot of boiling water, a hot kettle made of stainless steel or glass are items that require special attention. But no matter how careful the housewives try to be, burns in the kitchen still happen when cooking. Usually thermal lesions are minimal, but sensitive and painful, causing severe discomfort.

How to act correctly in such situations? How to help yourself or another family member to reduce burning and pain?

Contents

1. First aid for burns
2. Folk recipes for burns
3. Helpful tips

First aid for burns

or an electric stove of a frying pan or a pot, we wince in pain and reflexively withdraw hand. Even a small mark causes redness and burning, but if the damage is more serious, blisters appear.

The main thing at this moment is not to get lost and not to worry.

What to do:

• disconnect the appliance from the mains or remove the kettle, pan from the stove. Even if the water has not boiled or the dish has not reached readiness, it is better to cook it later. In the turmoil, even with a slight pain shock, it is easy to forget about cooking, and then the food will burn or the soup will “run away” from the pan;
• quickly apply a cold compress to the affected area or put your hand under a water tap. This will reduce pain, protect healthy tissues from damage. Use a napkin moistened with cool water (10-12 degrees). Ice is not recommended!

Jewelery (rings, bracelets) is removed from the affected hand, otherwise it will be more difficult to do later, treat the burn area with any antiseptic. Solutions of chlorhexidine or furacilin are suitable as a disinfectant.

If the injury site hurts and there is a strong burning sensation, it is recommended to take an analgesic, such as baralgin or any painkillers found in the home medicine cabinet. A compress will help reduce pain – a bandage dipped in a novocaine solution.

It is advisable to have specialized ointments on hand for such cases. Solcoseryl gel, effective and proven by many Bepanten ointment, and Rescuer balm help well. These are universal remedies with a regenerating effect, accelerating healing and helping to tighten damaged areas, and prevent inflammation.

The agent is applied by the open method, treating the skin with the preparation, or a sterile bandage impregnated with ointment, gel is applied (closed method).

Dressing with ointments like tetracycline or levomecol is indicated for thermal burns with small blisters. But in such cases, especially if there is severe pain, burning and chills, it is still better to call the doctors.

Folk recipes for burns

What should I do if I burned my finger with a frying pan, but there are no pharmaceutical preparations at hand? Home-tested folk remedies will help:

• raw potato gruel . A little vegetable is rubbed into a plate, spread “mashed potatoes” on a cloth or bandage and applied to the burned area;
• sea buckthorn oil . Lubricate the skin or apply an impregnated bandage;
• agave juice (aloe) . Fleshy leaves are applied to the redness (with a cut to the skin) or the tissue is soaked with the juice of the medicine plant and a bandage is made.

Effectively relieves pain, reduces burning sensation cabbage leaf . It is applied to the site of injury and secured with a bandage.

The second way: finely chop a cabbage leaf, add raw egg white to the gruel, mix. Apply the mass to the burn site and secure with a bandage. It seems to be simple means, but giving results, and this has been verified by the experience of many housewives.

Helpful Hints

It is good if the thermal damage is small and is expressed only in mild pain and redness of the skin. After 3-5 days, the injury is forgotten. But if the burn of the hand with a frying pan is strong, blisters have appeared, it is necessary to contact specialists after taking the first measures. This is especially important if the injury is to a child or an elderly person.

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This causes a sharp temperature drop, which leads to a deterioration in human well-being. It is best to apply a cool compress, which is held for 10-12 minutes;

smear burned areas with sunflower oil, fermented milk products (sour cream, curdled milk, kefir). They do not relieve pain and burning, but slow down healing;

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Why the oil in the pan catches fire and how to put it out

A few more useful recipes are in the video.

It is advisable to have universal ointments or gels in your first-aid kit that help with burns and various household injuries. In severe cases, when the skin turns red, blisters swell, do not self-medicate.

Now you know what to do if you get burned on a frying pan, hot iron or kettle.