Care of Burns Dressings at Home

Transcript

There are several types of dressings that may have been applied to your child's burn. They should all be kept dry on the outside and cannot come into contact with water. So it is important to avoid showers or baths and daily washing should be done with soapy water and a cloth, ensuring that you avoid getting the dressing wet. Prevent access to dirty water. For instance, by keeping the dog bowl out of reach.

If the dressing becomes wet, especially in germ filled water or sand and dirt get into the dressing after returning to a childcare centre, for instance, you will need to return to the emergency department to have the dressing changed. One of the dressings your child may have is Acticoat, which has a purple tube head on the top of the dressing.

This will need to be kept moist on the inside, but dry on the outside. You will be provided a bag with syringes, tape, extra covers for dressings and anything else that you may need. The nurse applying the dressings will tell you how much water needs to be injected into the tube. Draw up the cold water from the tap.

Screw the syringe into place on the tube top and inject the water in. The water will go down to moisten the dressing. This is to be done three times a day. A good prompt to remember is breakfast, lunch and dinner. Salty or saline water does not work with this dressing. Plain tap water is fine. If you're on tank or bore water,

let your nurse know and they will provide you with a bottle of water. The nurse would have already wet the dressing when it was put on. They will tell you when to wet the dressing again. You may have heard of a term called toxic shock syndrome. The signs and symptoms to be aware of are rash, diarrhoea, vomiting, temperature, runny nose, cough and not eating or drinking as normal.

Be aware that if you think your child has gastro, it could be related to the burn. You know your child better than anyone else. If you feel they're not quite right, bring them to emergency immediately. If you are closest to a regional hospital, take them to emergency and ensure they ring. The Queensland Children's Hospital. Burns doctor for advice.

As a burn heals, it becomes very itchy. Prevention is the key to minimising itch. Some suggestions to minimise itch include ensuring you apply a moisturiser such as Sorbolene to all healed areas at least ten times a day. Encourage the child to avoid running, that will cause sweat and itching on the burn. Trimming and cleaning their fingernails to protect from germs and infections.

Administering an antihistamine, such as Zyrtec, can help diminish the itch. Giving Zyrtec even if you don't observe them scratching. The majority of itching happens at night. Babies may bite their hand if it has a dressing to indicate they are feeling an itch. And keeping their bedding and bedrooms cool will help alleviate the itching. You may see a brown liquid stain outside the dressing,

this is from the silver dressing and nothing to be alarmed about. If the brown liquid becomes excessive, painful or offensive in smell and paracetamol or ibuprofen hasn't covered the pain, returned to hospital. If the burn is on the hand, place a toy in the hand that has the dressing so the child learns that it is safe to use.

Aim to moisturise ten times a day and if the child is old enough, encourage them to do this themselves to learn that it is okay to touch. If the child attends school or day-care put a label tube in their bag for themselves or their teachers to apply. It can be tricky for children to avoid getting their dressing grubby, but that's okay if it does simply wipe off the grub or food with a damp cloth and cover with fresh tape that you have been provided.

Remember, your child will pick up on how to react by your face, words and noises you use. So be sure to use positive words when referring to the burn. Be mindful of conversations about the burn at home. It is important to look after the burn by applying sun protective measures such as sunscreen, hat and rashi. Encourage a normal lifestyle with low impact activities and be sure to avoid any contact sports.

If you have further concerns about your child's burn, you're always welcome to phone the Burns unit to make an appointment for review or email photos for advice.