1.  Keep the patient lying down, with his head a little lower than his legs and hips unless he has a head or chest wound, or has difficulty in breathing.

2.  Have him drink a half-glass every 15 minutes of a salt-and-soda solution (one teaspoonful of salt and a half-teaspoonful of baking soda to a quart of water).  Give him additional plain water to drink if he wants it.

3.  Cover the burned area with a dry, sterile gauze dressing.  If gauze is not available, use a clean cloth, towel or pad.

4.  With soap and water, wash the area around the burn (not the burn itself) for a distance of several inches, wiping away from the burn.  The dressing will help prevent surface washings from getting into the burned area.

5.  Use a bandage to hold the dry dressing firmly in place against the burned area.  This will keep moving air from reaching the burn, and will lessen the pain.  Leave dressings and bandage in place as long as possible.

6.  If adjoining surfaces of skin are burned, separate them with gauze or cloth to keep them from sticking together (such as between toes or fingers, ears and head, arms and chest).

7.  If the burn was caused by a chemical—­or by fallout particles sticking to the skin or hair—­wash the chemical or the fallout particles away with generous amounts of plain water, then treat the burn as described above.

What NOT to do about burns: 

—­Don’t pull clothing over the burned area (cut it away, if necessary).

—­Don’t try to remove any pieces of cloth, or bits of dirt or debris, that may be sticking to the burn.

—­Don’t try to clean the burn; don’t use iodine or other antiseptics on it; and don’t open any blisters that may form on it.

—­Don’t use grease, butter, ointment, salve, petroleum jelly, or any type of medication on severe burns.  Keeping them dry is best.

—­Don’t breathe on a burn, and don’t touch it with anything except a sterile or clean dressing.

—­Don’t change the dressings that were initially applied to the burn, until absolutely necessary.  Dressings may be left in place for a week, if necessary.

RADIATION SICKNESS

Radiation sickness is caused by the invisible rays given off by particles of radioactive fallout.  If a person has received a large dose of radiation in a short period of time—­generally, less than a week—­he will become seriously ill and probably will die.  But if he has received only a small or medium dose, his body will repair itself and he will get well.  No special clothing can protect a person from gamma radiation, and no special medicines can protect him or cure him of radiation sickness.

Symptoms of radiation sickness may not be noticed for several days.  The early symptoms are lack of appetite, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, weakness and headache.  Later, the patient may have sore mouth, loss of hair, bleeding gums, bleeding under the skin, and diarrhea.  But these same symptoms can be caused by other diseases, and not everyone who has radiation sickness shows all these symptoms, or shows them all at once.