|
|
|
Burn Awareness
February 27, 2008 |
Area physicians say household burns are quite common in the emergency room,
especially in children. “Scalds are the number one burns we see in the Emergency
Room. That tends to be especially in children the bath tub was too hot and the
child was put in it or they reached up onto the stove and pulled a pot of
boiling water on them,” says Dr. Larry Hobbs the Director of Emergency Medicine
at Southwest Florida Regional Medical Center. February is National Burn
Awareness Month and Dr. Hobbs says every family should be aware of the proper
first aid for burns. “If you come into contact with hot liquid or flame and you
have burned your skin the first thing to do is removing the offending agent or
if there is clothing that has been scalded with hot water or steamed remove that
as well.” The next step is cooling the skin to bring down the temperature. But
ice cold compresses may do more harm than good. “In the past we had recommended
that you put ice and bring down the temperature quickly. But we found out over
time that if you did that it would decrease the blood flow to that tissue and it
would cause the tissue to necroses or die so we recommend a cool compress,” says
Dr. Hobbs. Soak towels in cool water and cover the burned area to bring down the
temperature without shocking your skin. But if the pain only gets worse it’s
time to see a physician. “If it’s too painful to take care of at home with
Tylenol or Advil then it’s important to go to the emergency room,” says Dr.
Hobbs. Third degree burns which are very serious may not be extremely painful
but you’ll be able to see burned muscle and tissue. Those types of burns need
immediate attention and may need to be treated at a burn center. Burn injuries
are the second leading cause of accidental death in the United States. |
|
|
|
