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Every year many children suffer from burns and scalds in the home and at play, many of these injuries are unforeseen, for example a child pulls a hot cup of coffee over themselves, touching a hot pan. We will look at some further cause and the complications that may develop with these burns.
Every year many children suffer from burns and scalds in the home and at play, many of these injuries are unforeseen, for example a child pulls a hot cup of coffee over themselves, touching a hot pan. We will look at some further cause and the complications that may develop with these burns.
Sunburn- Superficial
The superficial burn is where the top layers of skin (epidermis) has been burnt.
This burn is caused by:
The child will be in pain, the skin is red and tender with swelling and light blistering.
5% burn or if the burn affect the airways the child must go to hospital.
The partial-thickness burn is where the top and some lower layers of skin (epidermis & dermis) has been burnt. This type of burn is very painful and is at risk of infection, shock may also occur.
This burn is caused by:
The child will be in sever pain, the skin is raw and tender, swelling with blistering and clear fluids emit from burnt areas. 9% partial thickness burn will cause a child to go into shock. 1% burn the child will require medical attention.
The old saying "burnt to the bone" this is a severe deep burns, nerves are destroyed and there is very high risk of infection.
This burn is caused by:
The child will be in pain, however due to nerve damage the pain may be decreased, that is not to say this injury is not painful. Shock may also be present.
No mater what size this burn is the child must go to hospital for treatment.
Now we understand classifications of burns how do we gain the size of the burn.
The answer, is the size of the child's hand
1 whole hand, fingers included=1% of the child's body.
The rule for burns is to cool it down, however there are certain types and location of burn which may need to be considered, for example chemical burns.
Important!
Ensure you protect yourself "gloves" on this chemical could burn you.
There are many types of domestic and commercial chemical. It is important that you understand the principle of COSHH (Control of Substance Hazardous to Health).
Information should be labelled on the container, the information should contain information on treatment required in the event of a accident.
The rule with chemicals on the skin is normally.
20 minutes of flushing with cold water
Having anything is your eye can be stressful, however a chemical that enters a child eye can be very stressful and painful. No matter what the aim is to prevent further damage to the eye and sight of the child.
The following actions should be carried out immediately.
10 minutes of flushing with cold water
Ensure you flush the eye for 10 minutes, the eye can become sore and damaged by over use of very cold water. Wait and see how the child reacts if they show distress or mention burning continue to wash out the eye.
Identifying the chemical is important for example oven cleaner will cause severe damage to a child's eye compared to washing up liquid which can be painful at the time, however damage is minimal.
1. Wash chemical away
2. Use towel to wipe up water as it runs down the face, especially if it is a corrosive chemical.
3. Keep using water until burning stops
4. Cover both eyes to limit movement
5. Call 999/112 if child goes into shock or the burn is severe.
Remove the
source of heat, turn off electric appliance if this
has caused the burn
Get child to cold water
or
bring water to the child
flush burnt area for a minimum of 10 minutes.
Be careful not to use high pressure water as this will tear skin.
Only remove clothing and jewellery if it is not burnt to the child's skin if in doubt leave it and continue to use cold water
Cover the wound with a first aid dressing, lightly or layer clingfilm over the burn.
Clingfilm should be layered and not wrapped around the burn. This prevents over heating and easy removal.
Use a ice pack of cold towel once you have dressed the burn, this helps to reduce pain
Once you have treated the burn and assessed the depth and size you must either take the child to hospital or call 999/112. Ensure you assess the child for shock.
Take your time as you go through this assessment read the question as some have more than 1 answer. This assessment requires your to score 7 out of 10. Your score will appear at the end of the assessment, you can check your answers and a email is sent to you and Life Lines of the result
GOOD LUCK