Posted by NHS Choices on August 10, 2016 · Leave a Comment
In this short video, health visitor Melissa Green talks about the things you can do to deal with burns and scalds.
Editor’s Note: Video Highlights
- Children’s skin is much thinner than adult skin, so it’s very important to treat their burns and scalds quickly for the best chance of healing
- Most important is to run cold water over the burn for no more than 10 minutes
- Water should be cold, but not ice-cold
- The next step is to place something clean over your child’s burn to protect from risk of infection – like cling film or a clean linen tea towel
- If your child has something stuck to their burn, don’t try to remove it – leave it there and go to the hospital for treatment
Also don’t put anything on the burn, such as creams or lotions- If your child has a burn larger than a postage stamp, take them to get medical advice from the hospital
- If your child complains of pain after their burn, you can give them something like paracetamol (acetaminophen) or ibuprofen – don’t give them any aspirin
- If the burn has a blister, don’t tamper with it – it should be left to burst naturally
- Blisters that have burst may be raw and need a dressing – you may want to see your doctor or nurse for this
