´óÏó´«Ã½

In our film Sali Robinson was rushing to prepare tea for her four children. Through a mixture of tiredness and not concentrating she managed to pour a saucepan of hot pasta over her arm!

Watch the video clip from the show

We took Sali out on to the streets of Swansea to see whether the public knew how to help her.

Suggestions were extremely varied and included 'running it under cold water', 'putting liquid paraffin on it' and even 'rubbing a potato on the affected area'!

We contacted expert Tom Potokar, a consultant plastic surgeon at the Welsh Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery at Morriston Hospital, Swansea.

Tom's first advice is to cool the wound down. This can be easily done by running it under a cold tap. The water shouldn't be too cold as this can cause further damage to the skin. If running water isn't available then soak a towel or dishcloth in cold water and apply it directly to the skin.

After that Tom would recommend wrapping the wound in cling film which will keep the wound clean whilst you seek medical advice.

We asked Tom to comment on some of the suggestions that members of the public had made. Should we really be pouring liquid paraffin oil onto a burn?

Tom said that paraffin-coated dressings are widely used in burn injuries but putting paraffin directly onto a wound is a definite no-no!

The same goes for the potato. In countries like India, potato peel has often been used as a dressing for burn wounds along with things like banana skins. However, Tom doesn't recommend that you take a potato out of the vegetable rack and apply it directly to a burn.

Tom also mentioned other inappropriate treatment that he sees from time to time. Toothpaste is quite often mistakenly applied to burns by members of the public along with other foodstuffs like butter, ghee and oil.

He thinks that people put them on because they might help cool the wound or make it less painful but there's no evidence that they work in this way.

Here are Tom's Top Tips for dealing with a burn or scald:

• Cool the burn immediately by running it under a tepid running tap for at least 20 minutes
• Don't apply ice directly to the burn as this can cause more damage to the skin
• If you need to cover the wound gently wrap it with cling film but don't wrap it too tightly in case the burnt area swells up
• Don't cover the burn with anything sticky like a plaster or fluffy like cotton wool as this will stick to the wound and remove skin when you take it off
• Elevate the burnt area if you can as this will help prevent swelling
• Don't put any cream on the burn. It won't help it heal and it may stop a doctor seeing it clearly.