You were out for a walk in the woods and while returning to your campsite you discover that your duck hunting partner has burned himself on the campfire. You find him laying on the ground crying in pain. It is just you and him out there and the nearest doctor (or phone) is miles and miles away. What are you to do? One thing is for certain, you have to do something and you better do it fast.
Head-To-Toe Assessment
Before you can start any type of burn treatment you need to evaluate the situation. Your approach and treatment method depends upon what caused the burn to begin with. Figuring out the cause is vital before you can approach the situation. For example, if it was a chemical burn you would need protective equipment. Also, you need to know if the danger is still present. Say, your partner was in your kitchen when a grease fire occurred. You would want to get him out of harms way before administrating any type of treatment. Finally, you might want to ask him (if he is conscious) when the burning ceased. Your main goal in burn treatment is to:
- Get the area that was burned cool.
- To reduce any infection (especially if you are in the woods) you want to cover the area that was burned with a sterile cloth. The idea here is to keep the germs out of the burn and to keep any fluids in.
Layers of Skin
Burns do not just occur from fires such as your campfire or matches. There are a varied of situations that can cause a burn. Burns can result from: chemicals, radiation, heat and electrical current. Severity depends upon many different factors such as: burning agents temperature, body part that got burned, how long the victim was exposed to burning agent, depth and size of burned area. Before we get into the Burn Classifications we need to discuss the layers of skin. Continue reading