Burns - 10 Treatments for Minor Accidents

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Douse that flame. "The first and most important thing is to stop the burning process," says William P. Burdick, M.D., associate professor of emergency medicine at the Medical College of Pennsylvania. Flush your burns with lots and lots of cold water—15 to 30 minutes worth or until the burning stops. But don't use ice or ice water—they can make your burn worse.

"If it's a contact burn, run the injured part under cold water," says Dr. Burdick. "If it's hot grease or splattered hot material like battery acid or soup, remove the clothing that's saturated first, wash the grease off your skin, then soak the burn in cold water." If the clothing sticks to the burn, rinse over the clothing, then go to the doctor. Do not attempt to pull the clothing off yourself.

Once you've put the fire out, you're halfway to healing. The coolness stops the burning from spreading through your tissue and works as a temporary painkiller.

Leave the butter for your bread. You wouldn't try to smother a fire with a giant slab of butter, would you? The same goes for a burn. Food on burns can hold the heat in your tissue and make the burn worse. It also might cause an infection. Don't use any of those other old-time folk remedies either; no vinegar, potato scrapings, or honey.

Inspect and measure your burn. You can usually self-treat first- and second-degree burns smaller than a quarter on a child or smaller than a silver dollar on an adult. See a doctor for larger burns or for burns on infants under 1 year old or people over 60.

Cover the burn. Gently wrap the burn in a clean, dry cloth such as a thick gauze pad.

Then do nothing. At least for the first 24 hours, leave the burn alone. Burns should be allowed to begin the healing process on their own.

Help it heal. Starting 24 hours after you burn yourself, wash your injury gently with soap and water or a mild Betadine solution once a day, suggests emergency medical technician John Gillies, program director for health services at the Colorado Outward Bound School in Denver. Keep it covered, dry, and clean between washings.

Soothe with aloe. Two or three days after you burn, break off a fresh piece of aloe and use the plant's natural healing moisture, or squeeze on an over-the-counter aloe cream. Both have an analgesic action that will make your wound feel better. Do not use aloe if you are using blood thinners or have a medical history of heart problems.

Make soothing solutions. When your burn is starting to heal, break open a capsule of vitamin E and rub the liquid onto your irritated skin. It will feel good and may prevent scarring. Or reach for an over-the-counter remedy such as a sunburn-cooler Solarcaine.

Dab on an antimicrobial cream. An over-the-counter antibiotic ointment containing the active ingredients polymyxin B sulfate or bacitracin will discourage infection and speed your healing. (For a list comparing the effectiveness of various over-the-counter ointments, see page 173.)

Leave blisters intact. Those bubbles of skin are nature's own best bandage, says Gillies. So leave them alone. If a blister pops, clean the area with soap and water, then smooth on a little antibiotic ointment and cover.