SLC21/WK6: Understanding Burns: Types, Causes, and First Aid Responses

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Friends, I was intrigued by this challenge after reading some of the posts from the guide. I still tried to make time to participate in this challenge, the title of which was "Understanding Burns: Types, Causes, and First Aid Responses" by Dr. @abdu.navi03 and Dr. @huzaifanaveed1.

Now I will try to answer all the questions given by our teachers, and hopefully you can understand the writing from my understanding of the title this time.

Question 1:

Write a detailed first aid response for the following scenario:

"You witness a child accidentally spill hot tea on his arm. What immediate steps would you take? What actions would you avoid?
Include considerations about the severity of the burn and explain your reasoning. “

When a child experiences such an incident (spilling hot tea on his arm) or something similar. I would act immediately to save him from something he did, but I would also go through the steps of dealing with it. And the most important step is to stop the burn process that has already happened to the child by distancing the child from further injury, for example the child spilled hot tea, so I would immediately distance the hot tea from the child so that the spillage would stop immediately.

Then I look at the place where the water was spilled, whether it was on the hand or on another part of the body, and this should also be hastened. So I immediately looked for cold water (not ice) as quickly as possible and splashed it on the area of the hand where the hot water had been spilled. This watering process will be done within 10-20 minutes at a minimum, its function is to help reduce the temperature of the skin to subside and stop more tissue damage to the surrounding skin. However, if water is not available then I will replace it with a clean cloth, then I wet it with aerated water and place it on the skin affected by the hot water spill.

There is also something to note, if the wound area has jewelry or clothing, it must be removed before the wound area swells, otherwise it can allow the wound area to worsen and the pain to increase. However, if the clothing has been attached to the wound area, do not try to remove it because this can cause the wound to worsen.

After completing the above steps, I will then cover the wound area with a dry, clean cloth or sterile gauze to prevent infection. After treating the wound, we also need to pay attention to the next reaction, whether there are any signs of shock, such as pallor of the wound area or excessive dryness which will cause the wound to heal longer or decrease consciousness, so we need to calm them down from panic.

Evaluate the severity of the wound area, if the child has a mild burn then the skin will look red and painful, but there is no blistering, then I just treat it at home by applying moisturizing cream or aloe vera gel after cooling the wound area.

But if the injury is a moderate burn, of course there will be paralysis in the wound area, so we need to take care that there is no touch of anything on the paralysis let alone breaking it, this needs to be avoided. If a moderate burn occurs in a sensitive area then you should immediately take it to a doctor.

If the child is severely burned, the child's skin will be severely damaged, with the skin turning white or charred. So the only step I would take is to call emergency services as soon as possible, because we cannot treat this ourselves other than protecting the wound area and calming the child down.

I will avoid some actions

• First, I would avoid oily substances on the burned area, and never apply them to the burned skin as this will cause the burn to worsen and heat up the skin.

• Avoid the use of ice or excessively cold water, as this can cause damage to the skin tissue more easily due to tissue freezing.

• Do not attempt to break the skin laxity, as the skin laxity is what protects the underlying skin from inflection. The paralysis will heal itself over time.

• If the injury appears to be serious, do not underestimate and delay medical assistance, take action as soon as possible to contact medical assistance so that the injury does not worsen.

Question 2:

“A worker in a warehouse suffered an electrical burn after touching an exposed electrical wire. The burn site shows entry and exit points, with damage to the skin and underlying tissue. What first aid measures should you take, and what important steps should you avoid? How is it different from treating thermal burns?”

Before assisting the victim, I will first ensure the safety of the environment related to the source of electricity that occurred to the victim so as not to spread to other people around him or give a fire reaction in the warehouse, and especially myself approaching the victim. And make sure that no one touches the victim if the power source or cable is still active, because it can endanger yourself.

Then I will check the victim's condition, I will check the victim's breathing and pulse, whether it is still functioning. If the breathing and pulse traces are no longer there then we should immediately perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Then treat the victim by covering the wound area with a clean cloth and avoiding water in order to cool the burns caused by electricity, because this will cause tissue damage to the inner layers of the body.

Avoid some of these steps

• As a party who will help the victim, you must make sure before touching the victim, that the power source is off so as not to endanger the helper.

• Do not try to use ineffective water on the victim's body parts because it can worsen the tissues in the body.

• Do not ignore electrical burns that occur even if they look normal from the outside, because electrical burns react inside like severe damage under the skin but look small on the outside.

• Do not immediately give medicine or food by mouth as the victim may require medical surgery or anesthesia.

Question 3:

“A worker in a factory accidentally spilled strong acid on his arm, which caused pain, redness, and blisters. A coworker tries to clean it with water but realizes the burn is spreading.”

a. Identify the type of burn.

b. What went wrong during the initial first aid?

c. Propose the correct first aid steps and explain why each step is important.

• This is a chemical burn that occurred to the victim, possibly due to exposure to strong acids that are capable of damaging the underlying skin.

• Inadequate watering by the victim or worker did not allow for sufficient duration or volume to remove the chemicals on the skin. The victim did not use protective equipment (PPE) as recommended in every factory or company. And did not avoid the spread of chemicals, but instead doused with water which might further spread the chemicals to other areas.

The victim did not receive medical assistance, while chemical burns should require immediate evaluation by medical personnel so that they do not swell and worsen, especially if the injury has blisters and severe pain.

• Propose the correct first aid steps and explain why each step is important.

Ensuring environmental safety
Use personal protective equipment to prevent chemical exposure, such as gloves and aprons and ensure that there are no additional risks to yourself such as further chemical exposure. Importance: To avoid harm to the helper and others around them and be able to provide safe assistance.

Flush the affected location with running water
Flushing the affected area with clean running water, to remove traces of chemicals from the skin with a duration of 20-30 minutes. And make sure the water has flowed below and away from the body to avoid chemicals. Importance: Rinsing the chemical on the area is the first step to avoid damage to the deep tissue.

Seek Medical Assistance Immediately
Contact medical services or take the victim to a health facility for immediate evaluation, especially if the injuries are severe and involve large areas of the body. Importance: Chemical burns can cause skin tissue damage and spread to the side areas, which requires maximum treatment from medical personnel.

Question 4:

You are a first responder in a rural area. Two people were injured in a house fire:

Person A has extensive third degree burns but is conscious and calm.
Person B has second-degree burns on both legs and is in severe pain.

You can only help one person immediately due to limited resources.

Who would be your priority, and why? Support your decision with medical and ethical considerations.

I will prioritize person B who has second-degree burns on his legs which are more severe than person A and is in greater pain. I do this because second-degree burns can be treated more effectively than third-degree burns. In addition, Person B was in need of immediate assistance because the burns were more severe.

In conditions of limited resources, priority is often given to those who have the greatest chance of surviving with the available resources. Person B's severe burns indicate that help must be rushed to alleviate significant suffering.

Immediate intervention was given to person B because he had a much greater chance of survival, which was medically and ethically appropriate. Although a difficult decision, this choice provides a broad benefit to the resources available.

Question 5:

Create an infographic about arson management. Include the following:

a. Types of burns and their causes (electrical, thermal, etc.)

b. Types of burns (1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree)

c. First aid measures for mild and severe burns

d. What NOT to do during burn first aid." Use visuals and short explanations for each point.

Here below are all the infographics that I have outlined from the questions above

That's all from me, thank you very much for the lessons that have been given, I really appreciate it. And thank you also to all my friends who have read my writing. Before ending I would like to invite some seniors namely Mr. @pelon53, Mr. @heriadi Mr. @walictd, Mr. @muzack1, Mr. @wilmer1988 and Mr. @msharif.

Greetings @cymolan