A boy who was burned by a hot fireplace was admitted to a Lviv hospital
A father lit a fireplace to keep his children warm during the cold autumn weather, and went to the hospital with a burn on the youngest child. One-year-old Tymofiyko sustained a thermal injury to his right hand when he pulled the handle towards the fire out of curiosity. The burn surgeons who helped the child in Lviv state that with the cold weather there may be more such cases.
The boy received a palm-sized burn when he touched the fireplace. The father lit the fire to warm the room, as it was cold that day. But before Mr Yurii could turn away for a moment, the child had already put his hand into the hot fireplace. He immediately washed the burn with water. A little over an hour later, the parents were with their child at St Nicholas Hospital in Lviv.
Burn surgeon Halyna Sayan examined Tymofiy and performed the first dressing: she cleaned and washed the wound, applied a bandage with medicines. Soon after, the child was allowed to go home. A few days later, the procedure was repeated. A week later, the wound was completely healed, with no trace of it left.
In the case of a burn, first aid is very important, says Halyna Sayan, head of the City Centre for Thermal Trauma and Plastic Surgery at the First Medical Association of Lviv and a burn expert at the Burn Care Alliance project.
“We may be underestimating it, but first aid provided by parents at home has a very big impact. If adults, for example, smear sour cream or oil on the burn site, this will certainly lead to a deepening of the thermal injury. Such products form a film that retains the temperature and does not allow the burn to cool down. Such actions only worsen the child’s condition. And without knowing how to help properly, we can actually do a lot of harm,” says the doctor.
Fortunately, Mr Yurii, Tymofii’s father, knew what to do and provided the right help, which accelerated the child’s recovery.
Burns caused by alternative energy sources, hot water from pots, candle flames – all of these can cause complex thermal injuries. Such cases are especially common during power outages and in the cold season. Young children aged one to five are often affected.
How can you help yourself or your child? Tips from the burn surgeons of the First Medical Association of Lviv and experts from the Burn Care Alliance project:
1. Place the wound under cool running water for 15-20 minutes.
2. Take painkillers.
3. Treat the wound with a non-alcoholic antiseptic (chlorhexedine, miramistin, betadine).
4. Apply sterile gauze wipes (if available).
5. Seek help at a hospital.
Earlier, leading burn specialists from the city’s hospitals conducted a training course on first aid for burns at home. The participants were not only city hall employees but also Lviv schoolchildren. At the Town Hall, the doctors explained how to provide first aid and highlighted common mistakes that should never be made.