First Aid for All Kinds of Burns

Some burns demand immediate medical attention. For example:

• All third-degree burns (the damage may cause dangerous, even fatal, infections, and destroyed skin may need skin grafts)
  
• Second-degree burns that are large or involve the hands, face, or genitals
  
• Chemical burns that affect the eyes or large areas of skin
  
• Electrical burns, because they may be more serious than they look

Act Quickly, But …

Don’t try to treat third-degree burns. Instead:

• Wrap a person who is on fire in a blanket or coat, or make him/her drop and roll.
  
• Place a clean cloth on the burn, but don’t try to cool or treat it, or remove clothes.
  
• Get the victim immediate medical help.
  
• Keep alert for other burn-related problems such as shock and breathing problems, and provide necessary first aid until help arrives.

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Think you have no time to train? Think again. BLR’s 7-Minute Safety Trainer helps you fulfill key OSHA-required training tasks in as little as 7 minutes.

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Less Serious Burns

First aid for first- and second-degree burns includes the following steps:

• Cut away loose clothing from the burn area, but don’t touch clothing that’s stuck to the burn.
  
• Don’t rub the burn.
  
• Place the burned body part in cold water or apply wrapped ice packs.
  
• Cover burns with clean cloth or dressing.
  
• Elevate burned limbs.
  
• Provide aspirin or ibuprofen to relieve pain.
  
• DON’T use butter, petroleum jelly, ointments, or unwrapped ice on a burn. It’s all right to use aloe vera gel on a minor burn.
  
• If a blister breaks, wash gently with soap and water and then cover with an antibiotic cream and sterile bandage. Wash the area and change the bandage daily. For large blisters, see a doctor.

Chemical Burns

For chemical burns check the substance’s MSDS for first-aid instructions. Generally, you should:

• Promptly remove contaminated clothing.
  
• Flush the affected eye or skin area with cool water for 15 minutes.
  
• Cover the affected part with a cool compress and seek medical attention.

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Effective, 7-minute sessions providing comprehensive safety training at an average cost of $1 a day.

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These first-aid recommendations were excerpted from the BLR^® 7-Minute Safety Trainer session on “First Aid for Burns.” The session provides you with a detailed trainer’s outline as well as an illustrated handout, quiz, and quiz answers to get your points across quickly—and cost-effectively.

All told, this “trainer’s bible” contains 50 prewritten meetings covering almost every aspect of safety you’d want or need to train on, in a format designed to be taught in as little as 7 minutes. Major topics include:

—Confined spaces
—Electrical safety
—Fire safety and emergency response
—HazCom
—Machine guarding and lockout/tagout
—Material handling
—PPE use and care
—Housekeeping/slips, trips, and falls
—and dozens more

Just make as many copies as you need of the included handouts and quizzes, and you’re ready to train.

Equally important is that the program ships new meetings every quarter to respond to new and changed regulations. This service is included in the program price, which averages just over $1 a working day. In fact, this is one of BLR’s most popular safety programs.

If you’d like to personally evaluate 7-Minute Safety Trainer and see how it can build safety awareness, we’ll be happy to send it to you for 30 days on a no-cost, no-obligation trial basis. Just let us know, and we’ll arrange it.