Yes, even first aid is being affected by the drought!

The first thing you woud do for a burn or a cut is put it under running cold water to take out the heat and clean the area.

Of course, when we’re all trying to cut back on the amount of water we use, running water for first aid doesn’t seem so good.

For a small cut, the amount of water required to clean it is probably pretty small so this isn’t an issue. But a burn should be held under water for at least a few minutes, and that can add up to being a lot of water down the drain.

The simple solution is to run water over the burn and collect the water in a bowl underneath. The bowl of water can then be used on the garden, to wash clothes or whatever.

If water is really limited, use two bowls and pour the water from one bowl over the burn into the second bowl and keep swapping. This water will eventually warm up and be less useful for the burn, but this is better first aid than not applying cold water at all or for too short a time.