How to Treat a Burn Outdoors

Costa Rica Outward Bound Fall 2010 Leadership students act out burn victim scenarios during their Wilderness First Responder training.

Burns are a common injury for outdoor aficionados. Between sun exposure, cooking accidents and campfire burns, knowing how to treat a burn can be invaluable if you plan on spending time outside.

Here are a few simple tips for treating minor burns:

1. Make sure area is safe: Remove the victim from harm's way and make sure that they are away from the burn source. In the case of a sunburn, try to get them out of the sun if possible. 

2. Cool the burn with cool running water: Do this for several minutes. Even if the skin looks fine, it could still blister later, so keep it cool. Try to use potable water, as salt water may dry out the skin.

3. Relieve the Pain: Over the counter pain relievers such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen can be used to help relieve pain, but make sure the victim is not allergic and has eaten prior to giving them medication. 

4. Make sure the victim is hydrated: Burns often cause dehydration and dizziness, so be sure to give the victim water if they are able to drink it. A great natural hydration source if you're in a tropical climate such as Costa Rica is young coconut water, or as it's called in Costa Rica, agua de pipa. 

 Check out this video to learn how to open a young coconut:

Demonstration of How to Open a Young Coconut (Pipa)

Agua de pipa is full of electrolytes, potassium and other minerals such as calcium and magnesium which are great for helping to rehydrate the body and control vomiting, which may be a symptom of burn victims. Additionally, the meat from the inside of the coconut can be used as a salve on the skin to help soothe the pain from minor burns.

Wilderness First Responder Training

 

Executive Director Jim Rowe and Instructor Phil Perez Teach CPR

Our Fall 2010 Leadership students have been here on base at Tres Ríos taking their Wilderness First Responder Training. Wilderness First Responders are individuals who are trained to respond to emergency situations in remote wilderness settings. 

Wilderness First Responder training is an 80-hour course covering topics including basic life support, responding to trauma cases, management of bone or joint related injuries (such as sprains, fractures or breaks), treatment of infectious diseases as well as transport and/or evacuation planning in injury situations. 

The first Wilderness First Responder course was taught by Stonehearth Open Learning Opportunities (SOLO) in 1984. SOLO was started in New Hampshire in the 1970's to training skiers, climbers and EMT's in in the White Mountains how to provide emergency care for injured parties in remote locations during what is today referred to as "the Golden Hour". Throughout the next decade SOLO developed and taught Wilderness First Aid courses and Wilderness EMT Programs for organizations such as Outward Bound. In 1984 they collaborated with a new organization called Wilderness Medical Associates to create the Wilderness First Responder program, and offered the first course at an Outward Bound site.

Today, Wilderness First Responder training is offered by many organizations, from the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), to the American Red Cross, to our very own Costa Rica Outward Bound Leadership Semester course. 

The Leadership Semester course provides training for students to become certified Wilderness First Responders, so that they can work as professionals in the outdoor industry. All Costa Rica Outward Bound Instructors are certified Wilderness First Responders (WFR), or as it is often referred to, Woofers.