First-aid tips for treating minor burns

Posted: Jan 02 2025

Minor burns are one of the most common injuries that occur in the home, so it’s important to know how to properly treat them. We’ve worked with St John SA to bring you this first-aid treatment plan.

Video transcript

Any time we have a burnt area, we want to first remove any articles of clothing that are not stuck to the burn, and we want to commence cooling of that burn. In this case the burn's on my left forearm, so I want to remove any clothing that is not obviously stuck, any plastic or anything like that that could be there. If it is stuck, we do want to leave that attached and not attempt to pull it off. We want to then commence cooling of the area. Now, at home, the best way to do this is going to be your kitchen sink, or running tap that has fresh, cool water. Placing the affected area under the tap, we want a steady consistent flow of water and we want to keep the affected area there for 20 minutes. This is going to cool that burn. If we are in a situation where we don't have fresh, running water, we could consider using a bucket of fresh water, perhaps a jug or something like that. After 20 minutes has elapsed, we want to wrap our burn to prevent any kind of infection and reduce the risk of further harm. So the best way we can do that, within the household, is cling wrap. Getting a good sheet of cling wrap, we want to cover the affected area. Lightly cover our burn. We may wish to place a bandage over the top, just to hold this in place. However, we want to ensure that it is only the cling wrap, or non-stick dressing that has contact with our burn and the coverage is significantly wider than the obvious affected area.

Minor vs severe burns

A burn is considered minor if it is less than the size of a 20 cent piece and on a part of the body other than the airways. It will be red and have no, or only a small amount, of blistering.

If a burn is severe, call 000 immediately. A severe burn will be deep, have patches of white, black or yellow and cause the skin to turn dry and leathery. A severe burn is one that is larger than a 20 cent piece or occurs to the airways.

What to do if a burn occurs

If you or someone you are with experiences a burn, as soon as possible cool the injured area by holding the burn under cool running water for at least 20 minutes.

If you don’t have access to cold running water, a container of cool water can be used to immerse the burned area. This will need to be refreshed if the water warms up.

Remove any clothing and jewellery from the burned area, unless it is stuck.

Once the burn has cooled

To protect the burn and promote healing after it has cooled, cover the burn with a light, loose, non-adherent dressing. Plastic cling film works well in you don’t have any other clean, lint-free dressings. Ensure the dressing extends beyond the burn site.

Monitor for shock

If the patient becomes pale, with cold and clammy skin they might be going into shock. Call 000 for an ambulance.

While waiting for help to arrive, lay the patient on their back and wrap them in warm blankets.

Disclaimer

The information contained here is of a general nature and does not take into account your personal medical situation. The information is not a substitute for independent professional medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or used for therapeutic purposes. Should you require specific medical information, please seek advice from your healthcare practitioner. Health Partners does not accept any liability for any injury, loss or damage incurred by use of or reliance on the information provided. While we have prepared the information carefully, we can’t guarantee that it is accurate, complete or up-to-date. And while we may mention goods or services provided by others, we aren’t specifically endorsing them and can’t accept responsibility for them.

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