Burns, Bleeding and Broken Bones: Managing Injuries at Home

Serious emergencies are rare. Cuts, burns, sprains and knocks are constant. Managing the ordinary ones well prevents infection and complications, and knowing where the line sits keeps you from either overreacting or missing something important.

Burns and scalds

Cool the burn under gently running cool water for twenty minutes. Twenty minutes is the full recommendation, not two or three, and it remains effective for up to three hours after the injury. Remove clothing and jewellery from the area unless it is stuck to the skin. Do not use ice, butter, oil, toothpaste or flour, all of which either damage tissue further or trap heat. Do not break blisters. Cover loosely with a non stick dressing or a sheet of plastic cling film laid flat rather than wrapped tightly.

Seek medical care for any burn larger than the palm of the person's hand, any burn to the face, hands, feet, genitals or over a joint, any burn on a baby or elderly person, and any burn caused by chemicals or electricity.

Bleeding

Apply firm direct pressure over the wound with a clean dressing and keep it there. The most common error is lifting the dressing every thirty seconds to check, which disrupts the clot that is forming. If blood soaks through, add another dressing on top rather than removing the first. Raise the injured limb if you can. If an object is embedded in the wound, leave it in place and pad around it.

Call 000 for bleeding that spurts, that does not slow with sustained pressure, or where the person becomes pale, cold, clammy or confused.

Sprains and suspected fractures

Rest the injury, apply an ice pack wrapped in a cloth for twenty minutes, apply a compression bandage and elevate the limb. Avoid heat, alcohol, massage and running the area under hot water in the first forty eight hours, because all of them increase swelling. If you suspect a fracture, support the limb in the position you found it, immobilise it and seek medical assessment. Obvious deformity, an inability to bear weight or use the limb, or numbness beyond the injury all mean it needs an x ray.

Poisoning

Call the Poisons Information Centre on 13 11 26 immediately. Do not make the person vomit, because many substances cause more damage coming back up. Keep the container so you can tell them exactly what was involved and how much. If the person is unresponsive or having difficulty breathing, call 000 instead.

Knowing where the line is

The skill worth having is not memorising every treatment, it is recognising when an ordinary injury has become something more. Our Provide First Aid course covers all of the above in about three hours and gives you a consistent way to assess any casualty. See upcoming dates.