A 16-year-old covered in severe burns arrived at Kennedy Airport on an EgyptAir flight from Egypt. However, authorities were initially at a loss regarding her whereabouts.
Her body was covered in burns
40% of the girl's body was covered in second-degree burns; she also had part of her lips burned off, and her fingers were extremely swollen.
She was quickly received by paramedics after landing in New York, and immediately taken to the Nassau University Medical Center burn unit. Her burns were covered with bandages and different layers of clothing, but they didn't manage to conceal all of her injuries.
She was burned in a gas explosion
According to the girl, she suffered the burns when she was caught in a gas explosion in their village, which was four hours away from the nearest airport. Since there were no facilities to treat her, her family members decided to wrap her in bandages, give her pain medication, and then put her on the next flight to New York.
Sadly, the pain medication wore off during the flight, which made the girl howl in agony for the rest of the trip. A relative of the girl was waiting for her at the airport, however sources say that it was not clear if the relative knew a lot about her condition.
One of the sources said that “Nobody can understand how she got on the plane, how did they miss this?”
The teen was escorted out of the plane by a flight attendant, however, the flight attendant left soon after handing over the teen to the paramedics. Investigators were still trying to track her down to know more.
How to treat burn injuries in children
It's always good to know how to do first aid, especially when it comes to burns as they are one of the more common injuries that kids can have. Here are some things to keep in mind:
For first and second degree burns:
- Make sure to first remove the child away from the heat source. If any body part of the child is on fire, use a blanket or a coat to extinguish the flames. For chemical burns, rinse the affected area with water for at least five minutes.
- When treating the burn, make sure to run cool water over the affected area for five minutes.
- Pat the skin dry, and cover it very loosely with a nonstick bandage, or gauze.
- You should then take your child to the doctor to get the burn looked at.
For third degree burns:
- Remove any clothing only if they are not sticking to the wound.
- Raise any burned body parts above chest level if possible, and use a cool washcloth to keep the affected area cool.
- Don't apply ice or butter, or pop any blisters as this can aggravate the burn and cause infection.
- Cover the burn with a loose bandage or gauze.
- Immediately take your child to the doctor.
Sources: dailymail.co.uk, nydailynews.com, whattoexpect.com
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