Treating Burn Injuries
Babies have extremely sensitive skin, and can burn very easily. One of the most common causes of a burn injuries are from very preventable accidents. Sunburns, burns from hot liquids, and burns from bathing in too high a temperature are all common accidents, and all can be prevented by taking a small precautionary effort. Removing coffee, tea, or other hot liquids from within a baby´s reach, covering your baby with proper clothing when going outdoors, and monitoring the temperature and turning off the tap during bathing can all help to prevent unexpected accidents.
If your baby has been burned, it is important to care for them properly and immediately. First, remove your child from the source of the burn, whether it is from a bathtub, the sun, or a hot liquid. Then, wash the burned area with cold water from the tap for fifteen minutes. If, for some reason, tap water is not available, cover the baby´s wounds with a cold wet towel. It is important not to use ice to cool the area, as this is very often counterproductive, compounding the burn with frostbite. A sterile dressing should be placed on the burn at this point if one is available.
If the burn injury is serious, or covers a large area of the baby´s body (more than 10%), it is important that you call a doctor. Babies, and to a lesser extent, younger children are prone to hypovolemia, a serious complication of burns. Also, many burns require proper cleaning and debridement or the removal of dead tissue to minimize the risk of infection and scarring, and this will require proper medical attention.
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