Introduction: A burn is an injury to the skin or other tissue caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, radiation, radioactivity, or friction. Proper first aid can reduce the depth of the burn and accelerate healing time. For patients requiring surgical treatment with skin grafts or skin substitutes, it has been found that cooling the burn can reduce the surface area needed for transplantation. Contemporary guidelines for first aid in burns emphasize cooling the affected area with clean running water for at least 20 minutes. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to examine the knowledge of first aid measures in burn care among laypeople. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted, with data collected using an online survey questionnaire. The sample of 318 respondents was divided into three age groups: younger generation (18-29 years), middle generation (30-59 years), and older generation (over 60 years). Results: It was found that laypeople in all age groups knew that using water was most suitable for burn care, while burn hydrogel was still relatively unknown, although 30% of respondents had used it before. Most would cool burns for 5–10 minutes (29%) or until the pain stopped (27%). Recognition of particularly dangerous burns was only partial. Most laypeople knew when to call 112 for emergency medical assistance in the event of a burn injury. Respondents were mostly able to distinguish between true and false myths about burn care. However, they had a poor understanding of the signs and symptoms of a respiratory burn. Despite only 1% of respondents having encountered a chemical burn, most knew the importance of ensuring their own safety (97%) and storing the packaging of the chemical (76%), although they were unsure whether rinsing a chemical burn with lukewarm water was appropriate. Discussion and Conclusion: The results indicate that as the age of laypeople increases, their knowledge of first aid decreases. Given that most laypeople acquire knowledge through training, it would be sensible to encourage the older generation in particular to refresh and update their knowledge of first aid.
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