Burns and scalds: first aid

Do this now

1. 01Get them away from the heat.
2. 02Hold the burn under cool running water for a full 20 minutes. Cool, not iced. Start immediately — this works for up to three hours but works best now.
3. 03Remove rings, bangles, watches and belts before swelling starts.
4. 04Take off clothing soaked in hot liquid or chemicals — but leave anything stuck to the skin alone.
5. 05Keep the rest of them warm while you cool the burn. Children and the elderly lose body heat fast.
6. 06Cover loosely with cling film laid along the limb, or a clean non-fluffy cloth.
7. 07Go to hospital for any burn on the face, hands, feet, joints or genitals, any burn bigger than the person's palm, any chemical or electrical burn, and any burn on a child or an older person.

Do not

• ×Do not apply toothpaste, turmeric, ghee, butter, oil, ink, mud or kerosene. All of these are common, all of them trap heat, all of them cause infection, and all of them have to be scraped off later.
• ×Do not use ice or iced water. It deepens the injury.
• ×Do not burst blisters.
• ×Do not wrap cotton wool or fluffy cloth against the burn.
• ×Do not peel away clothing that is stuck.

What to tell the operator

• What caused it — flame, hot liquid, chemical or electricity
• Which part of the body and roughly how large
• Whether the skin is blistered, white or charred
• Their age

What this page cannot tell you

• How deep a burn is — the worst burns often hurt least, because the nerves are destroyed
• A burn frequently looks worse or better on day two than it did at the time