Final answer:
Burns less than 10% TBSA can be cooled with cool water or moist dressings. The rule of nines is used to measure the burn size. First and mild second-degree burns can often be treated with cool water and dressings, while more severe burns require medical attention.
Step-by-step explanation:
Burns less than 10% Total Body Surface Area (TBSA) can typically be cooled with cool water or moist dressings. Carefully cooling the burn area helps to reduce the skin temperature, pain, and prevent further tissue damage. In the assessment of a burn's extent, health professionals often utilize the rule of nines, which calculates the size of a burn in terms of total body surface area affected, dividing the body into sections, each roughly accounting for nine percent (or a multiple of nine) of the total body area. First-degree burns only affect the epidermis, second-degree burns extend into the dermis, while third and fourth-degree burns are more severe, impacting deeper tissues.
It is vital to ensure that first aid treatment for a burn is appropriate for the severity of the burn. While first-degree and mild second-degree burns can often be managed with cool running water and moist dressings to aid pain relief and prevent further tissue damage, third and fourth-degree burns require immediate medical attention. For larger burns affecting more than 10% TBSA, cooling should be administered with caution to prevent hypothermia, and medical professionals should be consulted.