Thousands of people suffer from burn injuries while working each year. While some of those burns are considered minor injuries, others are extremely severe and can even cause an individual to spend weeks or months in the hospital. Knowing how to care for a burn injury on the job is one way to ease the pain and treat the ailment immediately. There are certain steps you are going to need to take if you end up with a burn as a result of something that happened while you were trying to get your job done.
Apply Slightly Cool Water to the Burn
Most people think it is a good idea to put ice cold water on a burn. While that may be a natural instinct, you should avoid using ice cold water and should stick with using only slightly cool water. While you want the water to feel cool enough on the skin, you do not want to make the water too cold because that could cause you to experience even more pain. If it is possible, you should try to head directly over to a faucet, turn it on, and then place the burned part of your body under the stream of water for a few minutes to get some instant relief.
Apply Ointment to the Skin
After you have allowed the cool water to run over your skin for several minutes, you can dry your skin off with a clean towel. Make sure you are gently patting the skin down with the towel because rubbing the burned area could cause you even more pain. After you have removed the excess water from the skin with the towel, apply an antibiotic ointment to the skin. The ointment will work to prevent an infection from forming. If the burn is too severe and you have an open wound from it, you should not apply the ointment to your skin. At that point, it is best for you to seek help from medical professionals in a hospital environment.
Visit the Hospital or Urgent Care Center
Based on the severity of the burn injury, you might need to go directly to the hospital or to an urgent care center where you can seek treatment. If you feel comfortable enough with leaving on your own, you can travel to the urgent care center. However, if you are in excruciating pain, you should call for an ambulance and have them bring you to the hospital where doctors can examine the extent of your injuries and then determine the proper method of treatment.
In some of the most severe burn injury cases, skin grafts are necessary. The skin graft procedure involves transplanting healthy skin to the area where the skin was so severely damaged because of the burns. It is a procedure that is performed in the hospital by medical professionals who specialize in treating patients with burn injuries. The medical professionals would let you know what they believe is the absolute best method of treatment for you.
Make Your Call to Roberts Law Office
If you were badly burned while on the job, get in contact with Roberts Law Office today. We are professionals providing legal services in Lexington, and you can trust in us to gather information to help build a strong case for you. You can contact us by calling (859)-231-0202 today to speak with one of our representatives and schedule your free consultation.