First Aid

Our Goals

First aid following a burn injury is an important part of patient care [1-3].

The main aims for first aid are to stop the burning process and cool the wound [4].

The Australian & New Zealand Burn Association (ANZBA) recommends the best burn first aid is 20 minutes cool running water within 3 hours following injury [1, 2, 4-7]. This can help stop the burning and also help reduce pain [1, 2, 6].

People should avoid using such things as toothpaste, ice , butter and lotions/creams as these are not good first aid for burns. Without good first aid there can be further skin death [7].

 References

  1. Cuttle, L., et al., An audit of first-aid treatment of pediatric burns patients and their clinical outcome. J Burn Care Res, 2009. 30(6): p. 1028-34.
  2. Cuttle, L., et al., The optimal temperature of first aid treatment for partial thickness burn injuries. Wound Repair Regen, 2008. 16(5): p. 626-34.
  3. Baldwin, A., J. Xu, and D. Attinger, How to cool a burn: a heat transfer point of view. J Burn Care Res, 2012. 33(2): p. 176-87.
  4. ANZBA, Emergency Management of Severe Burns (EMSB), Course Manual (18th Ed). 2016, Australian & New Zealand Burn Association.
  5. Rajan, V., et al., Delayed cooling of an acute scald contact burn injury in a porcine model: is it worthwhile? J Burn Care Res, 2009. 30(4): p. 729-34.
  6. Bartlett, N., et al., Optimal duration of cooling for an acute scald contact burn injury in a porcine model. J Burn Care Res, 2008. 29(5): p. 828-34.
  7. Yuan, J., et al., Assessment of cooling on an acute scald burn injury in a porcine model. J Burn Care Res, 2007. 28(3): p. 514-20.