So, for what reasons and under what impact can a child be burned? As I already mentioned, in order to get such a wound, you need direct skin contact with an aggressive chemical substance. Often these are all kinds of liquids, but there are also powder materials that can cause chemical burns. Among them I would like to highlight limestone dust, phosphorus and cement, concrete and heavy metal salts. Other skin burns can be caused by acid or alkali, a solvent. These dangerous substances are very often found in many chemical household substances (for example, in mineral fertilizers, varnishes and paints (here we also include hair dye), bleach and building materials, cleaning and detergents, disinfectants, etc.).
By what signs can you determine that a child has burned? There are a number of symptoms that indicate this, they are particularly reliable in cases where you know exactly or saw that a dangerous chemical substance has got on the child's skin. These are the signs:
1) the child says that the affected area burns and grows numb, he feels tingling;
2) the skin color of the child suddenly changed, most often - to red, but sometimes the skin may turn pale or acquire a bluish tint, and in some cases - even darken;
3) chemical burns cause severe pain;
4) blisters appeared on the baby's skin.
Now I would like to draw the attention of parents to one important detail. If we talk about first aid, which should be given to the injured baby, then in all cases it will be absolutely the same. However, this applies only to first aid. When medical treatment begins, it is important for the doctor to know: what exactly caused the thermal burn? And it will be very good if you initially save some of the aggressive substance that burned your child. By doing this, you will greatly simplify the task for the doctor in prescribing the drug course.
What should any adult do if he saw that the child received a chemical burn?
1. First, you must immediately remove the corrosive substance, so that it no longer contacts the skin of the child. Powdered chemicals can simply be shaken off, or take a rag - and gently brushed off, making sure that it does not fall on your hands. Another option: blow off the powder from the baby, or take a vacuum cleaner, and get rid of the stimulus with it. If a poisonous burning liquid has dripped onto the clothes of a child - you need to immediately remove this wardrobe thing, and if this can not be done - then tear out or cut out this piece.
2. Aggressive substance that provoked thermal burns, should be thoroughly and long washed from the skin, using warm running water. It is advisable to spend at least 20 minutes on this.
3. After washing, you must either cover or wrap the affected area of the skin with a clean cloth moistened with cool water.
One more important point: if the child was hit by a powdery substance, then in no case start washing the affected area until the powder is shaken off. Do not allow his contact with water, as the reaction is difficult to predict - you can only do harm. Therefore, after carefully removing the powdery agent, begin the "water procedure".
Perhaps your child is very lucky and, blowing and rinsing the affected area, you noticed that there is not even a redness on the skin - then you do not need to see a doctor. However, there is a list of symptoms, noticing at least one of which, you should immediately seek help:
- the baby is weak and pale, his head is spinning and breathing;
- it can be seen that the skin was hit by a burn: ulcers and blisters appear on the affected area;
- The burn site is very sore for a long time;
- a skin area with a burn exceeds the size of a child's palm;
- if aggressive chemicals act on the groin, face or any large joint area.
If you suddenly decide to recall the lessons of chemistry and neutralize the effect of the chemical with alkali or acid - forget about it, as you can make a mistake and only aggravate the situation.
And now I would like to tell you more and what to do with chemical burns can not in any case. Since we usually try to transfer knowledge about emergency care from other critical situations and apply them in this case, however these measures of assistance are not always appropriate. So, if a child has received chemical burns, adults can not:
- try to remove or tear off clothes that stuck to the affected area;
- pierce the blisters that have arisen on the burn site;
- touching your own hands to the affected areas of the child's skin with chemicals;
- try to attach a cotton wool or a piece of ice to the burned place, you can not glue the wound with adhesive dressings (plaster, for example);
- Do the treatment of the affected area with the following ingredients: oils, cream or sour cream, kefir, cream or ointment, lotion, powder or powder, iodine and "green", hydrogen peroxide and, especially, alcohol.
The whole difficulty in self-treatment of chemical burns lies precisely in the fact that the reaction that occurs between a chemical agent and a medicine (the same ointment, for example) is unpredictable. Therefore, in order to avoid deterioration of the baby, it is better not to apply anything to the affected area for the first 24 hours after getting the burn. In any case, independently, without consulting a doctor. If you think that without medications in this case you can not do - then call the doctor. The main thing - do not let the situation go by itself. After all, chemical skin burns are not a joke!