The free five-minute online course for treating burns every parent needs to know about.

A quarter of Australians have preventable scars because their burns were not given proper First Aid treatment at home, new research suggests.

Many of us are using outdated burn treatment methods such as frozen vegetables, ice packs, cream or aloe vera gel to cool a burn.

On top of all this, less than 10 per cent of Australians say they have the confidence to treat a burn without professional medical assistance –  according to the study by St John Ambulance Victoria.

Burns First a new free five-minute online course has now been launched in an effort to help with the simple steps to treating a burn.

“The module is informative and easy to follow, and can be completed in the time it takes to make your morning coffee,” says St John Ambulance's John Kazanas.

He says proper treatment of burns is "really easy to remember" and can significantly minimise pain and reduce scarring and prevent infection.

"Every Australian should know the basic burns First Aid treatment of ‘20 minutes under cool running water’," he said.

Mr Kazanas also warned against aloe vera as a First Aid treatment for burns.

“While it’s marketed as a go-to product to soothe sunburnt skin, aloe vera has been shown to insulate burns, making them hotter and more painful despite how cool they feel during application.

"It’s really important to remember that the only way to properly treat minor burns, including sunburn, is to run the burn under cool running water for 20 minutes,” he said.

For more information, visit the online course here.

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