Last night, while my husband was ironing his clothes for work today, he set the iron down and our toddler decided that would be a good time to touch it... So he burned his finger. We immediately cooled the burn with running cold water and rubbed an ice cube on it for a little while, but it still formed a blister. It doesn't seem to be bothering him today at all, but eventually the blister will pop, and I'm not really sure how to care for it. It's near impossible to keep a bandaid on this kid, and he's always putting his fingers in his mouth (he's teething), so I should probably avoid any creams or salves. Will it be fine if left to heal to open air, and just washed gently with soap and water daily?
Never ice...it is more traumatic and usually ends up causing a worse blister. :( Just keep the blister unpopped and clean and if it itches put some aloe on it, if it doesn't itch leave it alone.
Try not to let him pop the blister. The fluid inside (called serum, I think) is actually helping to heal the burn underneath before the outer layer is healed. I learned about this just the other day when I burned my hand on an oven rack as I removed some cookies! The blister will eventually pop on its own (mine did on day #3). More fluid may re-fill the blister as it continues to heal. I don't care for bandaids either, but have been keeping one on for a few hours at a time with a layer of antibiotic ointment. Then I wash it w/soap & water and let it "air" for a few hours without a bandaid. This back & forth method seems to be working as I'm on day #4 with this burn and it already looks better & hardly hurts at all! Really hope the same goes for your son! Sorry if this all sounded a bit gross, but hope it helps a bit.
High grade tea tree oil will help. It's antibacterial, antifungal, and antiseptic so the wound will stay clean and if he ingests it it wont be a problem. (Avoid lower grades as some are caustic.) If you keep it in the house and get it on a burn right away, a blister usually doesn't form. It also keeps bruises from coming up.
Hope this helps.
M.
The best thing for a burn is--nothing. No creams or salves and don't pop the blister. Hope it's better soon.
Do you have any vitamin E? Just take one & hold it in your hand until it becomes warm & soft then pricked a whole in it. Rub a little oil on the burn. Aloe vera gel is good also.
Don't pop the blister, that will just give any bacteria an opening to get in. It should be okay in a few days. Aloe Vera won't hurt it, if you use actual aloe from a broken off plant/branch-- I wouldn't use any sort of gel out of a bottle or tube, though.
Putting a little meat tenderizer and water on a burn will help stop the pain from a burn - not sure why, but it does.
And for future burns--- you shouldn't apply ice directly to the skin. Ice applied directly to the skin can cause additional damage. Soaking in ice chilled water, running under a cool faucet, or applying ice within a wrap of some sort are all fine choices. Just don't apply the ice directly to the skin.
:)
I think your bigest concern is infection, once the blister pops there is an increased risk since there is no protection from the outer skin layers and with toddlers touching everything the risk increases. My daughter burned her finger on a curling iron as a toddler. She ended up with a few bad blisters on her tiny fingers. I ended up taking her to the doctor and was given some burn cream to put on her fingers twice a day. The blisters popped eventually, but the cream worked beautifully and the burn cleared in days with no infection. She never acted like she was in pain either. We put cool Dora bandaids on her fingers, so she kept them on a little while. Just a suggestion, but you might consider a call to the Ped to get the burn checked out.
It should heal up on its own. Washing is fine.
Whenever you get a burn, put tooth paste on it
It works great.
You could put some Aloe Vera Gel on it. Works well for pretty much any type of burn... It's good to have around the house for sunburn too! :) It's not something that would hurt him to eat. You can get it pretty much anywhere.
this may sound crazy but there is a honey from New Zeland called Manuka honey. I works wonders on burns and as long as he is more then a year old, it won't matter if he tastes it!!!!
Whole foods carrys it.
I would put food grade lavender essential oil on it. I would have done it right away. Lavender is very soothing and healing for burns.The cold water was a good idea, but the ice might have been too intense (for future reference).
This won't help you now, but for next time (which hopefully there is not a next time but at least you'll be prepared if it does happen again) immerse the burn in cold flour for at least 5 minutes. If you can get the child to keep the burn in the flour for up to 20 minutes that's your best bet. I keep my flour in the freezer to keep it cold. Chefs use this remedy on their burns to reduce blisters, pain, and redness. I will definitely do this with my children and recommend it to anyone that gets a burn. Good luck to you.
