When should I go to the ER for pediatric burn care?
Go to the ER for any blistering burn larger than your child's palm, burns on the face, hands, feet, genitals, or joints, and all deep, electrical, or chemical burns. Call 911 for fire, smoke, or breathing trouble. Small, no-blister burns can start with home care or telemedicine.
Go straight to the ER for these
Bring your child to the emergency room right away, at any hour, for:
- A blistering burn larger than the child’s palm
- Any burn on the face, eyes, ears, hands, feet, genitals, or over a joint
- Any deep burn (white, brown, leathery, or charred skin)
- All electrical and all chemical burns, even small ones
- Any burn in an infant under one year
- A burn showing signs of infection a day or more later — spreading redness, increasing pain, warmth, pus, or fever
Call 911 first for these
Do not drive — call 911 — if your child was in a house fire, was exposed to smoke, or has any trouble breathing, coughing, hoarseness, or soot around the nose or mouth, or suffered a high-voltage electrical injury. The airway can be injured even when the skin looks fine.
When telemedicine, urgent care, or your pediatrician is reasonable
Not every burn needs an ER. For a small, red, no-blister burn or a single tiny blister smaller than the child’s palm on an arm or leg, a sensible path is:
- Cool it right away under cool (not ice-cold) running water for about 10 to 20 minutes, then cover loosely with a clean, non-stick dressing and give age-appropriate pain relief. Do not use ice, butter, toothpaste, or ointments, and do not pop blisters.
- A telemedicine or online urgent care visit is a reasonable first step when you want wound-care guidance or are unsure whether it needs to be seen in person.
- Your pediatrician or an urgent care clinic can check a healing burn or update a tetanus shot.
If a burn that seemed minor is not improving in a few days, gets more painful, or shows signs of infection, have it re-evaluated in person rather than waiting.
For a complete guide, see our pediatric burn care page. Bellaire ER at 5302 Bellaire Blvd is open 24/7 — walk in any time or call (713) 660-0001 if you need help deciding.