Burns destroy skin and tissue from heat, chemicals, electricity, or radiation. Severity depends on depth and how much of the body is affected.
Remove the source of the burn immediately. Turn off electricity, remove the person from fire, remove burning clothing — but do not remove clothing that is stuck to the skin.
Cool the burn immediately with cool running water for a minimum of 20 minutes. This is the single most important step. Start cooling as fast as possible.
Do not stop the cooling early — 20 full minutes, even if the person says the pain has reduced.
Remove jewellery, watches, and belts near the burn area before swelling begins — do this gently and only if they are not stuck to skin.
Cover the burn loosely with a clean non-fluffy material — cling film is ideal, or a clean plastic bag. If unavailable, use a clean cloth.
Keep the person warm — cooling a large area can cause dangerous drop in body temperature especially in children. Cover the rest of the body.
Give the person fluids to drink if they are conscious — water or oral rehydration solution. Burns cause significant fluid loss.
Assess the size of the burn using the palm rule — the person's palm equals approximately 1% of their body surface area.
Keep the person still and calm while organising transport to hospital.
Burn covers more than 10% of the body in an adult or more than 5% in a child.
Burn involves the face, hands, feet, genitals, major joints, or goes all the way around a limb.
Burn is deep — white, brown, or black in colour, leathery or waxy appearance, painless.
Burn was caused by electricity — always requires hospital evaluation even if small.
Inhalation injury — singed eyebrows, burns inside the mouth, hoarse voice, difficulty breathing.
Chemical burn to the eyes — flush immediately and go to hospital.
Burn in a child under 5 or adult over 60.
Never use ice, iced water, butter, toothpaste, oil, or any home remedy on a burn — these cause further damage.
Never burst blisters — they protect against infection.
Never remove clothing or material stuck to the skin.
Do not use fluffy cotton wool, towels with fibres, or anything that will stick to the wound.
Chemical burns: rinse with large amounts of water for 20 minutes. Do not try to neutralise chemicals with other chemicals.
✓ What Helps
· Paracetamol or ibuprofen for pain relief in mild burns
· Cling film or clean plastic bags for covering
· Oral rehydration salts for hydration
✗ What To Avoid
· Butter, oil, toothpaste, egg white — all worsen burns
· Ice or very cold water — causes further tissue damage
· Aspirin in children under 16
→ Ask The Pharmacist For
· Sterile non-stick dressings such as paraffin gauze
· Ibuprofen gel for minor surface burns only
· Silver sulfadiazine cream — only for burns under medical guidance
🏥 Get Professional Help
All deep burns, large burns, burns to the face or hands, electrical burns, and chemical burns require immediate hospital treatment. Minor burns covering a small area of unbroken skin can be managed at home with proper cooling and dressing but should be reviewed by a nurse or doctor within 24 hours.