Burns and scalds
With a burn or scald, first stop the heat source without endangering yourself. Cool small burns briefly with lukewarm to cool, not ice-cold, water. Do not cool large burns over a large area – risk of hypothermia, especially in children – but call the emergency number (112 in the EU), cover with a sterile dressing and keep the person warm. No home remedies, do not open blisters, do not tear off clothing that is stuck to the skin. This text does not replace a first-aid course.
- Immediately; with large burns until the ambulance crew takes over
Explained simply
Hot water, a hotplate or a campfire can burn the skin. Then it turns red, hurts a lot and sometimes gets blisters. The first thing is always: stop the heat – but only if you do not burn yourself in the process.
A small burn, for example on a finger, you hold briefly under lukewarm to cool water. No ice! If the burn is large, you do not cool the whole body, because otherwise the person gets cold, especially a child. Then you call the emergency number (112 in the EU), cover the wound loosely with a clean dressing and keep the person warm.
Please no home remedies like flour, butter or toothpaste. Blisters stay closed. Clothing stuck to the skin is not torn off. This text does not replace a first-aid course.
How it works
Heat damages the skin. With a mild burn only the top layer is affected – it turns red and hurts. With deeper burns blisters form, and with very deep ones the skin can look white, grey or black and may even hurt less, because nerves are destroyed.
With scalds, wet, hot clothing holds the heat against the skin. That is why it is taken off at once – unless it is stuck. Briefly cooling small burns relieves the pain.
Large burns are different: through the injured skin the body loses a lot of heat and fluid. Cooling a large area would chill it even more. So here the emergency call, sterile covering and keeping warm come first.
What really matters
You need the emergency number for burns bigger than roughly the palm of the affected person's hand, for burns to the face, hands, feet, joints or genital area, for children and older people, after electrical or chemical accidents and if hot smoke was inhaled.
How long and how cold to cool is taught differently on courses in different countries. What is certain: no ice, no ice-cold water, and stop when the person starts to feel cold. Take off rings and watches early, before the area swells.
Safety and limits
Your own safety comes first: with electrical accidents have the power switched off first, with fire and smoke do not enter the danger zone. Smother burning clothing with a blanket or have the person roll on the ground – running fans the flames.
Home remedies like flour, butter, oil or toothpaste contaminate the wound and make treatment harder. Ointments and medication belong in medical hands. Blisters protect the wound underneath and stay closed.
Prevention and practice
Many scalds happen to young children with hot drinks. Put cups and pots out of reach, turn pan handles inward and use a hob guard. Keep your distance at a campfire and never use accelerants.
On a first-aid course you practise covering wounds with sterile dressings and looking after casualties. A fire blanket in the kitchen and a dressing sheet in the first-aid kit help you act quickly in an emergency.
Step by step
- 1
Stop the heat
Remove the heat source or move the person out of the danger zone if you can do so without endangering yourself. Smother burning clothing with a blanket or have the person roll on the ground.
- 2
Remove hot, wet clothing
With scalds, carefully remove clothing soaked in hot liquid at once. Do not tear off anything stuck to the skin; cut around it or leave it. Take off rings, watches and tight jewellery early, before the area swells.
- 3
Assess size and location
If the burn is bigger than roughly the palm of the affected person's hand, is on the face, hands, feet, joints or genital area, if a child is affected or if electricity, a chemical or hot smoke was involved: call the emergency number (112 in the EU).
- 4
Briefly cool small burns
Hold small burns under lukewarm to cool, not ice-cold, tap water for a few minutes. No ice directly on the skin. Do not cool large burns over a large area.
If the person shivers or is a small child, stop cooling and keep them warm.
- 5
Cover with a sterile dressing
Cover the wound loosely with a sterile dressing or a dressing sheet, without pressure and without ointments. Do not open blisters.
- 6
Keep warm and look after them
With larger burns cover the person (for example with an emergency blanket), reassure and observe them. Watch for signs of shock such as pallor, cold sweat and restlessness, and report changes to the dispatcher.
Common mistakes
- Cooling with ice or ice-cold water
- Cooling large burns over a large area for a long time, especially in children
- Applying flour, butter, oil, toothpaste or ointments
- Popping blisters
- Tearing off clothing stuck to the skin
- Waiting it out with burns to the face or after inhaling smoke
Quick view
Materials
Sterile dressings and bandages
For loose, sterile covering
Open sterile packaging only immediately before use; observe the expiry date.
Disposable gloves
Consider latex allergies – prefer latex-free gloves (e.g. nitrile).
Emergency blanket
Keeping warm with large burns
Tears easily once punctured; short-term shelter only.
Conductive – keep away from power lines.
Wool blanket / duvet
Keep away from candles, stoves and heaters.
Fire blanket
For smothering burning clothing
Hang within reach near the kitchen, but not directly above the cooker.
Suitable for
- Burns from a cooker, stove, campfire or barbecue
- Scalds from hot water, tea, soup or steam
Not suitable for
- Self-treating large, deep or delicate burns – they belong in medical care
- Treatment with ointments, oils or home remedies
Prerequisites
- The heat source has been put out or removed
- No electricity or chemicals still involved – or your own safety is ensured
Safety
- This text does not replace a first-aid course. First aid is learned through hands-on practice under instruction. In an emergency always call professional help – via the local emergency number (112 in the EU) – and follow the dispatcher's instructions.
- No ice and no ice-cold water. Do not cool large burns over a large area; cover them and keep the person warm – children in particular otherwise cool down quickly.
- No flour, butter, oil, toothpaste or ointments. Do not open blisters. Do not tear off clothing that is stuck to the skin.
How it works
Heat damages the skin and the tissue beneath it; with scalds, wet clothing stores the heat and keeps burning. First aid therefore first stops the heat. Briefly cooling small burns relieves pain. With large burns the body loses a lot of heat and fluid through the damaged skin – cooling a large area would chill it further. There, the emergency call, sterile covering and keeping warm come first. Damaged skin is an open door for germs; home remedies contaminate the wound and make medical assessment harder.
Advantages
- Possible almost anywhere with water and a dressing
- Acting correctly prevents extra harm from home remedies and chilling
Disadvantages
- Cooling time and water temperature are taught differently on courses in different countries
- The depth of a burn is hard for lay people to judge
Deep knowledge
Background
The ERC first-aid guidelines and the IFRC guidelines recommend cooling burns with water, not using ice, and then covering the wound loosely. German-language first-aid organisations such as the Red Cross additionally stress not cooling large burns over a large area and protecting casualties – especially children – from chilling. How long and how cold to cool is taught differently internationally; what counts is what is taught on the current course.
Scalds from hot drinks are among the most common accidents in young children. Cups and pots out of reach, pan handles turned inward and a hob guard help prevent them.
Variants
- Chemical burns
- Protect yourself with gloves; remove clothing soaked with chemicals and rinse the skin with plenty of running water. With splashes in the eye, rinse the eye thoroughly with water while protecting the uninjured eye. Call the emergency number and have the packaging or product name ready.
- Electrical injury
- First switch off the power (fuse, plug); with high voltage keep a large distance and call the emergency number. Even small visible burns after electrical accidents need a medical check, because internal damage and heart rhythm problems are possible.
Common mistakes
- Cooling with ice or ice-cold water
- Cooling large burns over a large area for a long time, especially in children
- Applying flour, butter, oil, toothpaste or ointments
- Popping blisters
- Tearing off clothing stuck to the skin
- Waiting it out with burns to the face or after inhaling smoke
Limits and risks
- Does not replace a first-aid course
- No wound treatment, no ointments or medication
- Deliberately without a fixed cooling time – courses and countries differ
- Severe burns belong in hospital
Material alternatives
Derived from material properties: a substitute must have all relevant properties. Observe the notes on the substitute.
- Sterile dressings and bandages
- Cotton cloth / T-shirt (Removes coarse particles only – no disinfection.), Mosquito net (Flammable – keep away from flames.), Fine cloth or muslin net against flies (Keep clean and dry; do not hang it over the flames.)
- Wool blanket / duvet
- Sleeping pad, Dry leaves, grass or conifer boughs (Collect only where allowed; no protected plants. Check for ticks and insects.), Backpack, Dry spare clothing (Carry it in waterproof packaging – wet clothing barely insulates.), Insulated cool box (Keeps cold only for a limited time; without ice packs or ice it is not a fridge.), Sleeping bag (Do not store compressed long-term; do not pack away damp.), Newspaper and cardboard (Flammable – keep away from candles, stoves, heaters and embers.), Insulated cooking box (hay box, thermal cooker) (Never put open flame or embers inside – only the hot, closed pot.), Long-stemmed thatch (reed, grass, rushes) (Extremely flammable – no open fire and no sparks nearby.)
Results come exclusively from structured entries. No improvised instructions are generated.
Sources
European Resuscitation Council – Resuscitation (journal) (2021): European Resuscitation Council Guidelines 2021: First Aid
Cooling with water, no ice, covering; rinsing chemical burns
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) – Global First Aid Reference Centre (2020): International First Aid, Resuscitation, and Education Guidelines 2020
Lay first aid for burns
Deutsches Rotes Kreuz (DRK): Erste Hilfe – Informationen und Kurse
Do not cool large burns over a large area, keep warm, no home remedies
Österreichisches Rotes Kreuz: Erste Hilfe – Informationen und Kurse
Burns: emergency call, sterile covering, do not open blisters