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Show Your Doctor Says ... tl, following is one of a scries of nr. i u'n'Kfn 1V members of the Utah r Medical Association and -published in nnMralion U'iln y local ne.rsp.if.er. .", ' jr,icles are scheduled to appear every k,r week ihrousho"' 'he year in an "ll'L 0 belter acquaint you U'ilh problems i kralrh. and designed to improve the Hints and Precaufionsv Regarding Burns X siren sounds, an. ambulance races to a distant part of the city. Victims are removed from the blaze, raced to the hospital where emergency care is administered and their condition reported critical. In three or four days another report is read indicating that the burned patient is improving im-proving very nicely. It seems that this was only temporary, however, how-ever, for ten days later we find ourselves shocked when we read of the death of this same patient pa-tient This is not an uncommon story, tye know that a burn is like a destructively overflowing river. Not only do we have the burn as the main branch of the river, but many side creeks are steadily eroding vital areas until total destruction occurs. Along with the destruction of skin and other tissues we lose the ability to maintain main-tain and regulate our body heat. Our fluid and minerals and vital nutrition are lost through the skin. Various endocrine glands jnay be exhausted and shock results re-sults from pain, or fluid loss or from glandular exhaustion Reliance Re-liance is decreased and infec Damaged blood cells and fluid m ba,ance not only result in Bb but failure of one's heart, or obstruct ob-struct and failure of one's Kidneys. Kid-neys. Ulcers may form in the stomach and many other destruc- Th! 1geS might and d0 occur. These changes associated with serious burns are not new. Thev existed years ago but were poorly poor-ly appreciated, and burned patients pa-tients died after a few days of seermng improvement. A knowledge knowl-edge of these facts today make proper treatment possible. The management of burns is exceedingly ex-ceedingly time consuming and laborious, and they are aften avo.dable by following a few safety rules. Once burned, considerable con-siderable aid is rendered by simple first aid care and untold damage rendered by improper first aid. Winter time would seem the season for burns because of cold weather and more fires being lit. The accidental pattern, however' is about the same the year round! The child is burned while playing play-ing around weed fires or bonfires with holiday sparklers or playl ing with matches. Boiling water or coffee is pulled from the stove to scald and steam many a previously prev-iously beautiful face. Open flame gas stoves not infrequently ignite a frilly sleeve. Fireplaces improperly im-properly guarded and protected consume parts of children and adults as they frolic too close or stumble and fall into the flames. Open grills above central heating unit stoves are red hot and cross hatch litUe feet, hands, and faces that unknowingly are contacted. Children frequently die when left alone in the home to be trapped by an exploding oil or gas furnace, fur-nace, or by fire from sparks from the coal and wood stove or fireplace. fire-place. Vacuum plugs and Christmas Christ-mas tree light plugs, and others with a "live" end, deform many a pretty mouth as they are placed into the wetness of the area. Playing Play-ing or working with fuel oil, gasoline, gaso-line, or kerosene, or throwing these fuels onto a Jow fire to hurry things along "account for untold misery and expense in burns Burns produced by these and many other grotesque means are for the most part avoidable. This prevention is greatly a function func-tion of the parents. Guard your children well! Secondly, surround dangerous areas with proper blockages, cover your fireplace with a sturdy screen and keep it closed. Put pots and kettles on the back of the stove and don't forget the coffee pot. Keep children chil-dren away from wash water in uncovered tubs. Don't leave "live" plugs about to be chewed on. Avoid sparklers, dump the ashes in a safe place, control and guard field and bon fires, and forever do away with liquid fuel substances sub-stances misused about fires. Other generally sensible care and prevention, pre-vention, even though a few minutes min-utes of time and a little inconvenience incon-venience is involved, may save you or your child from death or disfigurement dis-figurement Please take the time! Should you be unfortunate and sustain a burn, recognition of the severity and proper early care are important. In order to be safe consult your M.D. A first degree burn is characterized by a blush such as seen with a sunburn. Blisters do not form, yet the burn is quite painful. Avoid discoloring and sticky ointments. A bland ointment such as sterile vaseline and a padded dressing will produce pro-duce comfort and allow normal healing. A second degree burn is one characterized again by pain and blistering. This burn can easily be infected and converted into a deeper one. Many of the changes mentioned in the first part of this article are taking place and proper evaluation and care are essential. Rather than apply untold un-told types of salves, etc., the burn should be covered with a clean sheet and medical care sought. Ointments applied are often irritating irrita-ting and dirty, or they cover parts of burned clothing, grit, etc., all of which have to be removed. This is much more easily done if ointments are not applied. Third degree burns are often difficult to evaluate and are always al-ways associated with areas of first and second degree. Such a burn, in which the fl thickness of the skin and often deeper structures are lost, should again be taken for medical care after simply covering cover-ing the areas with clean or sterile sheets. A sheet or shirt that has been ironed serve very well. Early attention to all burns con-not con-not be over emphasized. Only proper early care can prevent many of the problems which slowly slow-ly but steadily develop. The greatest great-est treatment, however, lies In the prevention of these painful, disfiguring, dis-figuring, and deadly wounds. |