How to provide first aid for a burn with boiling water

Among all thermal injuries, the first place is occupied by skin burns from boiling water. First aid in case of injury plays an important role, especially in children. For any degree of damage, you must call an ambulance. If you react in time and deliver the victim to a medical facility, complications can be avoided, and the damaged area will heal quickly.

In this article, we will look at how to provide assistance for a burn with boiling water, what the first steps should be, and also provide the most effective remedies for burns for a speedy recovery.

What to do if you are burned by boiling water

If damage occurs, the first thing to do is remove the hot liquid from the victim and remove any clothing that has come into contact with it. Next, you need to quickly cool the affected areas. To do this, rinse the area of ​​skin with cold water. If done quickly, damage to deeper tissues can be avoided.

First aid guidelines for burns allow the use of cold water or ice (wrapped in a cloth) to cool the damaged areas. You need to keep them for at least 10 minutes. If the surface is not large, you can use healing ointments or agents with an anesthetic effect to relieve painful manifestations.

It is imperative to call an ambulance so that the victim can receive qualified assistance.

What not to do

In case of injuries of varying degrees, it is important not only to take the necessary actions to improve the person’s condition, but also to avoid mistakes. The following actions must not be performed in case of thermal damage:

1. immediately use the healing agent when the skin has not yet cooled;
2. cauterize the surface of tissues with aggressive agents (this includes brilliant green, iodine, etc.);
3. use any oils. Contrary to popular belief, they should not be applied immediately to thermal injuries. Oils are used only after the condition improves;
4. tear off clothes that have stuck to the skin. It can only be carefully cut with scissors;
5. It is forbidden to pierce blisters, since an infection can enter the body;
6. use means other than clean water for rinsing;
7. use dairy products. Neither sour cream nor kefir will improve the situation, but will only provoke additional inflammation;
8. cover the skin with a plaster.

Follow these rules if you do not want to aggravate the problem and provoke the development of complications.

First aid for burns with boiling water

It is best to call an ambulance at the time of first aid, so as not to delay the arrival of doctors. Thermal injuries are dangerous, so even a minor burn should be shown to a doctor to determine the extent of the damage and prescribe treatment.

While you are waiting for doctors to arrive, you should take some steps to alleviate the patient's condition. First aid for skin burns with boiling water includes the following steps:

1. The affected area is carefully removed from clothing. If it sticks to the fabrics, it is cut off at the edges, but not torn off;
2. The area of ​​the body is placed under running cold water and held for about 15 minutes. You can apply ice (wrapped in a cloth) to relieve the condition;
3. if you are sure that the victim has received the first degree of damage, then dry the skin and apply a healing ointment containing dexpanthenol;
4. For 2nd degree injuries, you need to use disinfectants that are used for burns. Additionally, you can lubricate the surface with Vaseline;
5. for more serious injuries, the victim should be given pain medication and provided with plenty of fluids until the ambulance arrives.

Assessing the degree of burn

Only a doctor can make an accurate diagnosis. However, you can determine the degree of damage yourself using one of the common schemes. The most commonly used method is the Wallace method, also known as the “rule of nines.” It lies in the fact that all parts of the body can be divided as a percentage into several zones.

Each of the two hands is allocated 9% of the total skin. A similar percentage is set for the head. But the front, back of the body, as well as each of the legs, occupy 18% of the entire surface. The last percentage falls on the perineum. Injuries in this area are considered the most painful and serious.

Another method of determination is Glumov’s method. The method involves determining the percentage of tissue using the palm of your hand. 1 palm is 1% of the entire surface.

Immediate help from specialists is necessary if more than 15% of the victim’s tissues are damaged. However, the severity of burns also depends on where they are located. The most severe injuries are considered to be those of the head and perineum.

Several degrees of injury are also classified:

1. at grade 1, thermal lesions were noted only on the upper tissues. Usually there is redness and slight swelling;
2. Grade 2 is characterized by increasing pain. Blisters filled with cloudy contents also appear;
3. at grade 3, deep tissues, including muscles, are also injured. The blisters become larger and the pain becomes stronger;
4. the most dangerous degree is 4. Not only muscles suffer, but sometimes bones as well. In this case, amputation of the damaged limbs is possible.

Stages 1 and 2 can be treated at home. In most cases, traces can be avoided. But grades 3 and 4 should be treated only in burn centers.

Ointment for boiling water burns with blisters

After providing first aid to the victim, you can use special healing agents that should be in your home first aid kit. They promote rapid tissue restoration and eliminate inflammatory processes. Ointments are used to treat 1st and 2nd degree burns. Most often, doctors prescribe the following drugs:

1. Panthenol, D-Panthenol, Bepanten and other analogues. The main active ingredient is dexpanthenol, which accelerates regeneration processes. Ointments eliminate pain, cope with swelling and redness;
2. Levomekol is applied in a thin layer to the affected tissue 2 times a day. The ointment is safe and, in the absence of contraindications, can even be used to treat children. You can apply the product to a bandage and then apply it to the wound;
3. Sulfargin has a powerful anti-inflammatory effect and prevents the penetration of pathogenic microorganisms. The drug contains silver ions, making it one of the most effective disinfectants.

Even with mild injuries, you should consult a doctor before using any medication yourself.

How to treat a burn with boiling water at home

All traditional methods should be used only in combination with the main treatment prescribed by the doctor. It is also important to remember that home remedies are best used after some time has passed. On the first day you need to give them up. The following methods give good results:

1. Compresses with aloe can speed up tissue repair processes and also prevent infection. You can use freshly squeezed juice of the leaves, which is applied to the bandage and applied to the wound;
2. chop the potatoes and add a little honey to it. Apply this mixture to gauze and apply to the damaged area;
3. lotions using chicken eggs give good results. It is whipped and applied to the wound. This remedy will help get rid of blisters faster;
4. Clover and plantain leaves are often used to speed up regeneration. The herbs are crushed, poured with boiling water, and allowed to cool. The decoction is used for compresses or simply treated with it on fabrics;
5. An effect has been noticed from applying pumpkin pulp to the wound, as well as from using carrot juice and regular tea.

All folk remedies should be used only in the first stages of injuries. Serious injuries require medication and, in some cases, surgery.

Boiling water burn in a child

The situation is most difficult if a small child is injured. The skin of babies is thinner and more sensitive, and its area is smaller than that of adults, which increases the risk of extensive lesions. In addition, children react more sharply to pain, making it impossible to provide first aid. It is important for parents to remain calm and react quickly, without allowing themselves to panic.

The algorithm for providing first aid to children is almost identical to the actions taken for adults. The damaged part of the body is placed under cold water. This will help reduce the child’s pain and will not cause complications. It is imperative to call a medical team, since injuries in children need to be monitored more carefully.

Thermal injuries of any severity should be diagnosed by a physician. A correct diagnosis will allow you to prescribe the correct treatment and avoid complications. It is important to call an ambulance in case of serious injuries, especially if they were suffered by a small child.

Did you like the article? Subscribe to site updates via RSS, or follow updates on VKontakte, Odnoklassniki, Facebook, Google Plus or Twitter.

Subscribe to updates by E-Mail:

Tell your friends!

Emergency first aid for a burn with boiling water: procedure and general recommendations: 11 comments

We learned first aid for burns and the degree of skin damage at school, in life safety lessons.
But we were not told that one of the first remedies for a burn with boiling water is to cool the affected area of ​​​​the body with cold water!
I first learned about this subtlety from a program where they told how they rescued a boy who fell into an open well with hot water in winter.
Thank God, there were no major burns, but now, even with minor burns in the kitchen, I always cool that area under running water first! Usually, your hands suffer in the kitchen - sometimes grease splashes, sometimes you accidentally touch something hot. The faster the better, since the tap is always at hand! For mild burns this is enough.
And for stronger ones, raw potatoes always help me. You need to wash the tuber, cut off a piece and apply the pulp to the burn. The pain immediately subsides. And if you hold it longer, everything heals very quickly.

A simple and inexpensive ointment helped me - Levomikol. The severe burn healed within just a week. Although, I have tried the most expensive and advertised products. I recommend it to anyone who has encountered something similar.

And for burns, I always use Rescue balm (white and green stripes on a soft tube). I immediately hold the scalded area under cold water, then blot it and apply Rescuer in a thin layer. Not very expensive, effective remedy.
It’s good that it can be applied to an open wound and smeared on scratches. I once seriously hurt my knee and was bleeding, so even the traumatologist prescribed Rescuer balm. Of course, you need to stop the bleeding, only then treat the problem area. Try it, maybe someone will need some advice. The main thing: choose a balm in a white and green tube with a red inscription (there are several types of balm).

I have a small son and naturally it is very difficult to protect myself and the child from accidental wounds and burns. A friend recommended Reskinol for children after she herself used it for burns. I bought this ointment and applied it to a burn (I grabbed the hot lid of the frying pan) and the pain slowly went away. Moreover, it acts not only on burns, but also on irritation from diapers and calluses (fresh).

I was always afraid for my child that he would accidentally knock over a hot cup on himself, but in the end I spilled it on myself because of the fuss. Luckily I had panthenol spray at home, I applied it quickly, because with a burn, minutes count. I have medicinal panthenol, made in Europe, with dexpanthenol, as a difference from cosmetic ones, it also has a smiley face on it. Now there is no trace left in that place, although the redness was strong.

I didn’t know that panthenols were different, I thought they were all the same, just different in price.

I didn’t know before either, but the pediatrician taught me exactly how to choose medicinal panthenol. It’s very convenient to remember; it seems to me that the orange smiley face stands out well on the bottle.

Directing a stream of cold water onto the face is allowed only if the skin is intact. Do not apply sour cream or vegetable oil to the wound after a burn. It is forbidden to remove remnants of clothing or a hot object that has stuck to the skin from the face after a burn. This should only be done by a doctor, as too large pieces of skin may come off and bleeding may occur. At home, there is a danger of infection if the wound comes into contact with any objects. It is not recommended to treat a wound on the face and apply a bandage without special skills and medical training for this. Without painkillers, this process will cause the victim severe pain. More details on CareFace:

Thanks, great article.

If I get burned, I immediately put my hand or finger under a stream of running cold water. After some time I apply Panthenolspray, it comes with dexpanthenl in a composition known for its regenerating properties. The spray I have is an original from Europe, there is even a “Made in Europe” icon on the packaging and an orange smiley face - distinctive features. With this spray, the burn heals quite well, everything goes away in a matter of days.

Many unforeseen situations can happen in life, due to which the integrity of the skin is compromised. You can get a burn from boiling water in completely unexpected situations, for example, by spilling hot tea on yourself, or knocking over a kettle or pan.

You need to be especially careful with children, because their excessive activity very often leads to irreversible consequences.

Burn degrees

To independently determine the depth of the injury and understand when you need to see a doctor, and when home treatment will be enough, you need to know the signs of burns of different degrees:

1. 1st degree - the easiest and safest, only the top layer of skin is affected, redness and slight swelling are observed;
2. 2nd degree - in addition to redness and swelling, you can observe the appearance of blisters with a cloudy liquid inside. Such a lesion causes the most severe pain; if the treatment was successful, then there will be no scars or traces of a burn;
3. 3rd degree - not only the surface of the skin is damaged, but also deeper parts; the damage can reach the muscles and significantly damage them. In this case, strong blisters with cloudy contents inside form. It is much more difficult to treat such a lesion, because there is a serious risk of infection;
4. 4th degree - the most dangerous and rare, such an outcome is possible with prolonged exposure to boiling water on the skin. This stage is characterized by a complete absence of skin and muscle; high temperatures can reach the bone, which in turn turns black and charred.

Regarding the location, the most dangerous are the face, neck, inner thighs and arms. In such cases, complex lesions requiring hospitalization are more common. The easiest to bear are burns on the arms (up to the elbow), feet and back.

The doctor explains what assistance should be provided for burns of various origins, watch the video:

Providing first aid

To avoid the spread of the lesion, it is necessary to correctly provide first aid:

1. To begin with, the burn is removed from clothing, because it retains a hot temperature and additionally injures the skin;
2. Then cool the affected area with a stream of cold water, a cool compress, or an ice pack wrapped in a cloth. It is important to remember that you should not expose the burn to very low temperatures, as this can negatively affect the condition of the skin;
3. In case of a 1st degree burn, it is necessary to use special medications that promote healing; doctors usually recommend keeping such products as Panthenol, Bepanten, Dexpanthenol, etc. in the first aid kit;
4. In case of a 2nd degree burn, the affected area is washed and a bandage with an antiseptic is applied; if the burn is on the face, then instead of applying a bandage, I simply lubricate the skin with Vaseline;
5. If a 3rd or 4th degree burn occurs, under no circumstances should you get lost and panic and first call an ambulance, then the patient is given an anesthetic, covered with a blanket or rug and actively given warm water.

What not to do if you are burned by boiling water

Very often, in stressful situations, people make wrong decisions based on various arguments that have no basis. To avoid mistakes, you need to study the list of actions that should never be done in case of a burn:

1. Apply the medicine to the hot surface of the skin;
2. Using various irritating substances, such as brilliant green, iodine, toothpaste, etc., they can significantly aggravate the situation;
3. Lubricate the burn with various oils that prevent air penetration. Such remedies are good in later stages of the disease;
4. Remove stuck clothes; in this case, it is better to cut them with scissors;
5. Piercing blisters and squeezing out their contents; such actions are highly likely to lead to infection in the affected areas of the skin;
6. Wash the burn with water with the addition of citric acid or soda. There is an opinion that these products will help disinfect the wound, but in reality everything turns into the occurrence of complications and scars at the site of the lesion;
7. Apply fermented milk products such as sour cream, kefir, yogurt, etc. to the damaged areas. Many people believe that this product will help the skin better than store-bought ointments, but this opinion is very wrong. Acid causes additional skin damage and infections;
8. Apply a plaster to the burn.

If you avoid rash actions, then only benefit will be brought to a person when providing first aid.

Why do people's hands shake?

Read this article on how to carry out magnet treatment.

Treatment of burns with medications

1st degree burns can only be treated at home. The most popular remedies used for such damage:

A 2nd degree burn is considered a more serious injury and is treated first at a trauma center and then continued at home.

The doctor on duty treats the wound, performing the following actions:

1. anesthetizes the affected area;
2. treats healthy skin around the burn with an antiseptic;
3. removes dead skin, tissue debris and dirt;
4. burn blisters are slightly incised and the contents are removed, but the shell of the blister is not removed, because it will protect the wound from germs, bacteria and infections;
5. Apply a bandage with a bactericidal ointment, for example, Levosulfamethakaine or Streptomycin.

After all these manipulations, the patient is sent home, where he will have to change the dressings once every 2 days until the skin is completely restored.

Folk remedies

For the treatment of 1st degree burns, traditional medicine methods may be quite suitable, which can no less effectively soften the damaged surface, relieve pain and promote rapid skin regeneration.

Lotions and compresses

1. You can apply peeled, fresh pumpkin pulp to the sore spot;
2. 100 grams of grated potatoes are mixed with a teaspoon of honey. The resulting product is spread on gauze or a bandage and tied to the burn for 2-3 hours. It is recommended to repeat this procedure in the morning, afternoon and evening;
3. A freshly cut, juicy aloe leaf is cut in half and applied to the wound, the procedure is repeated twice a day;
4. A good remedy consists of finely chopped cabbage and raw egg white, the resulting mass is applied to the burn;
5. 20 grams of Veronica officinalis are poured with a glass of boiling water and left until the broth becomes cold, then the affected area of ​​the skin is treated with it;
6. 2 tablespoons of meadow clover are mixed with 200 milliliters of hot water and left for 1-2 hours, then used as an impregnation for lotions;
7. You can also use cooled and strong black or green tea instead of lotions.

All these products are very easy to prepare and accessible to every person.

Homemade ointments

If it is not possible to purchase a pharmacy ointment, you can prepare it yourself; in addition, many claim that homemade remedies heal burns much faster:

1. In one bowl, mix 100 grams of spruce resin, 100 grams of beeswax and 100 grams of lard. The resulting mixture is brought to a boil and simmered over low heat for several minutes, after which it is cooled and applied to the burn as a bandage, which must be changed every day;
2. Crushed honeysuckle root, sulfur, rosin and pork fat are mixed in equal proportions. The product is boiled, then cooled; as soon as the ointment becomes cold, egg white and camphor oil are added to it. Also used as dressings or lotions.

In what cases is a doctor's help required?

If you receive a 2nd degree burn, you must seek help from a traumatologist, who will treat the wound and send the patient home, giving treatment instructions.

If there are 3rd or 4th degree burns, the person is sent to a hospital for treatment. First, anti-shock therapy is carried out, then treatment begins. The same applies to grade 2, if more than 5 percent of the skin is affected.

In some cases, surgery is performed to remove dead tissue and skin grafts.

No one is immune from getting burned by boiling water, so you need to be as careful as possible around hot objects to avoid damage. But if the irreversible has already happened, the first step is to provide first aid to the patient, and further treatment is determined in connection with the degree of the burn.

>