Burns Awareness Campaign

The Burns Awareness Campaign at  Baragwanath Hospital in Diepkloof was held with the intention of educating residents about the treatment of burns during National Burns Awareness Week.
Jade Flood from the hospital’s pediatric department said that the most important thing about burns is that they happen in a split second and so there would be no use to feel resentment because of an accident.

Flood said, “Parents must understand that when faced with a burn accident the most effective thing to help a loved one is tap water.”
The campaign share information of what many believe to be the precautions to take after a burn like applying tootpaste or sunlight on a burn wound.
Dr Deborah Churu from Baragwanath Hospital Burns department explained that what makes the wound more severe is applying the wrong chemicals to it. These chemicals are found in toothpaste, fish oil and sunlight. Churu said, “Plain water is always enough to immediately treat a burn wound and logically the next step after some one burns is the hospital.”

The campaign seemed is necessary because most of the people who attended the campaign at the hospital didn’t have a clue as to what they would do if their loved one suffered a burn or God forbid they themselves burned.

Thandeka Zondo may have never had to deal with a burn and was definitely not aware of what to do if faced with a minor or severe wound.

Zondo said, “I didn’t know about the facts of immidiately treating a burn wound, but now thanks to the campaign, I feel like I have grasped the basics, and tap water is the first step.”

Chezele Volker from the pediatrics department said that it is very important for the parents to know the pros and cons of dealing with a burn wound because no matter how we look at it, a child burning is the responsibility of a parent or guardian.”
Volker said, “So it is very important for the aduts get informed about such issues like immidiately treating a burn wound.”