Essential Medical knowledge to become your own doctor (within reason)!

Burns

First steps:

1. On fire? Stop, drop and roll. There are three different types of fires, you must know how to put each of them out:

Type	Solution
Solid Fire - this is your common fire usually burning wood or paper	To put this fire out use water or extinguishing foam
Liquid Fire - this type of fire is usually burning fuel or cleaning fluid	To put this fire out use extinguishing powder or foam
Gas Fire - this type of fire will be burning flammable gases like natural gas	To put this fire out shut off the gas supply or use extinguishing powder
Metal Fire - this is the rarest type of fire and will be burning a combustible metal like sodium	It can only be put out by extinguishing powder. Note: Water can act as an acclerant on metal fires!
Oil fire - this type of fire with be burning any type of oil, commonly cooking oil or grease	To put out the fire use a wet chemical or a fire blanket
Electrical fire - this fire can fall into any of the other classes, what makes it different is that it is ignited by electricity, making it more dangerous	This fire can only be put out by CO2, never use water on an electrical fire as it can give the extiguisher a fatal shock!

2. Remove all clothing to ensure nothing hot stays near the area

3. Run cool (not freezing) water over the burned area for 3-5 minutes.

4. Swelling will occur so remove all rings, tight clothing etc from the area.

5. Cover burn with clean, dry dressing, bandage, or sheet.

6. Bonus! If available use anti-septic to avoid infection.



Rule Of Nines!

This is used to calculate the severity of the burn. "the body is divided into areas equaling multiples of nine percent of the total body surface area. The palm of your hand, for example, is equal to about one percent of your body’s surface area. The head and arms are each equal to nine percent of the body surface. The chest and back are each 18 percent (two nine percent). Each leg is 18 percent (two X nine percent). This totals 11 nine, or 99 percent. The heads of infants and small children are in relatively larger proportion to the total body surface area, and the limbs are in smaller proportion than adults limbs. The total body surface area of a burn is referred to as TBSA. A patient might have the diagnosis of a 45 percent TBSA thermal burn, for example. The TBSA and burn depth analysis are recorded on a hospital chart known as a “burn diagram.” Determining the percent of body surface area burned is important for correct fluid replacement." - burninstitute.org

If burn is serious go to a hospital to receive extra care in case of emergency!