Treat fire wounds correctly!

Cool to the pain diminishes - this old first aid rule for burns is not correct in each case after newest medical knowledge.

Professor Dr. Peter Sefrin warns: "with the cooling of fire wounds are made serious errors. The use from water to the reduction of the pain is indicated only for smaller wounds."

To the problem of the fire wounds Professor says Dr. Sefrin: "The duration of the cooling should be limited to ten until highest 15 minutes up to the arrival of the emergency service. Wide burns may cooled with water for a very short time and not be treated longer with water, because particularly with children and older humans the danger of the undercooling exists. This can lead in the consequence to serious complications, in particular to coagulating disturbances and infections"

Sefrin further: "After extinguishing of burning clothes all clothes should be removed from the body if they did not stick together with the skin because of a possible heat buildup. With burns, which concern more than five to ten per cent of the body surface, the emergency surgeon should be called, in order to be able to introduce an early treatment also against the pain in each case".