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Treating wildfire burns | Health Beat with Brea Love

The UC Davis Burn Center confirmed it's treating victims from the Caldor Fire. A local doctor shares how to stay safe and when to seek help.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The UC Davis Burn Center confirmed its treating victims from the Caldor Fire.

Dr. Tina Palmieri shared some tips on how to treat a burn and when to go to the hospital. If you get a burn that you feel you can treat yourself:

  • Run the burn under cool tap water for 15 minutes.
  • Don’t use ice. That could make it worse.
  • Then seek medical attention.

Once you get to the hospital, doctors will give you pain medication and then evaluate and clean the wound. The larger the burn, the longer you will have to stay. 

Palmieri said the palm of your hand measures out to one percent of your body. For every palm sized burn, that’s how many days you’ll stay in the hospital. For example, 10 palm sized burns would equal 10% and 10% of your body burned would mean a 10 to 12 days in the hospital.

It’s best to go straight to the hospital if:

  • Your burn is on your hands, face or feet.
  • You have a fever
  • You’re having a hard time dealing with the pain.
  • It’s blistering.

Palmieri said if someone tells you to evacuate, you need to go. That way you won’t end up needing medical attention.

“Avoiding the circumstance that causes the fire is very important," Palmieri said. "If you’re in the situation where maybe the wind shifted and suddenly your house is overrun, you want to stay away from anything that is burning. Your best bet is to get out of there as fast as you can and try and stay away from the flames and have an exit route. Actually, three exit routes planned in different directions.”

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