Morning -
We were burning some leaves over the weekend and our 6 year old son fell into the ash of the burnt leaves. When he went to pick him self up he burned his left wrist, palm of hand and his pointer finger. It did not blister right away and we did put a cool compress on it, wrapped it and had triple antibiotic ointment with pain relief on it. At 3:30 this morning he came to our room crying in pain. He has a ton of very tiny blisters all over his wrist and a few big ones on the palm and one big blister on his pointer finger.
How or what do I do to care for burns? Is it best to air out? or do I keep it wrapped?
Thanks,
.
I"d call the dr's office for advice. They might tell you to not wrap it and let it breathe. Or, they might want to see it. Give a quick call.
I would take him to urgent care; you're not supposed to wrap or apply antibiotic ointment to burns. Any burn that blisters is begging for infection.
Going forward, immediately stick the burn under cold running water. Wrapping it is one of the worst things you can do at home :(
He's going to need an oral antibiotic, he needs to be seen by a doctor for this.
Poor dude, hope he feels better soon!
ETA: yes, burns need to breathe and stay clean (hard when he's 6, I know)... I used to be an EMT, we'd get calls from people who tried to home remedy blistered burns and they messed themselves up worse that way. It even says on antibiotic ointment not to use it on burns. I'd definitely take him in to be seen.
He's probably going to need oral antibiotics and pain medication. You aren't supposed to put anything on burns or cover them. I'd get him to the doctor today if I were you.
As much as I love and trust most of the advice here PLEASE call the doctor's office, he should probably be seen. Burns are incredibly painful, and can take a long time to heal, especially if not treated correctly.
If calling/going to the doctor is not an option then go to a burn care/first aid website, like webmd, or mayoclininc.
First, I'd call your doctor's nurse for their medical advice. They should be able to give you an idea of what a more serious burn looks like and if you need to bring him in. My baby got his hand burned on Christmas Eve.
The biggest issue was keeping it clean, especially if the blister bursts. You don't want to encourage the blister to burst as the rate of infection sky rockets. I'd give a general pain reliever like Tylenol or ibuprofen, then you may want to wrap it lightly in gauze to keep it clean. He's old enough to talk to about not picking at it. I like using the Neosporin stuff...if anything just for peace of mind. But if the blisters stay intact they'll heal faster.
Let him soak it in cold water. You may want to have it seen, since it is blistered (not due to the blisters themselves, but because of the severity of the burn...and blistering is an indication of how severe) and is on his joints (wrist/finger). Anytime fingers/joints are involved in a severe burn you should consider having it looked at by a professional.
If you have a local pharmacy that carries 2nd Skin bandages, I would apply some. They are AMAZING at easing the pain. I burned my fingers badly on a pot handle out of the oven (dumb me, forgot it had been in the oven and grabbed the metal handle with no pot holder)... It hurt badly. Found those things at the CVS and had my SIL apply them and the pain instantly went away. Really. And the fingers healed in a few days with no scarring and no lost skin.
http://www.allegromedical.com/wound-care-c541/2nd-skin-mo...
I would go to an Urgent Care facility.
Aloe, Vitamin E and Zinc are great for these types of things. Keep it clean and wrapped loosely until the blisters start to go down then let it have air.
Use cool water, not ice or ice cold water to soothe it. I would call your doctor and have it check by him/her as well. There is not too much that can be done for small burns (first or second degree in a small area), third degree burns you should go to the ER a.s.a.p.
If he has a lot of blisters, take him to his pediatrician so you can make sure they don't get infected. So sorry for the little one!
In the future, the best things to do with a burn is to put it in cold water ASAP and keep it in cold water as long as you can. It helps the burning stop from the inside. It really works well.
I would actually take him to the doctors office. infections and scaring might occur and the doctor has special sleeves if it is bad enough to need one. if not he can prescribe meds or ointments , even home remidies to help prevent infection.
sorry your son had a little accident !
If you take him to the doc ask for Silvadene cream. It is what they often use in hospitals for burn victims. It is like instant relief. I got steam burns in college from a Green Giant Microwave Lasagna. My hand had to be debrided daily but the cream they put on it numbed it and helped it heal.
Do you have any aloe vera? also any sunburn cream that offers pain relief will help also. Other than that I am not sure if i would cover the blisters as when they break open they are gonna leak fluid everywhere
Never put an "ointment" on a burn - that's why it blistered. It's like putting oil on a fire.
The absolute best thing to do is put ice on it. Ice will take the burn out and it won't blister.
Vinegar. Takes the sting out.
Google vinegar and burns for more info.
Duh!!!! Seek medicial attention. Burns are extremely painful.
