This may or may not be related to a certain member here who may or may not have burned himself and who may or may not be stubborn about seeking medical attention.

Oops, forgot to vote.

I'm not sure either, but if need be we do have a couple other members that could help...


Ed Avila Sr: Pathologist

Powderburner: Funeral Director

XxSLASHERxX: Pastor


While it's not much, this information could come in handy if The Mall Ninja decides to cook any more barrels!

Paging DrJarHead...Come to GD please...

[img]http://www.stopstart.fsnet.co.uk/smilie/biggrin2.gif[/img]

Woohoo, I voted for number 3.  Who cares, It's on my left arm and I'm right handed...

Actually, I cleaned it up again and wrapped it enough to hold the bandage on while I slept.  If it stank or was swollen in the morning, I'd see some doctor, but it wasn't.  I have about 16 blisters ranging in size from a lima bean (cooked, no pun intended) to a ball bearing in the rear site of a '15.  

No pain, and hopefully the scarring won't be bad.  I'm letting it air out right now and I am applying large amounts of this triple antibiotic stuff.

FatMan: Paid Professional Mourner

CLP would work well with that parkerized finish!

I'm pretty sure that every thing is fine.  The swelling I had yesterday is all gone and most of the redness surrounding the burn has gone into recession.  How long do the blisters take to go away?  I want to go to work tommorrow but don't want to risk infection.  Medic!

Dead tissue doesn't continue swelling! [B)]

Pics?

Go seek medical attention.

That being said...

Cleaning the area well, then applying Betadine solution to kill all the germies, is a good start.  Follow this with Silvadene cream.  This stuff works miracles in healing chemical burns.

And if you take care of it soon, you should be able to keep the scarring to a minimum.

I speak from experience.

If skin is intact...DON'T BREAK IT. It is your first line of defense. Cool compresses, elevation, push fluids, pain control.
If blisters open then debride the dead skin(see your doc) and apply silvadene for a couple of days and then go to polysporin or other triple antibiotic. Don't use Neosporin. I use nonadhesive dressings overlaid with gauze for absorption and cushion, and finally a wrap to hold it all on. Dressing changes twice daily.If high risk for infection or infected(doesn't sound like it) then oral antibiotics are indicated. If third degree burn there is greater risk of infection and necrosis.

Overall, sounds like your doing pretty well but you could probably use a day or two off work to allow it to heal a little better. Let me know if there is more going on but if there is any question about how well this is doing see a doc.

Edited to say: don't put betadine on it.

Being SEVERAL rungs down the training ladder, I have to second what DRJarHead said....


Scott

BTW, things have changed....

Used to be first degree is now superficial burn
Used to be second degree is now partial thickness burn
Used to be third degree is full thickness burn

Having blistering, your burn sounds to be second degree/partial thickness

GO SEE A DOC


Scott

Might as well break down and get some medical attention.  Then you can brag to all of us about the cute/hot nurse that cleaned and bandaged it for you.  

If I cant put betadine on it, may I soak my arm in betadine?  Initially I was washing it with a saline solution I picked up at Wally World, but it ran out after 30 seconds of spraying and costed 5.88.  Fuck that.  Tonight I got paid so I have some cash to go buy some burn treatment goodies.  Anyway, I have a huge blister, will it dissapear or just pop?  If It pops, I'll see a doctor and have the skin removed (Any way to do that myself?  I haven't taken any pain killers through the whole ordeal and would enjoy another endorphin rush)

I've been using one of those petro based triple antibiotics for a anti-bacterial agent and a layer of guaze changed about every 1 - 2 hours, washing it under water after changing and allowing it to air dry.  I can't wait till tuesday to show some pics, it should be healed up a bit but man, I'm so gonna get womenz with lines like, "Heh, if you think this looks scarred..."

Edit to add:  I went and shot a F/A RPD one handed today.  Nice little Russian belt-fed in 7.62 x 39, 100 round non-dissentagrating belt.  So I can still shoot the gunz one handed...

Hi guys. I am an MD, so my suggestions may not carry any weight, but here goes.

In most serious burns from a thermal source we cool it ASAP to stop further swelling and to reduce pain. We then debride the wound of dead tissue. This may involve lancing blistered tissue, so "popping" and removing a blister isn't a bad idea. This promotes healing and removes dead tissue which can easily become infected since it now has no blood supply. The blister fluid can also be a food source for bacteria, and nobody likes sepsis. Rupture and drain that sucker and remove the dead tissue. After debridement we irrigate with sterile saline and use ice baths as tolerated. The ice is only used in the first 45 minutes or so. After that we clean, gently, the surrounding areas and apply a water based topical bacteriostatic/bacteriocidal cream called silvadene sulfate. The burn is then covered lightly in dry guaze with a non-stick applique. These bandages must be changed at least once a day.

NEVER use betadine on a simple burn, that is one without imbedded foreign bodies, as it is cytotoxic, will retard healing, and may actually promote later infection. A water based topical is preferred because oil based topicals will macerate the damaged tissue slowing healing and promoting more scarring. Use oil based only if nothing else is available or the patient has a proven silver sensitivity. Silver as well as sulfur compounds can cause localized vasoconstriction and other problems in some people.

With a chemical burn we first attempt to neutralize the offending agent. If that can't be done then immediately forcefully flush with sterile saline. If that can't be done use tap water.Use what you have because time is skin. After neutralization/ lavage you treat it as you would a standard thermally induced burn.

Burns greater than the diameter of a half dollar should be treated by a doctor immediately if they are worse than a first degree. Any third degree burn greater than a quarter should probably be looked at if for no other reason just to get some antibiotics. Skin grafts may also be necessary, which you may have a difficult time doing on your own, no matter how well equipped your machine shop is..

Burns that encircle a limb or joint need immediate treatment no matter how severe since the swelling can cause a loss of flow to the distal portion and you can lose that part to necrosis (gangrene). It goes without saying that any burn involving the eyes or face, especially suspicion of inhaled burning gases, needs immediate emergency attention.

Any questions feel free to ask. I hope this helps.

No shit?  I get conflicting advice.  Pop or not to pop and debride is the question.  I can do that stuff simple.  Yeh, it's bigger than a half-dollar (More like a full paper dollar size) but it is not encircling any limb and seems to be healing nicely, other than the ugly looking blisters.  Tell you what... I'll drain and peel the skin and put that silver shit tonight, and if I get it worse in the morning, I'll just see a doctor and report back to guys the proper way to treat a burn. Hows that sound?

Sounds like a plan. Please do see your Dr in the morning though. Burn related cellultis is a pain to treat and no fun for the patient. Since you let it go for a couple of days without proper care, you may have a problem if it is a serious second degree or worse. If there is any hint of a nasty odor or a greenins/bluish pus go to the ER tonight.

Will do if the pus is some strange color. I've been smelling it after every cleaning making sure there was no stench and so far it smells clean, really clean.  I'm probably not going to visit the doctor in the morning now, but other than signs of infection, what other problems should I look for that might need medical attention?  (I do have full use of my left hand and no pain is present)

Signs that a burn is infected will be:
1. Odor, not necessarily bad, just odd in some cases.

2.Change in coloration of the surrounding tissue to a reddened state or a change in the color of the burned zone to a deeper angry red, or in the case of a pseudomonas infection to a bluish green color.

3. Failure to progress towards healing. This may be fungal in nature and demands attention. It will kost likely be accompanied by a wound that weeps for more than a few days and has dry scaly flaky zone around it. This is pretty rare, don't sweat it.

4. Joint pain at a joint between the burn and the trunk.

5. Unexplained armpit pain in an upper body extremity burn or pelvic pain in a leg burn.

6. If there is any excessive tightening of the skin keeping you from properly flexing your hand go see the doc. You may need some plastic surgery.

7. If you suddenly get a fever or feel woozy for no reason, you may have septicemia or "blood poisoning". Get to the ED immediately.

I've been scalded twice by radiator-water (automotive radiators, that is) in my life.

The first time, I was 16. I had plans that day to wash and wax the family car 'cause I was going to use it. I looked out the window to see if the car was home, then I took a shower, ate, and went outside. Unknown to me, my dad had used it while I was busy, so it was hot. I opened the hood, and thinking it hadn't moved all morning, opened the radiator cap and BOOM. Kind of second-third degree burns from my shoulder all the way down to my hand on my left arm. Part of the skin from the hand up to roughly the elbow sloughed off when I ran to grab the hose and rinse my arm off. It was kind of funny actually to see a two foot long by two inch wide section of skin just fall, plop!, to the ground at my feet. The flesh that had been under it looked bumpy and pinky-white.
Anyway, I ran that hose on my arm for a good two hours or so. That helped a lot with the pain. After the pain was sorta-manageable (that is, barely able to suppress screaming), I just let it breathe.
But!
I had to go to school (high school that is)... so that meant using whatever I could find in the bathroom to cover the wound so the gauze I wrapped around it wouldn't stick to it. My arm was wrapped in gauge for about a month until it felt ok enough to go without it (not continuously - unwrapped it at home for breathing and whatnot).
My skin grew back (I thought there'd have been scarring or something, like that guy in that movie Darkman, but it grew back fine. Hair and everything too. It's a little lighter in shade than the rest of my skin and it tends to sunburn a bit easier too, but otherwise looks normal.

As for the second one, I was lifting up the vent lever on my radiator cap (like a couple years ago) and the radiator cap had a fatal failure and broke. It shot up in the air like about 30 feet high with accompanying geyser of hot water and steam, with my (again) left hand in the middle of it. This one was not as bad as the first (just my hand, and no skin feel off). I ran into the AM/PM and bought a bag of ice and a 64 oz cup, ran outside, dumped ice in it and filled it with water from the service pump and stuck my hand in. I kept my hand in there for about 6 hours, replenishing ice as necessary, and after that it was as if it had never happened, felt fine and great.

As for chemical burns, never had one, but I hear you are also supposed to flush with large volumes of water for about 15 minutes (or you could just jump in the tub with cool water for an hour or two).

Why go to a doctor when you can get free medical advice here?

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