Burns

Simple Tips to Help Burn Victims

Burns can be a difficult injury to treat if one isn’t aware of some basic first aid tips for burns. A person can be burned by chemicals, heat, fire, electricity, radiation, sunlight or hot water. Burns can cause damage to the tissues of the skin and they can also cause other problems such as the airways and lungs can be damaged as well.

It is important that burns are treated promptly, but the first thing one needs to do upon dealing with a burn victim is to ascertain what kind of burn the victim has.

Burns come in three different degrees, knowing which degree of burn a person has can be essential in determining what first aid tips for burns will needed to be used.

Below is the list of all types of burns:

1 First Degree Burn (The least sever of burns)

This burn may also be referred to as a superficial burn as it only has an effect on the epidermis or outer layer of skin. A burn of this nature will be painful with a moistening and reddening surface. It generally will not have blistering or charred tissue.

2 Second Degree Burn (The more severe). They go in deeper into the skin and destroy the epidermal layers of skin and move into the dermis which is the middle layer of the skin. Skin will be moist, reddish and weeping. They are prone to change the skin color of the affected area.

3 Third Degree Burns (The most serious). As they destroy the first two layers of skin and even into the subcutaneous or fat layers. Skin can be bright red, white and waxy or brown. There generally are no blisters but there can be swelling. These burns are generally not painful as the nerve endings are destroyed.

When one approaches a burn victim there are basic first aid tips for burns that one must follow. The first is making sure that the burn victim and those helping them are out of harm’s way. Next one must stop the burning process. This is generally done by first removing any clothing that is not stuck to the burn and then flushing the area with cold water.

If it is a severe burn this should be done until medical help arrives. If it is a minor burn it is best to leave the burn uncovered so that it can get air, but if it will come into contact with clothing then a loose dressing can be applied. Do not put butter or oil on the burn. With these simple first aid tips for burns one can help a burn victim until medical help arrives.