Burn Prevention and Treatment: A Brief Overview

First of all, if you are a smoker, it would be wise to stop smoking. The January 1976 Burns magazine observed: "Matches and tobacco have been pointed out as the commonest cause of fire." And the acting director of a burn unit, Dr. Carlos Silva, said that the single most frequent cause of severe burns is smoking in bed. Explained one burn victim: "At the burn unit where I was treated at least three or four of the 18 patients had been burned while smoking."

Yet statistics indicate that fire is not the cause of most burns. Hot liquids are. And scald victims are very often small children. Most of their burns, however, could be prevented if hot fluid had always been kept out of their reach, if they had not been left alone with hot bath water, if the handle of a pan containing hot liquid had not been left protruding over the edge of the stove, and so on.

One wise safety measure would be to adjust your water heater so the water from faucets will not scald anyone. The United States government last summer made it unlawful for water in commercial buildings to exceed 105 degrees Fahrenheit (41° C). Following that precedent would not only conserve precious energy but perhaps prevent a serious burn accident in your home.

Basically, it is a matter of forethought. When you enter a public building think of how you will get out in case of fire. People almost invariably try to leave the way they came in, resulting in a jam-up, and death. In Chicago's Iroquois Theater disaster many years ago, of 10 available exits, only three were used-575 died!

What about your own home? If there were a fire there tonight, how would you get out? A window is usually the best escape route, especially when you are awakened at night. A fire fighter advised: "When you get to your room tonight, close your eyes or put on a blindfold and try to find your way over to the window. Then see if you can open it." In case of fire, your life may depend upon your being able to do it quickly.

If all of us were more conscious of preventing burns, and knew how to treat them immediately if they occurred, fewer persons would become serious burn victims.

Shock can result from too much cold to large areas of the body.Give burn victim a drink of baking soda and salt in water if medical treatment is not available soon.

Source: Project Burn Prevention: The burn severity function by Anne MacKay (Author)