Burns, especially among exploring kids, aren’t exactly uncommon — about half a million Americans go to the ER for burn injuries each year. And 300 kids get emergency care for burns every day in the United States.
Whether you’re dealing with a child who experimented with boiling water or an adult who burned themself in the kitchen, quick action is important, as is burn aftercare.
At Forest Urgent Care, Dr. Ping Wong, Dr. Waiho Lum and our team see our fair share of injuries, including burns, and we want to share some essential burn care tips here. Let’s dive in.
There are many ways people can burn themselves — with fire, electricity, chemicals, hot water, the sun, etc. To give you an idea about which burns occur most frequently, scalding burns are most common among toddlers while smoking and open flame are the leading causes of burns in older people.
In general, we divide burns into three categories based on how many layers of skin are affected:
We consider first-degree burtons to be minor and superficial, and they usually don’t need our urgent care. Instead, you can take care of these burns at home following the guidelines we provide below.
Many second-degree burns can also be handled at home, except in certain instances, such as when the burn:
And anytime you suspect that you might be dealing with a full-thickness (third-degree) burn, we want you to come see us.
For relatively minor first- or second-degree burns, these injuries require a slightly different standard of care than your typical cut, so please read our directions carefully.
Immediately after the burn, gently run lukewarm (not cold or freezing) water over the affected area for about 5-10 minutes, or until the pain subsides. This helps reduce heat in the skin, limiting further damage while providing relief. Avoid using ice or very cold water, as extreme temperatures can irritate the burn and potentially cause additional harm to the skin.
If there’s anything around the burn site, try to clean it carefully, using gauze that won’t leave any material behind. Just use soap and water.
Once you’ve cooled and cleaned the burn, you can apply an ointment, such as petroleum jelly or an aloe vera gel. There’s no need to apply an antibiotic ointment.
You don't necessarily need to cover the burn, but if it’s in a sensitive area and you want to protect it, you can apply a no-stick bandage to the injury. This also helps protect it from sun exposure, which you want to avoid.
If a blister forms over the burn, let it be, This is your body’s way of protecting the site while it gets to work on repairing the tissues. Simply let the blister fade on its own.
To deal with any discomfort, you can take over-the-counter medications, but the pain from a minor burn usually doesn't linger.
If the minor burn isn’t healing or shows signs of infection (redness and swelling), please come see us right away.
If you have more questions about minor burn care or you have a burn that you’d like help with, please contact us at our New York City office in Forest Hills, Queens. You can also visit our clinic during our hours of operation, which are Monday through Friday from 8am to 7pm and Saturdays and Sundays from 10am to 5pm.
