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Cooling the burn

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Cooling an area of the skin that has been burnt is important because it:

  • reduces direct thermal damage
  • stabilizes mast cells to limit the production of inflammatory mediators e.g. histamine
  • reduces the progression of a burn in the 'zone of stasis'
  • frequently provides analgesia

Cooling should be undertaken with flowing water:

  • temperature:
    • 15 degrees centigrade optimal
    • below 7 degrees centigrade, vasospasm is likely which will actually promote the ischaemic progression of the burn
    • in young children with a relatively large surface area to volume ratio, the skin away from the burn should be kept warm to reduce the tendency to hypothermia
  • duration:
    • for flowing water, ideally at least 20 minutes
    • for alkaline burns, longer periods should be considered as there is a tendency for liquefaction and greater penetration of the agent
  • means of application of water:
    • ideally flowing
    • wet towels suboptimal as they quickly heat up; if used, they should be replaced regularly

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