How to Deal with Burns and Scalds

Lucy Piper: Hello, I'm Lucy Piper. Children can get burnt so easily when your back is turned for just a moment. With me is Paul Sheehan from St. John Ambulance to tell me mom Laura and Finley what to do? Laura McKie: What's the difference between a burn and a scald? Paul Sheehan: A scald is caused through a hot liquid and other burns can be caused in a variety of ways. Lucy Piper: So what do we do, Paul, if our child does get burnt or scalded? Paul Sheehan: The most important thing is in any instance we always follow the DRABC Rule. Now the DRABC quite simply means check for danger first. Hot water, knives, perhaps left lying around, that type of thing, anything that can hurt you. We also then look say, if there is a response. But in most cases where there is a burn, there is usually lots of screaming and chances of carrying on, so we have it -- so from there we have a response, we have an airway, we have breathing, we have circulation. The most important thing with a burn to cool it as quickly as possible. Lucy Piper: Right. So your child has a scald or a burn, how is a cling film helpful? Paul Sheehan: Well, once you cool the burn for the minimum of ten minutes, cling film is excellent because it's made for the food industry, therefore, it's sterile. What we do is we tear off the first few inches or so because that could be contaminated in the kitchen. And then from there all we do is we take an extra length and we simply, can I just borrow you arm for one second gentleman. Laura McKie: He will be a demonstrator for you. Paul Sheehan: We simply place it around the arm, not pulling it tight. Just raise your arm, and just simply roll it around and when you get to the end, what we will do is we'll use a pair of scissors and we'll actually cut that off rather than pulling it, and then all we need to do is at the top and at the bottom, we just tuck it down and that way you can see through but it keeps it clean. Lucy Piper: And you put a cool compress to begin with. Paul Sheehan: No, no, no, just cool it under cold running water for ten minutes, that will do it. Laura McKie: And it seems very loosely by that. Paul Sheehan: And it's on very loosely, if you pull in it can tie, it does actually cause more pain. Lucy Piper: And how long would you leave that for? Paul Sheehan: Well, that I would leave on until such time as I got them to the hospital and they have had it, they have checked it over. The nice thing about cling film of course is it doesn't stick. So when they remove it, it will simple lift off. Lucy Piper: Right, and normally every home has got one, so it's a good thing too. Paul Sheehan: Most homes all perhaps a cling sandwich bag would work. Lucy Piper: Right. We are talking about burns from hot things, are there other types of burns as well? Paul Sheehan: Yeah, you can be burned from a naked flame, you could be burned from a hot surface, you can get friction burns, sun-burn, those type of things. Lucy Piper: Ice? Paul Sheehan: Ice also burns. Lucy Piper: Would you treat all these burns the same, Paul? Paul Sheehan: Yup, they all get treated in exactly the same way. Laura McKie: Can I just ask you something? Butter is an old-fashioned way of treating a burn. Can I use some sprays instead? No? Paul Sheehan: Well, butter, as you know, butter contains fat. If you place that on to a hot surface it keeps the heat in. So it actually makes it worse and sprays that type of thing really they shouldn't be put on to a burn at all. One thing you must always ask yourself, why put a chemical on to a person, do I know if they are having allergic reaction. So the best thing is simply cold water. Lucy Piper: Okay, Paul as you follow these steps, your child has been burned or scalded you follow steps, they are still in so much and it doesn't look like it's improving, when do you call an ambulance? Paul Sheehan: If you're concerned -- obviously if you're concerned at all then we are going to call an ambulance. But the rule generally stains, if you have say a sun-burn for example, it covers the entire chest, the entire back, you take him to the hospital. If you have a blistered area, so it can be you won't just get one but you can get lots of blisters. If it covers an area this size of the palm of the hand and it's the casualty's palm not yours, then that person should be treated. And if there is a small black charred area where all white around the skin where it's been damaged, and if any size burn of that type then you take them and get them treated. Lucy Piper: Thank you very much, Paul! So here is a reminder of what to do if your child gets a burn or a scald. First of all check the dangers around you, then cool the burn as quickly as possible for at lease ten minutes and remove anything restricting them. Then treat for shock and finally get medical help if you need it.