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Children seem particularly susceptible to getting burns simply because they don't understand the risks around them. Anything from a sunburn to kids playing with matches can lead to significant burns with life-threatening infections.
A board-certified plastic surgeon who works with burn victims, Dr. Farah Naz Khan told Mom.com that many burn situations require medical attention.
“As a general rule, burns of the face, eyes, ears, feet, hands, joints, or groin area should definitely be referred for medical attention," she said. "Patients with any underlying medical conditions or those suffering from chemical/high-voltage electrical burns and burns with suspected inhalation injury should also be referred to burn centers.”
What to do if your child gets burned
When I was in the class to become a first-aid instructor, the way a burn was explained made a distinct impression in my mind. Getting burned was likened to cooking a steak; when you pull the steak off the grill, you don’t eat it right away but instead allow it to “rest.” While resting, the steak actually continues to cook. This is what happens when your skin gets burned, which is why you need to stop the burning as soon as possible.
First steps to take after suffering a burn
The first step to stopping the burn is to get away from the burning source. If this is fire, extinguish any flames by snuffing it out, pouring cool water on it, or stopping, dropping, and rolling. The next step is to continue to run fresh, cool water over the burn to stop the skin tissue from burning. Fresh water is important, as you don’t want to introduce bacteria to the wound if at all possible.
“Cool it, clean it, cover it” is the best practice, Annette Matherly from the University of Utah Burn Center said in an interview with the University of Utah Health podcast, The Scope.
Assess: different degrees of burns
Assessing the burn can start while you run cool water over it. You will be able to tell if the skin is blistering or peeling. Burns are diagnosed by degree: first, second, or third degree. First-degree burns are mild, like a light sunburn. The skin becomes red with mild pain.
A second-degree burn is more serious and suggests that the burn goes beyond the surface of the skin. These burns are more painful with significant redness, swelling, and blistering. A third-degree burn is the most serious and affects the tissues deep beyond the skin surface. You will see blistering in areas surrounding it blackened (or white), charred skin. The patient may describe the area as numb since there may be nerves damaged.
Don’t assume that a third-degree burn can only happen with a flame. There are many “dares” kids are doing that can lead to chemical burns, such as the salt-ice challenge. Always look at the burn to determine the degree of severity.
First-aid kit for treating burns
You will need a few things to treat a burn before seeking medical attention if necessary. Make it a point to add these items to your home first-aid kit:
• Sterile bandages
• Dressings of various sizes
• Tape
• Burn cream
• Scissors to cut away any clothing or to secure the dressing.
Once you have cooled the burn, you will want to cover the area with a sterile bandage. This should be a loose wrapping that doesn’t press the bandage to the painful injury. For second- and third-degree burns, apply antibiotic ointment as soon as possible. This will help prevent infection from setting in on the vulnerable injury.
If you are out and about, say at the beach, you will want to cover the area up as soon as possible by putting a T-shirt on until you can get somewhere to apply ointment.
Tips on how to treat the burn so it won't leave a scar
For second- and third-degree burns, get the patient to the doctor as soon as possible. It may not seem important for smaller burns, but remember that the smaller burns have just as much risk of infection. Take precautions and get the burn treated by a medical professional sooner than later.
“Often, burns may appear to be superficial but with time, they develop into deeper partial thickness or full thickness burns that need advanced wound care and/or skin grafts to properly heal,” Dr. Khan advised.
What not to do if your child gets burned
When it comes to burns, there seems to be a lot of old wives' tales floating around. We heard a ton of them when we were in class, such as putting mayonnaise or butter on the burn. This is common with sunburns. If you go back to the idea of a steak resting, putting these items on the burn really only starts a marinating process. Don’t put anything other than cool, fresh water on the burn and antibiotic ointment. You can use aloe or burn creams for first-degree burns to soothe the area, but this isn’t appropriate for anything other than a first-degree burn.
Remember that anything you put on a burn will need to be cleaned out if the burn is getting infected. This is not just painful but can also increase the chance of infection.
Most of the time, burns aren’t serious. If a burn is only minor, it may become something your child will always remember. Los Angeles mom Robyn Reynolds recalled when her daughter got burned by a candle. “It taught her a lesson and she never went near another candle again,” she told Mom.com. Of course, it’s best to keep your kids away from dangers but as most parents know, you can’t control everything.
