The most common household injury is hand burns. Most often, children suffer from burns. The reason for this can be both the negligence of the kids themselves, and the carelessness of the parents. Therefore, adults should be guided by the principles of first aid in case of burns, which will allow timely relief of suffering for themselves and loved ones.
Signs of a burn
There are a number of symptoms that can indicate a burn injury. Here it is worth highlighting:
- the presence of increasing, prolonged pain with reddening of the skin;
- appearance of blisters on the skin with yellowish or transparent contents;
- formation of wounds, necrosis, lesions of deep layers of skin and tissues.
Sunburn
You can get a burn on your hand or other parts of the body when you stay in the open sun for a long time. For some people with especially delicate, sensitive skin, exposure to the scorching rays for about half an hour is enough to get a sunburn.
The main danger of sunburn is that a persondoes not immediately feel their presence to the touch or visually. Unpleasant symptoms occur on sun-burned skin only after a few hours. Therefore, with a long stay in open space, it is desirable to close sensitive areas of the skin from exposure to direct sunlight, especially for babies. What's more, don't rely on sun protection by applying special creams and lotions to your skin.
Chemical burn
Chemical burns of hands, feet, and other parts of the body are extremely dangerous tissue damage. Depending on the nature of the chemical, its properties, the affected area, strength, duration of exposure, certain visual and pain symptoms may appear.
In the arsenal of modern housewives there is always a sufficient amount of potentially dangerous chemicals that can cause burns. Therefore, it is strongly recommended to store household chemicals out of the reach of children. However, if the baby managed to get access to a dangerous chemical, you need to know how to give first aid to the child, which will be discussed later.
Acid burn
Tissue exposure to acids usually causes severe burns to the hand or other areas of the body. A striking symptom of the occurrence of such a burn is severe, unbearable pain. Often, when you receive a chemical burn with acid, an area of dead skin quickly forms at the site of the lesion.
To determine the acid, the defeat of which led to a burn, it is enough to pay attention tothe following signs:
- skin takes on a blackish or dark gray tint - the action of sulfuric acid;
- bright orange or yellow skin color - nitric acid damage;
- gray skin tone - hydrochloric acid burn;
- greenish skin tone - carbolic or acetic acid.
As for the first aid for acid burns, in this case it is necessary, first of all, to immediately wash the affected area with running water. Moreover, the procedure should be performed for 10-15 minutes until the pain decreases. Next, a sterile gauze bandage is applied to the affected area. For the most severe, extensive acid burns, go to a trauma emergency room immediately.
Burn with alkalis
Burning fingers, other skin areas with alkalis, as well as in the case of acids, causes severe pain. An alkaline burn can be recognized by moist swollen tissues covered with an uneven light crust. Often, with alkali burns, along with visual and pain signs, there is a growing headache, poisoning of the body, bouts of nausea.
The first aid for alkali burns is a copious, prolonged washing of the affected area under running water. A napkin or a cotton-gauze bandage soaked in non-concentrated boric acid or table vinegar must be applied to the burn site. In this case, it is mandatory to transport the victim to the nearest emergency room.
If the burn is caused by a fireclothes
When a burn of an arm, leg or torso is caused by the ignition of clothing, it is necessary to immediately extinguish the flaming or smoldering particles of fabric. To do this, a blanket, coat, raincoat or any other dense matter that can cover the main part of the body is thrown over the victim. In this case, it is desirable that the head remains open. Otherwise, the victim may additionally get poisoned by combustion products or burn the respiratory tract.
If possible, extinguish flammable clothing with water. Charred tissue must be removed or cut in such a way as not to damage the burned areas of the skin. After completing the above steps, you must urgently contact the ambulance service.
Thermal burn
If the victim knocked over a boiling liquid, grabbed a hot object or fell into a fire, the main thing is not to panic, but to act quickly and clearly. Measures aimed at providing first aid do not tolerate delay, especially when delicate skin is injured, for example, a hand is burned.
First aid for thermal burns involves:
- Elimination of indirect or direct contact with a boiling liquid, a hot object. It is also necessary to prevent contact with the skin of any hot objects (bracelets, rings, clothes).
- Creating conditions to reduce the temperature of the damaged skin area with cold water, ice, etc. Overheated tissues are able to maintain high temperature forfor a long time after receiving a burn, aggravating the nature of the injury. The process of cooling the affected tissues should last at least half an hour. If a strong burning effect appears, the procedure should be repeated.
- Applying a sterile bandage to the burned skin. If a hand is burned with boiling water, both a dry or wet-drying bandage, and a wet or ointment-soaked cloth can be applied to alleviate unpleasant symptoms. At the first aid stage, it is not recommended to waste precious time looking for special medicines to reduce symptoms and treat burns. On the contrary, it is necessary to immediately use the first suitable remedy that was in the medicine cabinet. An effective option may be to apply a sterile dressing soaked in a solution with antiseptic properties.
- For the most serious burns that affect the deep layers of tissues, it is recommended to use injections or drugs for internal use with a pronounced analgesic effect.
Degrees of burns
If my hand is burned, what should I do? First of all, it is necessary to try quickly, and most importantly - correctly, to assess the complexity and nature of the damage. To understand how to provide first aid and treat burns, you need to know that there are 4 separate degrees of burns:
- The first degree is characterized by the appearance of noticeable redness, slight swelling of the tissues at the site of the lesion.
- The second degree is distinguished by the presence of open or tense wateryblisters, as well as the first signs of the formation of dead skin.
- The third degree is a serious damage not only to the superficial areas of the skin, but also to deeper tissues, up to the muscle mass. It is characterized by the presence of a pronounced scab. Often, when receiving such burns, fluid bubbles abundantly cover the areas of the body around the site of the lesion.
- Fourth degree - the most severe, deep tissue damage, often to the bone tissue. Such injuries are often accompanied by charring of the burnt surface.
You should know that in cases where a child's hand is burned, a severe shock condition, the so-called burn disease, may occur. Often this phenomenon is observed when more than 10% of the total area of the body is affected in case of burns of the first or second degree and injuries of more than 5% of the area in case of serious burns of the third or fourth degree. The appearance of signs of severe shock in the victim requires emergency medical care and further qualified treatment in a hospital.
Burn area
The greater the area of tissue exposed to heat, the higher the likelihood of severe injury. Even a short exposure to boiling water on the surface of the skin entails serious consequences if an impressive area is burned.
The reason for seeking help from a specialist should be burns with a diameter of more than 3 cm. In general, the danger must be assessed according to the so-calledrule of nine. Any casu alty who has burnt more than 9% of the skin surface needs urgent hospitalization.
When should I see a doctor?
Doctor consultation required:
- when the child suffered only a small burn of the hand, which caused a noticeable, persistent redness;
- if the burn is deep and extensive;
- for burns, starting from the second and third degree;
- if the injury is caused by clothing or fire.
Drugs
There are a number of priority medications that can relieve the unpleasant effects of burns and eliminate the problem. If you get a small burn on your hand, what should you do? In this case, Solcoseryl gel can become the most effective remedy at the stage of first aid. This drug improves the supply of oxygen to damaged tissues, activates the production of collagen, accelerates the healing process of wounds, stimulates cell renewal and nourishes the skin.
First aid in cases where a hand burn or other minor injury was received as a result of thermal exposure, first of all, is to relieve pain. Analgin, Ibuprofen, Ketorolac, Spazmalgon, Citramon, Paracetamol are currently widely used as effective painkillers.
After anesthesia, the affected tissue must be bandaged. To do this, sterile gauze dressings are often processed"Dioseptom" or "Combixin", which are indicated for use when receiving burn injuries of varying severity and localization.
At the stage of treatment, Lincocel gel, Povidone-iodine preparation, Procelone ointment, which process sterile dressings or napkins, can be used. These funds are widely available and available without a prescription.
