Mum’s ‘life-saving’ tip for treating her child’s burns causes confusion online

“They're going to be screaming, they're going to be crying … it's going to be f**king freezing cold, but you will save their life,” Mum Beki says in the video. 

Beki shared the horrifying experience of her son's burns from a cup of tea. Source: TikTok/beki.giunta

Your child being in pain is one of the most horrifying thoughts for any parent. For mum, Beki, it was a reality. 

In July this year, the Gold Coast mum was terrified when her 18-month-old son spilled tea on himself, covering his body in boiling water with no milk to cool the liquid down. 

She immediately pulled him to the shower, letting cool water run over his burning skin for 20 minutes. 

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“If your child gets burnt, call an ambulance and run them under cool water for 20 minutes”

She then took to TikTok to explain her actions. 

The former registered nurse explained her little boy was “beside himself” in pain, forcing her to distract him by singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star while “sobbing” and “holding him in the shower while running icy cold water over his burn.” 

She added the “lack of knowledge” people have about burns is “astonishing” and wanted to shed some light on the actions to take following exposure to boiling water. 

Beki added she previously worked in the children’s ICU emergency department and has “seen it all” when it comes to kids, so she considered herself “the most safe parent alive.” 

She prefaced that the most common sources of scalding burns come from tea, coffee and two-minute noodles, and the likelihood of a child being burned is more common than some may realise. 

“The first thing you need to do is call an ambulance,” she said. “And then you need to take all your child’s clothing off, get them completely nude.”

She advised to take the child into the shower or place them under continuously flowing “cold water for a minimum of 20 minutes” with the liquid running over the burn “the entire time.” 

“They're going to be screaming, they're going to be crying,” she warned. “It's going to be f**king freezing cold, but you will save their life.” 

Despite specifying that “freezing cold” water should be applied to the child’s burn, she clarified that you should not apply ice to the area or any type of oil or butter. 

“Just cold, continuous running water,” she said. 

RELATED: 'We didn't realise he was hurt until we heard him screaming in pain'

Beki shared the horrifying experience of her son's burns from a cup of tea. Source: TikTok/beki.giunta

“Do not put a child in a bath full of cold water”

The video has attracted over seven million views, with thousands of parents flooding the comments with appreciation. 

But for others, the information was more confusing than helpful. 

“I thought you weren’t supposed to use icy cold water because that can make the burn worse?” a parent asked. “Just did a first aid course. They said to not use cold water,” said another. 

“I thought cold water on burns is the worst thing to do,” someone questioned. “We were taught cool water, not cold, and to leave the clothes on so as not to hurt the skin,” another commented. 

According to Health Direct, as soon as the burn occurs, you should “put the burnt area under cool running water for at least 20 minutes”

“Don’t put a child with burns into a bath full of cold water,” the medical professional stressed. 

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A spokesperson for Kidsafe supported this advice, telling Yahoo News Australia that the water should be cool and not “icy cold.” 

“It was probably an exaggeration of the term, but the regular commentary is cool running water for 20 minutes,” they said. “Even if you have a shower, you're not going to get freezing water. It would be hard to get unless you add ice.” 

Similarly, Health Direct only advises you to remove clothing and jewellery from the burn victim if it’s not stuck to the affected area. 

“You have to be careful with the removal of clothing because if it's severely burned, that coating could be sticking to the skin... It could rip it off,” the Kidsafe spokesperson agreed.

According to a study from Kidsafe, four in five (79 per cent) of burns happen at home, and the “majority” are ‘preventable.” 

“The kitchen is the most dangerous room of the house for a young child to be burned, usually occurring whilst near an adult preparing food or hot drinks,” shared Holly Fitzgerald, spokesperson for Kidsafe.

“We recommend placing hot drinks safely away from table or bench edges and never holding a child with a hot drink in hand,” she added. 

Dr Warwick Teague, the Director of Trauma and Clinical Lead for Burns at the Royal Children’s Hospital, said that burn injuries can have a “long-lasting effect on the whole family.” 

“If a burn happens, then it’s critical that cool running water is applied to the burn area for a minimum of 20 minutes,” he said.

“Knowing the correct first aid measures can make a significant difference in the child’s rehabilitation and long-term outcome of the burn injury.”

Originally published as Mum’s ‘life-saving’ tip for treating her child’s burns causes confusion online