National Burns Awareness Month (NBAM) aims to drive greater awareness amongst the Australian community of burns prevention and the correct first aid treatment for burns.
National Burns Awareness Month is an initiative of Kidsafe, Australia’s leading community organisation dedicated to child injury prevention, and held in June each year as there is a significantly increased risk of burns during winter.
How to treat a burn:
REMOVE jewellery and clothing from the burn area.
Clothing, nappies and jewellery can hinder the healing process in two ways. Clothing and jewellery can
retain heat and can also restrict the body if swelling occurs. (A burn will continue to burn the skin until
the area cools).
COOL the burn under cool running water for 20 minutes.
The longer a burn is left untreated, the deeper and more serious it becomes. It is therefore vital that
cooling the burn area is the critical first step in burn first aid management. Ideally this should be done
under cool running water however if running water is not available, two dampened cloths can be used
and alternated as heat will be transferred from the burn area to the cloth quite quickly. If the burn
surface area is large i.e. front or back torso of a child, or full arms, the body may lose heat due to the skin
losing its ability to regulate normal body temperature. Children can become cold very quickly if the burn
is large. At any sign of shivering or shock the patient should lay down and be loosely covered to keep
warm.
COVER the burn area with a clean lint free cloth or cover loosely with cling wrap
Many burn complications arise as secondary conditions to the burn itself. These are commonly related
to shock, toxicity to the area or local infection of the wound and surrounding tissue. To reduce the
likelihood of infection and to assist the body in retaining body warmth it is advised to cover the burn
injury loosely with a plastic cling wrap or clean, lint free cloth. It is important to wrap the area loosely to
allow for some swelling of tissue.
SEEK medical advice
If the burn area is larger than a 20 cent coin or on the face, hands, feet,groin area, in skin folds or if there
is potential damage to the lungs and throat seek immediate medical attention.
To learn more click on the information guide link and watch the video below:
https://kidsafe.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Burns-Information-Guide.pdf