#34: Cool It Down

It seems like a natural reaction to offer a burn victim a glass of water. After all, they need to cool down, right? Well, drinking water may not be the best treatment for burn victims. Someone on the Reddit thread said that good samaritans at the scene of a fire should avoid offering water to burn victims until after EMT workers evaluate them. 

The reason for this is that a burn victim’s throat might be swollen from breathing smoke. Attempting to drink water can be painful and harmful. On the other hand, it’s a good idea to temporarily treat burns with lukewarm or room-temperature water to cool them off.