Dr Chris Steele on burns

A recent survey found that a third of all Britons admit they are not confident carrying out basic first aid, with many not even sure how to properly treat common household injuries.

One of the most common injuries in the home are minor burns, with 93% of Brits having burnt themselves at home within the last 12 months while carrying out simple tasks.

Good immediate care of an injury, especially wounds and burns, can make a big difference to how quickly and how well someone recovers and how much scarring they are left with.

If a burn is bigger than a postage stamp or has penetrated beyond the first layer of skin, seek medical advice immediately.

Serious burns

If the skin is very damaged, ranging from red-black in colour, if the skin is cracked or blistered and weeping - that is a serious burn.

There can be nerve damage so the victim may not be able to feel the burnt area.

In this case:

• Try to cool the burn immediately under cool or tepid (not cold) running water for 15 minutes

• Dial 999 for an ambulance

• Make the casualty as comfortable as possible, lie them down

• While wearing disposable gloves, if available, remove jewellery, watch or clothing from the affected area - unless it is sticking to the skin

• Cover the burn with clean, non-fluffy material to protect from infection. Cloth, a clean plastic bag or cling film are ideal

Make sure you don’t break or touch blisters, or put ice or very cold objects on the burn, as damaged skin is very sensitive and can make the pain worse.

Treating minor burns

For a minor burn, you should seek to cool the area as quickly as possible – running it under cool or tepid (not cold) water for about 15 minutes before applying an antiseptic to ward off infection.

Alternatively, make sure your first aid cabinet has a specifically developed product that will ease the inflammation after you've cooled the area by running it under cool or tepid water.

This article was published on Wed 28 October 2009