First aid for burns: too little, too late and often wrong

Hyland, Ela J; Harvey, John G; Holland, Andrew J A

doi:10.5694/mja13.11179

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To the Editor: The Australian and New Zealand Burns Association (ANZBA) defines adequate first aid for acute burns as 20 minutes of cold running water within the first 3 hours of a burn injury.1 Despite first aid campaigns, inappropriate and inadequate first aid treatment for burns continues to occur.2

The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, NSW.

Correspondence: ela.hyland@heath.nsw.gov.au

Acknowledgements:

We would like to acknowledge the State Burn Injury Service, New South Wales, for its valuable contribution.

Competing interests:

No relevant disclosures.

1. Australian and New Zealand Burns Association. Emergency management of severe burns manual. 8th ed. Sydney: The Education Committee of the Australian and New Zealand Burns Association Ltd, 2008.
2. Davies M, Maguire S, Okolie C, et al. How much do parents know about first aid for burns? Burns 2013; 39: 1083-1090.
3. Barlett N, Yuan J, Holland AJ, et al. Optimal duration of cooling for an acute scald contact burn injury in a porcine model. J Burn Care Res 2008; 29: 828-834.
4. Cuttle L, Pearn J, McMillan JR, Kimble RM. A review of first aid treatments for burn injuries. Burns 2009; 35: 768-775.

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First aid for burns: too little, too late and often wrong

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