Aluminum foil for burns

M

MikeyB

Forum Probie
Messages
24
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Apologize if this has been talked about before i didnt search for it (so feel free to rip me a new one ) if this topic is over done
i just learned about it from a friend. I would like to know what others in the field think
About using aluminum foil for burns in the pre hospital setting? Does it have its uses or
should we just stick to the dry dressings ? The short article in the link said foil helped a guy with
70% of his body burned from steam


http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,799094,00.html
 
Last edited by a moderator:
MikeyB said:
Apologize if this has been talked about before i didnt search for it (so feel free to rip me a new one ) if this topic is over done
i just learned about it from a friend. I would like to know what others in the field think
About using aluminum foil for burns in the pre hospital setting? Does it have its uses or
should we just stick to the dry dressings ? The short article in the link said foil helped a guy with
70% of his body burned from steam


http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,799094,00.html
Click to expand...

Sounds awesome to me. It makes sense when you think about it.
 
Burn foil we had in a truck not sure if its the same thing. NOBODY ever used it but then again we've never had a significant burn
 
Anything in a journal besides TIME Magazine?

A quick GOOGLE reveals natural cure and folk remedy ssites...and EMTLIFE.;)
 
Article sounds bogus

The MD cited as inventing the approach was Canada's second ever plastic surgeon. Also, the degree of burn is not cited, just the apprpoximate area (70%) and that it was due to steam "from an exploding locomotive"; no date was cited for the incident. Also after an extremely short stay he left without scars or scabs, just "slightly reddened".
I say: slow news day, "busted".
 
mycrofft said:
The MD cited as inventing the approach was Canada's second ever plastic surgeon. Also, the degree of burn is not cited, just the apprpoximate area (70%) and that it was due to steam "from an exploding locomotive"; no date was cited for the incident. Also after an extremely short stay he left without scars or scabs, just "slightly reddened".
I say: slow news day, "busted".
Click to expand...

We used to carry sterilized aluminum foil as an occlusive dressing for sucking chest wounds prior to the proliferation of xeroform.

Never heard of it used for burns before this.

I agree, "busted."
 
One would think that aluminum foil would be counterproductive. Since it is a metal it will leave sharp edges when bent leaving creases, poking holes, increasing pain, and contaminating a natural sterile field. Low tech is the best tech here. Sterile dry dressings are fine.
 
Burns are a dynamic process. Just because you remove the heat source doesn't mean the tissue damage stops. It seems like using foil would help trap the heat in the tissue, and be counterproductive rather than helpful.
 
Did anyone notice the date of this article "Monday, Aug. 30, 1948". Not a typo 1948. I think no one has heard of this because it was used 53 years ago. Just a thought..
 
An interesting aside. MA Ambulance stocking guidelines call for each to carry not only food-grade plastic wrap (for SCWs), but also food-grade aluminium foil (not for burns or SCWs), but to insulate a newborn (not directly on the neonate's skin, but around the cloth wrap).
All this time I thought it was for my lunch...
 
emt.dan said:
An interesting aside. MA Ambulance stocking guidelines call for each to carry not only food-grade plastic wrap (for SCWs), but also food-grade aluminium foil (not for burns or SCWs), but to insulate a newborn (not directly on the neonate's skin, but around the cloth wrap).
All this time I thought it was for my lunch...
Click to expand...

I was going to mention, that some should have foil in the OB kits.
 
I failed to see that 1948 date!! Figures.

Thread dead.:deadhorse:
 
wow i didnt see the date on that ether *hangs head*

anyways i brought it up because a good friend of mine mentioned doing it to her hand and said it worked so i googled it and that was pretty much all i found. I wanted to get more info on it so i posted to see what the real professionals thought.

i guess there is reason why we still use dry sterile dressing and
not foil bit i think it should still be researched
 
emt.dan said:
An interesting aside. MA Ambulance stocking guidelines call for each to carry not only food-grade plastic wrap (for SCWs), but also food-grade aluminium foil (not for burns or SCWs), but to insulate a newborn (not directly on the neonate's skin, but around the cloth wrap).
All this time I thought it was for my lunch...
Click to expand...

I don't think they do any longer. At least I haven't seen either one on an ambulance in years. We have better insulating materials available now. The clear wrap was, I think, for evisceration. Not that anyone ever used it for that, but that was the rationale.
 
Too Old To Work said:
I don't think they do any longer. At least I haven't seen either one on an ambulance in years. We have better insulating materials available now. The clear wrap was, I think, for evisceration. Not that anyone ever used it for that, but that was the rationale.
Click to expand...

Is that a statement about H+H doing whatever they wish, or OEMS guidelines? I work for the boys in green, and manage a smaller service, and we both still carry them. This past January when our inspector came around, I asked him about it, and he said it was still in the guidelines as food-grade clear wrap and aluminium foil, but that he would accept the space blankets and asherman or saline/abd pad for evisceration.
 
emt.dan said:
Is that a statement about H+H doing whatever they wish, or OEMS guidelines? I work for the boys in green, and manage a smaller service, and we both still carry them. This past January when our inspector came around, I asked him about it, and he said it was still in the guidelines as food-grade clear wrap and aluminium foil, but that he would accept the space blankets and asherman or saline/abd pad for evisceration.
Click to expand...

What's an H+H? I haven't looked at the OEMS check list lately, but I seem to remember both items being removed from the mandatory equipment list back when it was revised in the late 1990s. A lot of stuff was removed back then, like Ipecac, extrication tools, the two 50 foot lengths of rope, ...

Who are the boys in green? Besides of course Arcadian Ambulance, which I don't think operates in MA.
 
H+H. Hamburger and Heineken?

(can you tell it's dinner time?)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top