by NotSoTweetOne

Created on: January 22, 2007   Last Updated: April 18, 2007

It never fails to amaze me the wives tales that so many well meaning people will pass on or try to use in an emergency. I have a very good friend who was burnt in a car repair incident and the first thing his friend told him to do is to put butter on it. This is a very dangerous thing to do because butter is an oil based product and will conduct heat making the burn worse, and the last thing someone who is burnt needs is to make the burn worse.

If you think about it you fry eggs in butter so why would you put this on something you want to stop burning? I am an EMT instructor and these are just a few of the things I tell students in my class.

The first thing anyone should do in the case of a burn is to STOP THE BURNING PROCESS, you can do this by putting cool water on the area and removing any clothing and jewelry from the area on and below the burn because they can keep the heat in and the area around the burn will swell and you may not be able to get rings off in case of fingers being burnt. You should also never put ointments or creams on burns because they too may cause the burn to become worse do to the fact that they can also keep heat in when you really want heat to leave the area.

Depending on the area that is burnt and how large of an area is burnt you may need to seek medical attention. Any burn that involves the face should be seen by a doctor to avoid breathing complications. If the skin becomes blistered do not break them open, this is our body's way of protecting it's self and breaking them open will expose the damaged tissue to infection.

These are only a few things to help avoid making a mistake when it comes to burns, please do not avoid seeking medical attention for burns they may become serious if left untreated. I hope this helps clear up at least one old wives tale and helps you avoid further injuries.

Learn more about this author, NotSoTweetOne.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.