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Treatment
In Denmark approximately one in every six people
requires treatment for burns at some stage of
their life. Most of them are treated by a local
doctor or the local emergency hospital service.
Regardless of burn size, location or severity,
the primary treatment is the same, namely:
cold water treatment!
Dr. Bjarne Alsbjørn,
Chief Consultant for Copenhagen University
Hospital’s (Rigshospitalet) Plastic Surgery and
Burn Treatment Clinic, has this to say about the
method:
“It sounds simple, but rinsing with cold water
is by far the best method to treat severe burns.
Many people ask: What temperature should the
water be and how long should the treatment last?
The answers are simple:
Spray
with the temperature that gives the most pain
relief and continue until pain free.
The idea behind this method is that if the skin
hurts, then there is a chance that the skin
cells will be further damaged. By getting rid of
the pain, the damage is reduced. Another
positive effect of cold water treatment is that
the heat-affected cells have a reduced
metabolism and therefore have a greater chance
of regeneration, which is better for the whole
burn area. The sooner you treat the burn with
cold water to relieve the pain, the more chance
there is for the entire burn to heal without
surgical intervention”. |
