Hunan - FIRST AID

FIRST AID FOR BURNS

The skin is an essential part of your body and its largest organ, You have three layers of skin which act as a barrier against disease, poisons and the sun’s harmful rays. The functions of your skin are also very complex: it keeps you warm or cool; it prevents your body from losing too much water; it is where you feel cold, heat or pain and it gives you your sense of touch. So as you can imagine, if your skin gets burned it can be very serious. First aid is a very important first step in the treatment of burns.

Causes of burns

You can get burned by a variety of things: hot liquids, steam, fire, radiation (by being close to high heat or fire, etc), the sun, electricity or chemicals.

Types of burns

There are three types of burns. Burns are called first, second or third degree burns, depending on which layers of the skin are burned.

• First degree burns

These affect only the top layer of the skin. These burns are not serious and should feel better within a day or two. Examples include mild sunburn and burns caused by touching a hot pan, stove or iron for a moment.

• Second degree burns

These affect both the top and the second layer of the skin. These burns are serious and take a few weeks to heal. Examples include severe sunburn and burns caused by hot liquids.

• Third degree burns

These affect all three layers of the skin and any tissue and organs under the skin. Examples include burns caused by electric shocks, burning clothes, or severe petrol fires. These burns cause very severe injuries and the victim must go to hospital at once.

Characteristics of burns

• First degree burns

--dry, red and mildly swollen

--mildly painful

--turn white when pressed

• Second degree burns

--rough, red and swollen

--blisters

--watery surface

--extremely painful

• Third degree burns

--black and white and charred

--swollen; often tissue under them can be seen

--little or no pain if nerves are damaged; may be pain around edge of injured area.

First aid treatment

1. Remove clothing using scissors if necessary unless it is stuck to the burn. Take off other clothing and jewellery near the burn.

2. Cool burns immediately with cool but not icy water. It is best to place burns under gently running water for about 10 minutes. (The cool water stops the burning process, prevents the pain becoming unbearable and reduces swelling.) Do not put cold water on third degree burns.

3. For first degree burns, place cool, clean, wet cloths on them until the pain is not so bad. For second degree burns, keep cloths cool by putting them backin abasin of cold water, squeezing them out and placing them on the burned area over and over again for about an hour until the pain is not so bad.

4. Dry the burned area gently. Do not rub, as this may break any blisters and the wound may get infected.

5. Cover the burned area with a dry, clean bandage that will not stick to the skin. Hold the bandage in place with tape. Never put butter, oil or ointment on burns as they keep the heat in the wounds and may cause infection.

6. If burns are on arms or legs, keep them higher than the heart, if possible. If burns are on the face, the victim should sit up.

7. If the injuries are second or third degree burns, it is vital to get the victim to the doctor or hospital at once.

Using Language

HEROIC TEENAGER RECEIVES AWARD

Seventeen-year-old teenager, John Janson,was honoured at the Lifesaver Awards last night in Rivertown for giving lifesaving first aid on his neighbour after a shocking knife attack.

John was presented with his award at a ceremony which recognized the bravery of ten people who had saved the life of another.

John was studying in his room when he heard screaming. When he and his father rushed outside, a man ran from the scene. They discovered that Anne Slade, mother of three, had been stabbed repeatedly with a knife. She was lying in her front garden bleeding very heavily. Her hands had almost been cut off.

It was John’s quick action and knowledge of first aid that saved Ms Slade’s life. He immediately asked a number of nearby people for bandages, but when nobody could put their hands on any, his father got some tea towels and tape from their house. John used these to treat the most severe injuries to Ms Slade' s hands. He slowed the bleeding by applying pressure to the wounds until the police and ambulance arrived.

“I’m proud of what I did but I was just doing what I’d been taught,” John said.

John had taken part in the Young Lifesaver Scheme at his high school. When congratulating John, Mr Alan Southerton, Director of the Young Lifesaver Scheme said, “There is no doubt that John’s quick thinking and the first aid skills he learned at school saved Ms Slade’s life. It shows that a knowledge of first aid can make a real difference.”

Before receiving their awards last night, John and the nine other Life Savers attended a special reception yesterday hosted by the Prime Minister.