Do I need to see a doctor for this burn? A simple decision guide.
See a doctor if a burn is larger than the palm, deep, or on the face, hands, feet, joints, or genitals, or if it was caused by chemicals or electricity. Small, shallow, well-cooled burns on low-risk areas can usually be cared for at home.
Most burns are minor and heal at home with cool water and a clean dressing. A few need professional care, and the cost of missing those is high: deeper wounds, infection, scarring, lost function. You do not need to be a clinician to draw the line. A handful of clear signals tell you when to stop treating and start travelling.
Do this, in order
Check the size
Bigger than the person's own palm is a reason to seek care.
Check the location
Face, hands, feet, joints, and genitals are higher-risk areas regardless of size.
Check the depth
White, leathery, brown, or charred skin, or numbness, means deeper. Get it seen.
Check the cause and the person
Chemical, electrical, and inhalation burns, and burns in babies, the elderly, pregnant women, or people with diabetes, need a lower threshold to seek help.
What helps
- Treat small, shallow, well-cooled burns at home
- Seek care for burns on the face, hands, feet, or joints
- Always cool first, even on the way to help
- Trust numbness and white skin as signs to get seen
What harms
- Wait and see with a large or deep burn
- Drive somewhere before cooling a serious burn
- Assume a chemical or electrical burn is fine because the surface looks small
- Treat a baby's burn casually
This guidance reflects current burn-care research and major clinical guidelines.
Source: NHS, Burns and scalds: treatment
For the burns that stay at home, BurnFrost cools and covers after the water step. For the burns on this 'see a doctor' list, a dressing is not the answer; professional care is.
BurnFrost →- The burn is larger than the palm of the hand
- It is deep, white, leathery, or numb
- It is on the face, hands, feet, joints, or genitals
- It was caused by chemicals, electricity, or a blast
- The person is a baby, elderly, pregnant, or has diabetes
- There is any difficulty breathing, or the burn encircles a limb