Kit Buildup - Burn Pack

[dvdmacdaddy]

No worries, and where you live it's a valid point to layer. Hypothermia kills trauma patients quickly, moreso for burn patients. Let's hope you never have to use the stuff...I worked in a burn center and burns still give me the heebie-jeebies.

Agreed, burns are horrific, I don't wish them upon my worst enemies.

[dvdmacdaddy]

I worked in a burn center and you should see what we do in the days and weeks after they arrive! The cleaning and debridement is a never-ending process, and is quite painful.

This is a good thread, and my two cents is that in a pre-hospital arena "sterile" sheets really need not be sterile, but any sheet as long it does the job and is warm, and do not irrigate burns unless they are relatively small as burn patients get hypothermic very quickly (exception is chemical burns, you gotta get the chemicals off).

For my paramedic training because the hospital here is a teaching hospital I opted to spend an extra 24 hrs in the burn unit on top of our required 48 hrs, I really enjoyed it and learned alot.

[ftbear]

IMHO if you have access to them, a very large pair of sterile gloves ( 8.5 or 9) would be of great benefit. Hand burns are very common. I find in treating hand burns, using typical gauze around a hand wound will eat up alot of supplies and very quickly if changing the dressings at any interval. Placing silvadene ointment into a sterile glove and then placing the hand in them covers the hand while keeping it clean and covered. Also, the right/left hand can be turned inside out if 2 left/right hand wounds occur.

If you have access to it, additional silvadene (You will find you will never have enough) and a sterile tongue depressor for easy application would be my choice for additions to your great kit.

Nice thread

[DevilDoc1138]

Definitely flush the burn with the sterile water, and kerlix is my favorite securing wrap. Hypothermia blankets are real cheap and very small packaged so they are easy to fit. Solid burn pack.

[USAFPararescueDoc66]

Having versatility is good, especially as described above using diaper safety pins. These have many uses in trauma (Finger splints, and if needed you can hold a large wound together by going apex to apex) In my expirience with burns you might also want to add an airway device. I only say this due to the thermal sensativity of the throat most notably the Larynx and vocal cords if a flash burn has occured in these areas breathing will be severly impeaded. We always carried an OPA , you might want to consider throwing one of those in your burn kit. If you have been trained and have access to them, obviously a high dose steroid push would be ideal to mitigate swelling, however if this is not possible you might want to consider an airway intervention. Just my opinion.

Stay Safe

[Sincitymx]

I cooked the skin off of the top of my left hand up to my mid forearm total 3rd degree.. I got very lucky. But while I was being treated the nurse gave me a small jar of GENERIC NAME: SILVER SULFADIAZINE - TOPICAL (SIL-ver SIL-fa-DYE-a-zeen) to keep in my first aid kit for future use when and if severe burns occur. They used that stuff every day for 3 months as a type of antibiotic ointment on my hand after they scrubbed away the scar tissue daily. I guess the silver in it acts like an antibiotic and kills germs. Now I'm not a medic or any expert on burns. So please dont shoot the messenger. But I still keep a fresh supply in my backpacking first aid kit. I hope this helps someone out there if they happen upon a severe victim.

[Caduceus]

I cooked the skin off of the top of my left hand up to my mid forearm total 3rd degree.. I got very lucky. But while I was being treated the nurse gave me a small jar of GENERIC NAME: SILVER SULFADIAZINE - TOPICAL (SIL-ver SIL-fa-DYE-a-zeen) to keep in my first aid kit for future use when and if severe burns occur. They used that stuff every day for 3 months as a type of antibiotic ointment on my hand after they scrubbed away the scar tissue daily. I guess the silver in it acts like an antibiotic and kills germs. Now I'm not a medic or any expert on burns. So please dont shoot the messenger. But I still keep a fresh supply in my backpacking first aid kit. I hope this helps someone out there if they happen upon a severe victim.

Yeah, silvadene is the same as Silver Sulfadiazine. I think it's prescription only, which sucks. In a pinch bacitracin or neosporin work, once the "heat" is removed (vaseline bases can retain heat and worsen thermal burns, in theory). BTW, if you're using it, you still need to clean the burn first.

Don't work so well on chemical burns, AFAIK.