Burn injury happens in seconds but can change a person’s life forever.
In light of National Burn Safety Awareness Week from May 6 to 12, Affinity Health encourages the public to learn about preventing burn injuries and protecting yourself and your loved ones.
With winter just around the corner, many families turn up the heat to keep the chills at bay. That means more coal-burning fires, paraffin heaters and electrical heating appliances, as well as the increased use of candles.
Sadly, this time of year is a window of opportunity for burn accidents to happen.
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Despite being preventable, an estimated 180 000 people worldwide die every year due to burns, with the vast majority of fatalities occurring in low- and middle-income households.
In South Africa, a leading cause of burn accidents is thermal injuries from kerosene (paraffin) cookstove incidents, and tragically, many of the victims are children.
A South African survey showed thermal injuries to be the commonest external cause of death under the age of four and the third most typical cause of injury fatalities under the age of 18.
“It’s crucial that every South African knows burn prevention. This includes basic awareness around fire safety precautions, such as having working smoke alarms/detectors in your home, an escape plan if a fire should occur, as well as fire extinguishing equipment should you ever need it,” said Murray Hewlett, CEO of Affinity Health.
Children should be taught about stop, drop and roll – an important method used to smother flames.
If clothes catch fire:
• Stop where you are. Drop to the ground and cover your eyes and mouth with your hands. Roll over and over and back and forth until the flames are out.
• Children should also be taught not to play with matches or get too close to fires or heating elements.
• All parents should know the emergency number of their closest fire department and basic first-aid care for burn victims.
• The treatment of a burn is dependent upon the severity of the injury. In general, first-degree burns can be adequately treated with proper first-aid measures administered at home. Second-degree burns that cover more than 15 per cent of an adult’s body or 10 per cent of a child’s, or that affect the face, hands or feet, should receive prompt medical attention, as should all third-degree burns, regardless of size.
“In the case of burns due to open flames, it’s always advisable to seek medical attention to rule out any respiratory complications due to smoke inhalation as this is ranked as a major cause of death in burn patients,” explained Hewlett.
The same applies in the case of an electrical burn, see your doctor or healthcare provider right away even if the electrical burn appears mild. This is because an electrical burn sometimes causes mild skin damage, but there can still be severe internal organ and tissue damage.
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