# Burns

> Hold the burn under cool running water for a full twenty minutes. Start now, the clock matters more than anything else.

A burn keeps cooking the tissue for many minutes after the heat source is gone. Twenty minutes of cool running water is the single treatment that changes how deep it goes, and it still helps if you start within three hours.

## Βήμα βήμα
1. Get the person away from the heat, and put out burning clothing by stopping, dropping and rolling, or smothering with a blanket.
2. Hold the burn under cool running water, around 15 to 25 degrees, for a full twenty minutes. Not ice, not iced water.
3. While cooling, remove rings, watches and loose clothing near the burn before it swells. Leave anything stuck to the skin exactly where it is.
4. After cooling, cover the burn loosely with cling film laid on, not wrapped tight, or a clean non fluffy cloth.
5. Keep the person warm everywhere else. Cooling a large burn cools the whole body, and children chill fast.
6. Call 112 for any large or deep burn, and give the person small sips of water while you wait.
7. Treat every electrical and chemical burn as serious, and for chemicals keep rinsing far beyond twenty minutes.

## Ποτέ μην κάνεις αυτό
- Do not put butter, oil, toothpaste, ice or any cream on a fresh burn. Everything except water makes the assessment and the damage worse.
- Do not burst blisters. They are the sterile dressing your body already made.
- Do not pull off clothing stuck to a burn. Cut around it and let the hospital deal with it.

## Κάλεσε τις υπηρεσίες έκτακτης ανάγκης αν
- A burn larger than the person's palm, or any deep burn that is white, leathery or painless.
- Any burn to the face, neck, hands, feet, genitals or across a joint, and any burn that goes all the way around a limb.
- A burned child or elderly person, any electrical or chemical burn, and anyone who breathed smoke or hot air.

## Αριθμοί έκτακτης ανάγκης
112 - Ενιαίος ευρωπαϊκός αριθμός έκτακτης ανάγκης

## Συχνές ερωτήσεις
### Why twenty minutes? Ten felt like plenty.
The heat stored in the tissue keeps deepening the burn long after the pain eases. Studies behind the current guidance show twenty minutes of running water measurably reduces the depth and the need for surgery.

### What about sunburn?
Cool showers, plain moisturiser or aloe once the skin is cooled, water to drink, and shade until it settles. See a doctor for blisters over a large area, fever, or a sunburned baby.

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Source: https://emergency-cards.com/el/egkaymata/
Reviewed: 2026-07-26