Dear Bush Doctor, summer is on its way and that means that for many of us will be going away and facing the African sun. How do we treat skin burns?
The media is always reporting the importance of preventing sunburn. Chronic exposure to the sun, leads to an increased risk of skin cancers.
Since many of us will be out camping, burns are also a common occurrence. 
What is not often reported in the media is how to treat sunburn and burns in general. Excessive exposure to the sun causes the skin to burn.
Burns wounds are classified into three categories: Superficial burns (1st degree burns), involving only the upper layers of the skin. The skin is red and some swelling. Most burns fall into this category, including sunburn. Partial-thickness burns (2nd degree burns), extending deeper into the skin. The skin is moist, mottled and red, with blisters. This includes sever sunburn. Full thickness burns (3rd degree burns), involving all the layers of the skin and the underlying tissue. The area is dry and pale, or could be charred black.
There are many causes of burns but for the purpose of this article we will only cover Thermal burns and Lights burns.
Remember that the larger and deeper the burn the poorer the outcome. High risk patients, the elderly, those with poor nutrition, multiple injuries and the ill do badly. Face burns are very dangerous.
Patients exposed to fires may have inhaled hot air and gases, causing inhalation burns. The smoke and chemicals damage the lungs. More than 50% of all fire deaths are related to smoke inhalation.
Find out what happened? Look out for dangers. Is the patient responding? Get help from surrounding people to assist. Is the patient breathing? Does the patient have a heartbeat? Don’t delay, seek medical advice soonest. Any patient that has been burned needs to be seen by a doctor.
Treating the patient:
Remove clothing and jewellery over the affected area, pour water on burns, no butter, no milk, no creams and no ointments such as Zambak. The idea is to cool the burn area down as soon as possible. The heat from the burn is transmitted onto the skin. If the skin is not cooled down as soon as possible, it continues to damage the skin. Cool the skin down quickly and effectively. Once the heat is dissipated the damage to the skin is reduced significantly. Once the skin has cooled down, you can apply a Burnshield™ dressing. You can also use gauze soaked in saline to apply over the wound area and seal it with some glad wrap to prevent it from drying up. Keep the burn area moist. I advise to purchase a Burnshield ™ kit to keep it handy, it is worthwhile.
Enjoy the warm weather.
Yours Truly,
The Bush Doctor
Dear Bush Doctor, summer is on its way and that means that for many of us will be going away and facing the African sun. How do we treat skin burns?
The media is always reporting the importance of preventing sunburn. Chronic exposure to the sun, leads to an increased risk of skin cancers.
Since many of us will be out camping, burns are also a common occurrence.
What is not often reported in the media is how to treat sunburn and burns in general. Excessive exposure to the sun causes the skin to burn.
Burns wounds are classified into three categories: Superficial burns (1st degree burns), involving only the upper layers of the skin. The skin is red and some swelling. Most burns fall into this category, including sunburn. Partial-thickness burns (2nd degree burns), extending deeper into the skin. The skin is moist, mottled and red, with blisters. This includes sever sunburn. Full thickness burns (3rd degree burns), involving all the layers of the skin and the underlying tissue. The area is dry and pale, or could be charred black.
There are many causes of burns but for the purpose of this article we will only cover Thermal burns and Lights burns.
Remember that the larger and deeper the burn the poorer the outcome. High risk patients, the elderly, those with poor nutrition, multiple injuries and the ill do badly. Face burns are very dangerous.
Patients exposed to fires may have inhaled hot air and gases, causing inhalation burns. The smoke and chemicals damage the lungs. More than 50% of all fire deaths are related to smoke inhalation.
Find out what happened? Look out for dangers. Is the patient responding? Get help from surrounding people to assist. Is the patient breathing? Does the patient have a heartbeat? Don’t delay, seek medical advice soonest. Any patient that has been burned needs to be seen by a doctor.
Treating the patient:
Remove clothing and jewellery over the affected area, pour water on burns, no butter, no milk, no creams and no ointments such as Zambak. The idea is to cool the burn area down as soon as possible. The heat from the burn is transmitted onto the skin. If the skin is not cooled down as soon as possible, it continues to damage the skin. Cool the skin down quickly and effectively. Once the heat is dissipated the damage to the skin is reduced significantly. Once the skin has cooled down, you can apply a Burnshield™ dressing. You can also use gauze soaked in saline to apply over the wound area and seal it with some glad wrap to prevent it from drying up. Keep the burn area moist. I advise to purchase a Burnshield ™ kit to keep it handy, it is worthwhile.
Enjoy the warm weather.
Yours Truly,
The Bush Doctor