I spilled hot coffee on my lap a week ago, giving me second degree burns on my thigh. I was in a restaurant, so I RAN to the bathroom (10 seconds) while holding my clothes out from my body. Once in the bathroom, the pants came down, and I put sloppy wet cold paper towels on the burn, changing them out as they warmed. The blisters covered an area about two thirds the size of my palm. It's healing well, in part because I did NOT follow all the advice I was given.
1. "You should have sprayed it with Windex; that prevents blisters."
2. "You should have poured ice water over it."
3. "You should have put ice on the blisters; that way, the blisters harden and don't spread."
4. You should have kept ice on it for 24 hours."
5. "You should have gone straight to ER!"
... What "helpful" advice have you heard people give?
First of all, the number one thing you want to prevent after a burn is infection so putting anything on that burn isn't great.
Secondly, how do people cook their favorite foods? By putting grease and butter all over it. So probably a bad idea to put it on a person that you are not trying to cook to a nice golden brown.
Cool saline and gauze until treated. For Gods sake, I can't say it enough... DO NOT PUT BUTTER OR LOTION ON A BURN! Stop the burn from spreading (keep it cool), and keep it clean.
(though I do apologize if I took this entire thread way too seriously, I can't tell at the moment)
You are right, of course. I think the reason my burn healed so quickly is that I NOT follow all that well-meaning, but not helpful, advice.
Here, we're just talking about the Helpful (?) (!) advice that medically uneducated people give.
Specializes in M/S, Pulmonary, Travel, Homecare, Psych..
I heard of one ridiculous remedy for burns. The person who was suggesting it (to someone else, thank god) was a pervert though, and his remedy was yuck so...........
My Grandmother insisted until the day she died that you put butter on a burn. My Mom being raised by Grandma of course thought the same until she went to nursing school. I wonder how the thought that butter would be a good idea originated? Seems like it's been a folk remedy forever.
My Grandmother insisted until the day she died that you put butter on a burn. My Mom being raised by Grandma of course thought the same until she went to nursing school. I wonder how the thought that butter would be a good idea originated? Seems like it's been a folk remedy forever.
It feels better when the burn is covered with an ointment. I used an antibiotic ointment under a Telfa pad.
Maybe butter was used as an ointment?
Kerosene was used to "sterilize" the wound, but it did sting s lot. Maybe that's why it was mixed with sweet oil.
A friend of mine has anemia (she has not offered details to me so I have not asked, and don't specifically know what type) and recently posted a comment to Facebook about bleeding particularly enthusiastically after a recent lab draw. A family member replied to her post, saying "Drink beer, it thickens the blood."
I would rinse with cool water, and apply a topical numbing spray, provided the skin was intact ..cool compresses would lessen the inflammatory response ...IMHO
Kitiger, RN
1,834 Posts
You are right, of course. I think the reason my burn healed so quickly is that I NOT follow all that well-meaning, but not helpful, advice.
Here, we're just talking about the Helpful (?) (!) advice that medically uneducated people give.