First Aid Course : Immediate Steps for Effective Care For Burn Injury

Burn injury is a very common occurrence in our daily life, and first aid course for burn injury is crucial as it is often accidental and can happen at any time. Most often, medical help is not available at hand. During such an emergency, first aid treatment plays a major role in saving the victim’s life.
Burn injury is treated based on the depth, severity, location, duration and type of the burn. Therefore, before providing any kind of treatment it is very important to know the source, depth, nature and intensity of the burn.
There are three types of burn injury called 1st degree burn, 2nd degree burn and 3rd degree burn.
When epidermis (top layer of the skin) is affected it is called first degree burn. The injury heals within a week or two. The symptom of this kind of burn is mild pain, redness and mild swelling. Its a minor kind of burn injury, and doesn’t require medical assessment.
2nd degree burn affects epidermis (outer layer of the skin) and dermis (dermis means middle layer of the skin). They are very painful as they injure nerves. Inflammation, redness, severe pain and formation of blisters are the characteristics of 2nd degree burn. Consultation with a doctor is needed in this case.
3rd degree burn is the extreme one where not only epidermis and dermis, even muscles and bones are affected. It is a life-threatening condition, and takes a long time to cure. Most of the time pain is not felt, as it damages nerve endings. It requires emergency medical assessment.
Again, based on the depth and percentage of the injured spot, burn injury can be categorized into two: Minor burn and Major burn.

first aid treatment
Minor burn:
- When less than 10% of the body skin is burnt it is called minor burn.
- It covers less area of the skin, usually the size of one palm or 3 inches in diameter.
- The outer area of the skin is affected.
- Includes first degree burn
- Redness, swelling, inflammation.
- Generally visiting a doctor is not necessary, as the skin heals itself within 7-10 days.

first aid treatment
Major burn:
- Major burn is when the larger portion of the skin (more than 20% of the skin in case of adults and 10% in case of a child) including epidermis, dermis, bones and muscles is burnt.
- Generally it includes 2nd and 3rd degree burn.
- White, brown, yellow or black patches on the skin.
- Presence of blisters.
- Requires emergency medical help. It cannot be treated at home.
Nature of burn injury first aid treatment :
Based on the source of burns, they are catagorised into the following terms:
Thermal Burns: burns due to hot objects like hot metals, steam, smoke, flames or hot liquids are thermal burns. (Scalds is the burn caused due to hot liquids like boiling water, boiling oil etc). This type of burn is very common, especially in childrens.
Radiation burns: burns caused by radiation. For example, the ultraviolet rays of the sun, radiation therapy like X-Ray etc. Applying aloevera gel will provide relief to the wound.
Electrical burns: burns due to coming in contact with alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC). It’s a very severe case as heart is affected badly due to electric current, and the wounds are not always visible outwardly. So, take the victim to the hospital immediately to avoid further complications.
Chemical burns: burns caused due to the contact of acids, detergents, alkalis etc. Keep the affected portion of the skin under water for a longer time. Wash carefully so that the chemical does not split to the unaffected areas. Chemical burns are very severe. Consulting with a doctor is a must.
What is to be done in burn injury before the arrival of any medical help?
1) Call on your local emergency number for medical help if it is a major burn.
2) Distant the victim from the source of the burn.
If its a burn due to electric current then turn off the electric connection. Don’t touch the victim with bare hand or foot. Use non conducting materials ( wooden stick, plastic, rubber etc.) to distant him from the source of electricity.
3) If there is fire in the cloth, wrap the victim with wet blanket or tell the victim to roll on the ground. first aid treatment Take the victim to a well ventilated place, as smoke contains carbon mono oxide which is very poisonous and causes death.
4) Place the burnt spot under running water ( be it a major or minor one) for 10 to 20 minutes. It will clean the spot and will lessen pain, swelling and inflammation.
5) Don’t use icy water or ice, as it will make the injury worst. Don’t leave the victim on cold water for a long time.
6) Remove jwellery ( ring, watch, belts, chain etc) from near the injured spot as it would be difficult to remove them if the injured spot swells. Don’t remove them, if they are already stuck to the skin. Leave it to be done by the medical assistants.
7) Apply antibiotic ointment on the wound. (only for minor injury)
8) Cover the wounded place with non sticky and clean garments or gauge to avoid infection.
9) Make gap in the joints of toes or fingers with the help of gauge or bandage, if there is a chance of sticking one finger or toe with the other one. ( this happens in major case)
10) Don’t use any kind of paste, moisturizers, butter, cream or honey to the injured spot because burn injury is prone to infections.
11) Don’t burst blisters. There are chances of infections if blisters are ruptured.
12) Don’t use cotton. It will get stuck to the injured spot and removing it from the skin will be difficult and painful.
When to seek emergency medical aid?
- when its a major burn
- burn injury in infants or childrens
- burns caused due to chemicals and electric current
- if there are fractures, broken bones, internal injury along with burn injury
- if the victim is having breathing difficulty
- 2nd and 3rd degree burn
• facial burn, genital burn, burn near eye sight, groin and other sensitive part of the body.
Any burn be it minor or major is important and need proper monitoring. A first aid treatment knowledge here plays a vital role. A first aid treatment at correct time can save a life. On the contrary, wrong or partial knowledge can be life-threatening to the victim. Joining a first aid treatment course will help you to have in-depth knowledge in it.