1st, 2nd degree burns - need advice

[Search]

Today at night, I made tea. It was standing on the table for about 5-7 minutes after it boiled. I accidentally spilled it all over private part (I was only wearing underwear). I ran straight to the bathroom and kept the area under cold pouring water and some skin on my private part has pealed of right under the water-flow. My wife ran downstairs to the next-door 24-hour pharmacy and got Panthenol spray "Dexpanthenol". She called the ambulance and as soon as it arrived I got a "ketorolac tromethamine 20mg" pain-killer injection. At the hospital, the doctor and staff were so unprofessional, cruel and aggressive (not to mention how little they seemed to know about what they were doing) that we decided to leave right after I observed the doctor bandaging the area and speaking rudely and with anger towards me. We are now at home and want to call up a doctor to do the bandages and all the necessary at home (even if it will be very expensive). Please, give me some advice about how this should be treated. For example, will it be better for me if I just get the bandages removed and lie on my back to let it heal. I would really appreciate it if you told me how I could do this without going to another hospital like this.
FYI: In Ukraine, governmental hospitals are all like this. You can only get lucky if you fall upon a good doctor once in a while, who knows what he is doing. Even the lady from the ambulance came into the apartment and after asking me what happened, she asked me what I would like her to do. It's rather disturbing.
I will add more details about the hospital experience as soon as I get better.
Thank you all.

 

[anart]

Re: I need help. I just got 1-2 degrees burns on the private part

Serg, I'm sorry but we aren't qualified to give direct medical advice over the internet. That would be dangerous for you and for us. I hope it heals soon.

 

[Guardian]

Re: I need help. I just got 1-2 degrees burns on the private part

Today at night, I made tea. It was standing on the table for about 5-7 minutes after it boiled. I accidentally spilled it all over private part (I was only wearing underwear).

Oh geezzz Serg, that's awful! Is seeing a private doctor possible?

 

[Laura]

Obviously, you'll want a competent doctor to take a look.

It's a bad spot to get a burn for sure. One of my children was burned by pulling a cup of tea that had just been poured off a counter and it tipped over on her head, shoulder, chest. She spent a week in the hospital with 2nd and 3rd degree burns. Of course, she was a tiny little 14 month old baby.

What I learned from that experience is that there is little that doctors can do except to make sure that the area is kept clean and coated with the proper healing salve - and bandaged carefully to keep germs and stuff out. In the case of my daughter, it was a silver concoction and the dressing was changed like 2 times a day for the first week.

If your clothes touch or irritate the area even when bandaged, then yeah, I would stay on the bed.

It's gonna hurt for a few days but it will hurt a lot less with the proper medication on it which a doctor can prescribe.

The body has a marvelous ability to heal itself so even if it looks pretty bad right now and feels awful, with proper care, you'll be as good as new in no time!

 

[loreta]

Last year I burned my belly with boil water, the first thing I did it is put green clay on the burned part. Maybe I seem obsessed by clay but for me clay is a miraculous thing that is natural and it works. Clay will take out the inflammation and cure the burn on your skin. I had a mark of my burned section on my belly during months but clay took out the pain and healed the skin. If you have an infection clay can cure it also. But it has to be green clay. You can find green clay in a naturalist shop. And it is good to have always clay at home because you never know when need it. Good luck, I hope you are ok.

 

[Possibility of Being]

Serg, I'm sorry you burned yourself so badly, hopefully it will heal fast.

Many years ago when I was a teenager I happened to be sick and stayed in bed. Got a cup of hot tea, placed it on my chest and... fell asleep. So it was a few minutes since the water was boiling when I spilled it on my chest. It hurt a lot! My Mom freaked out but my Dad brought a grated potato and put a pretty thick layer of the mush on the wound. It healed pretty fast with no marks left. Somehow I never asked him how he knew about potato powers and never really checked it, but it seems to be a part of folk medicine.

Not sure Serg if it still makes sense for you to give it a try, as the sooner it is applied the better.

Anyway, in case someone is interested, you might want to do your own research. From one of many links I just found:
http://mysite.verizon.net/cbladey/patat/BurnRemedy.html

Lurking in the heart of the humble potato is one of the best burn remedies you'll ever find.

INSTRUCTIONS (Follow them to the letter!)

- Rinse the burn for a minute or so under cool water. Don't rub it.
- Wash a raw potato, the newer and juicier the better.
- Cut the potato open. Using the edge of a knife, scrape the potato flesh to produce some potato mush. You can also grate the potato, but make sure you use the rasp part of the grater. The key to the remedy is to release plenty of juice from the potato flesh. Just putting a slice of potato on the burn will not do!

- Cover the burn with the potato mush. Usually, this will relieve the pain immediately, unless the burn is severe or you've burned a particularly sensitive area like your fingertips.

- Keep the burn covered with potato mush until it no longer hurts when the mush is removed. For a mild burn, this could be as little as ten or fifteen minutes. For a more serious burn it might take hours, but have patience and persevere. The mush gradually turns brown and loses its potency, so you have to keep replacing it with fresh potato mush.

Time is of the essence. The remedy must be applied as soon as you burn yourself. The potato mush seems to arrest the development of the burn. For instance, if you scald your hand with boiling water, your hand will initially look fine, but over the next few days the burn will develop into a painful, weeping mess. If you apply the potato remedy properly and promptly to such a burn, however, you should be left with little or no trace of a burn.

This isn't to say that unless you get the mush on the burn immediately it won't do any good at all, but the longer you wait the less effective it'll be. My mother's golden rule is: NEVER EAT YOUR LAST POTATO. You never know when you'll need that potato to treat a burn. However, even if you lose a few minutes going next door to borrow a potato or down the street to buy some, it'll probably be worth the effort, especially if you have a bad burn.

Potato can be particularly valuable for more serious burns, where the damage is immediately apparent. It won't, of course, reverse damage like loss of skin; but should prevent the burn from developing further.

I once burned myself so badly while ironing that I left a large patch of skin on the iron. To make matters worse, I was in a rush to get somewhere, so I only had the potato on the burn for about half as long as I probably should have. All the same, the burn had healed over completely within a week, which is pretty good for such a bad burn.

My mother once tipped a cherry pie she was taking out of the oven, spilling the sticky, boiling syrup all over her foot. She washed the syrup off her foot, and then used potato on it for almost four hours. As I recall, all that remained was a slight redness; and the skin peeled a few days later, like a sunburn would. (By the way, potato can also help relieve a sunburn.)

ORIGINS OF THIS REMEDY Haven't a clue! It's been in my family for generations; but I don't know whether it came down through the Irish or the Danish side of the family, or whether it was learned from a neighbour on the Canadian Prairies. I did meet a Danish woman once whose mother put potato starch on burns. Other than that the only reference I've ever seen to the remedy was in the Russian author Maxim Gorky's autobiography, My Childhood, in which his grandmother grated a potato to treat his grandfather's burned finger.
(Pat Naughton)

 

[Laura]

My grandmother put potato mush on poison ivy, too!

 

[Lilou]

There is an excellent gel that I have used for burns. It is called Solcoseryl Gel and is made in Switzerland. If you can get that it the Ukraine, I would highly advise it. It promotes new skin growth and works very quickly.


-http://www.napsgear.net/skin-care-c33/solcoseryl-gel-p263 (this link sells a 20gm tube for $11)

It stimulates cellular oxygen consumption, especially in cases of hypoxia, normalizes metabolism, glucose transport, stimulates ATP synthesis, accelerates regeneration in reversible cell and tissue damage. Stimulates angiogenesis, promotes revascularization of ischemic tissue, creation of conditions for collagen synthesis and growth of new granulation tissue, accelerates revitalization and wound coverage. Possesses membrane-stabilizing and cell-protecting properties.

Indications: burns, ulcers and venous insufficiency.

I would check with a pharmacy ASAP and apply this several times a day. Be sure the area is clean. I'd be inclined to clean the wound with colloidal silver solution, pat dry, then apply Solcoseryl Gel.

Hope you recover quickly, Serg.

 

[Mrs.Tigersoap]

Oh, Serg, I'm so sorry for you! And I'm equally sorry about the way you were treated by the hospital staff
Several years ago, I spilled a just-poured mug of tea on my thigh. The pain was terrible and after running cold water on it for a while, I applied aloe vera (I broke a leaf from a plant I have at home and used the sticky gel-like stuff) on the area. It was very soothing and brought me great relief. FWIW.

 

[Avala]

Bad situation Serg :( I understand it, since my brother spilled hot coffee on him when he was very young. Can you find some good herbalist around you? In Serbia, where I live we use this "Saljicev melem za opekotine", its on bees wax and herb mixture. It is well known and helps for burns like yours for sure. Two firms are making it:

http://www.mentapadej.com/kontakt.htm

http://www.saljic.rs/index-e.html

And what you need is caled: Jomelop G

http://www.oceni.rs/lepota_i_velnes/zdravlje/jomelop-prirodni-melem-za-opekotine/


Maybe there is some site that you can order it, but here we don't have that way of shipment very much developed, so I don't know. I give you the name so maybe you can try to find it.
I'm writing this because I know from experience that this really helps. Other than that I don't know how to help you :( Good luck.

 

[Search]

Re: 1st, 2nd degree burns - need advice

A few about ambulance and hospital personnel that treated me yesterday. Ambulance personnel: the older woman and a young man. When the lady came in she looked annoyed and angry at me, for burning myself.  The young seemed kind and showed respect and understanding, he was the only human being in the hospital. The woman asked me:’ what we should do about this? ‘ I asked for a painkiller and the young man gave me an injection after asking me if I have an allergy to it. He did it very carefully and painlessly. During the way to the hospital I experienced a non-stop earthquake in the ambulance van. It’s because the cars in the state hospital are very old. During the ride to the hospital the young guy was sitting with my wife and I in the back, the lady was upfront with a driver. I really wanted to smoke; the young guy noticed that and he quietly told me that I could smoke only if the lady and the driver didn’t see us through the glass between them and us. All the personnel of the hospital were cruel, rough and rude. There is too much to write, I’ll write a little. The doctor said that it will teach me not to stay up late at my computer. The young lady looked lost and confused about how they will how would they take off the panthenol spray that covered all the area. The old lady and her decided to take napkins and just wipe it off. My wife protested and said he won’t be able to do that because his wounds are open. They said if he can’t, we can. Also I asked if I can wash my hands and the young lady asked why would you want to wash your hand, we would do everything ourselves. Because they are not clean and I can infect the area, I said. BTW I was the one who removed the panthenol. Later they asked to help him bandage the area with my hands.

Serg, I'm sorry but we aren't qualified to give direct medical advice over the internet. That would be dangerous for you and for us. I hope it heals soon.

Hi anart, I completely understand you, I just want to ask for advice, not instructions.

Oh geezzz Serg, that's awful! Is seeing a private doctor possible?

Yes it is possible. At first we want to do so, but today near an hour ago my wife met one woman who is retired medical worker, and now she works as a cleaning lady at the pharmacy downstairs. My wife asked the pharmacy worker if she knew any good, not expansive private doctor and she said to that lady (retired medical worker) to ask her if she knows anybody. My wife chatted with that lady for half an hour told her my situation. Lady explained what to do and said there is no need to go to the hospital as long as everything is sterol clean. My wife asks her if she could do it, but she said it is easy and you can do it yourself. They exchange their telephone numbers and this lady turns out to be our neighbor. She said that whenever we need some medical assistance she will come and help. She said that she is not surprised at all by the cruel attitude and incompetency of the doctors. She told my wife that one of her friend was treated like a piece of dirt at the hospital while she was fainting, because of her gallstone. The lady worked at the Cancer treatment center and said besides almost everybody being cruel toward the their patients the doctor sold all the expansive medicine that normally for free, so the patients have to buy it themselves. Also they did expensive surgery operations to patients they all the medical stuff knew were going to die.


Loreta thanks for advice, but it is difficult to find green clay when you need some help immediately, especially if you don’t know where to get good clay. I’ll try to find it an keep it in the house.

Laura, I really sorry about what happened with your child, it is really bad experience, especially for a baby. How she did she healed after that? I think such situation may leave some psychological scars.

The body has a marvelous ability to heal itself so even if it looks pretty bad right now and feels awful, with proper care, you'll be as good as new in no time!

Thanks, especially considering that there is not time as we perceive it. :) (I didn't know this eng expression before, so that was the first thing that came to my mind)

Thanks Possibility of Being, my wife knew about it but I didn’t. It is part of folk Ukrainian medicine. But as far as we do stop eating potatoes, we didn’t have it here. My mom used to send us home grown potatoes. I don’t know if it is a good idea to buy potatoes in a market, because it is full of chemical. I really admire folk medicine, and my body reacts badly to chemicals. My mom used to heal me with different herbs and home remedies. I also liked when it is combined with scientifical way of thinking. I’ll keep some potatoes also, maybe fridge.

Thanks Lilou, my wife just found the Swiss Solcoserelyl Gel at the downstairs pharmacy. BTW that lady, whom my wife met, complimented this gel. She said it works very effectively.

Hi Mrs.Tigersoap. Thanks for your advice. We just moved from the village where we got plenty of aloe vera plants. So that will the potatoes and green clay :)

Hi Avala, that lady whom my wife met seemed to have mentioned this jel, but my five already bought the other jel and we don’t want to mix them and your post was after my wife went to the pharmacy. Can you give me the Latin name of the active components of in order for me to know if it is the same the lady spoke about.

Thanks to you all for your advices, I really appreciate your care and your fast reply. I was reading them but couldn’t answer at the time.
So, now I will tell what I’ve done. In the morning we replased the bandeges with new sterilized bandages covered in betadine. (That is also what the doctor at the hospital did) When my wife bought Solcoserelyl Gel, we undid the bandages, sterilized the area with some betadine and applied the gel on the burned areas. (The lady that my wife met advised to do so) Also we used disposable sterilized glows, bandages. Also my wife asked the woman if it would be a good idea for me to stay without the bandages, because there is nobody around in the house. (Note: With bandages I look like and move like C3PO robot from the Star Wars. It is too bad that you have only Padawans, Jedies, etc , but do not have C3PO’s (I’m joking :)) The lady said that it even better without bandages as long as it stays under betadine and the gel, because it is covered and I just sit in a chair. And the bandages stick to the wounds, in such a way making the prices of healing longer. I can say that I almost don’t feel pain, although my wounds are open. I’m not using any painkillers. I feel like the gel is really good and it is doing the job. And I have the similar felling of from the gel working on the wound similar how it feels on when I take my ascorbic acid and liver starts feeling light. As usual I had my big chunk of meat,

I forget to ask if you know, if I should to decrease the intake water, because in Belarus doctors don’t let their patients not to drink more than one litter after surgery operations in order to speed up the healing process and to avoid any inflammations. I just used to drink a lot of black tea and different herbs, really rarely natural Arabica coffee.

 

[Lilou]

I am glad you were able to find the Solcoceryl Gel. It really works quickly to promote new skin growth and it does relieve pain too (probably just because the wound is no longer exposed to air).

I learned about this gel when I lived in the Middle East, I'm not even sure if it's well known here in the US. But I can attest to it's quick & effective healing properties.

You should be right as rain in no time. :)

 

[rylek]

Sorry to hear about your accident, Serg, and on top of it all the disrespectful medical treatment that you had to endure. Burns are a serious thing and very painful.

I once inflicted a severe second degree burn on my entire left palm after spilling boiling hot soup pouring it into a bowl with a ladle. I ended up with a massive blister all over my palm and it too ages to heal. I had to have bandages with silver strips changed everyday. For several days it was agony. Hang in there!

Great that you managed to find some of the creams already recommended in this thread and hopefully you'll have a speedy recovery!

Several years ago, I spilled a just-poured mug of tea on my thigh. The pain was terrible and after running cold water on it for a while, I applied aloe vera (I broke a leaf from a plant I have at home and used the sticky gel-like stuff) on the area. It was very soothing and brought me great relief. FWIW.

I'd also recommend Aloe vere. Maybe once the pain subsides and the affected area heels a little, Aloe can be used to relive any left-over pain or inflammation and to prevent possible scarring. I personally use pure organic Aloe creme and it is high relieving and soothing when applied to burned areas:

The Remedy: Aloe Vera

The Claim: It heals burns.

The Science: Aloe vera gel may very well be the crown jewel of skin-soothing treatments for damaged skin. And for good reason: Numerous studies have provided evidence that it can heal the minor burns and scrapes that a harsh world can inflict on sensitive skin. Scientists suspect that has to do with the gel’s anti-inflammatory properties.

One randomized study by a team of surgeons in 2009, for example, looked at 30 patients with second-degree burns and found that aloe cream completely healed minor wounds in less than 16 days, compared to 19 days for silver sulfadiazine, a common antibacterial cream used to treat burns.

To be sure, not every study has had conclusive findings. Another one published in the journal Burns in 2007 looked at data from four different studies that included a total of 371 patients with various types of wounds and burns. The authors stopped short of recommending aloe vera gel for all burn and wound healing. “However,” the authors stated, “cumulative evidence tends to support that aloe vera might be an effective intervention used in burn wound healing for first to second degree burns.”

In other words, experts say, for severe wounds that go beyond superficial damage to the skin, medical attention is needed. But for sunburns, blisters and small burns that cause minor pain, redness or damage that is limited to the top layers of skin, aloe vera could make a difference.

“There are factors in aloe that help the cells regenerate and heal faster,” said Dr. Lawrence D. Rosen, a pediatrician at the Whole Child Center in Oradell, N.J., who recommends it to his patients. Dr. Rosen suggests keeping an aloe plant in your home. Or simply purchase a leaf or two from the market and break it open when needed, he said.

The Risks: According to the National Institutes of Health, when used topically, aloe vera gel has no significant side effects.

link

 

[Brewer]

Nasty Serg, nasty!

Sorry to hear about this. Even though I'm a fireman and ambulance officer I've had little experience in this. I've done initial treatment for burns, (cold water) and the previous posters have it covered with silver ointments and so forth.

Wear loose under wear, rest up, don't move around as this may abrade the wounded area and aggravate it. Keep a dressing on it and keep your pubic hair away from the wound. Pubic hair can abrade the damaged area and can also be a vector for infection, that's why they shave you before operations down there. I don't advocate shaving as the stubble from regrowth will be very abrasive.

It's should heal up OK, take it easy, take care and get well soon!

Cheers

 

[ginebra]

Hi Serg,

Sorry to hear about your burn, and the the treatment you got from people that one expects to be kind with a person in pain.On the other hand, I was
told that honey is a good scar healing. It should be put on the scar itself.