When to see a doctor about burns?
Question:
I was kinda curious about when it's required to see a doctor and when it's not when it comes to a wound. I'll start with how I got it.
I was riding my motorcycle, when I hit some grass and tipped it over to my left. My right leg was exposed slightly, and I received some pretty bad burns on my right leg (3 of them). The top ones are healing right now, the bottom one has me somewhat worried.
The bottom one is about one inch in diameter, and is red along the outside. Furthermore it's also expelling fluids, usually white, slightly yellow in color, which stains the pad and furthermore my sock if I'm wearing one. This incident happened last week, on Thursday, and now it's Wednesday and is still not healed over with a scab. I looked up the symptoms of infections and only 2 of them I have, one which is more apparent than the other. Those two symptoms are redness and puss. Overall it doesn't feel as if it's healing. Other than those, no other symptoms that I can tell.
Answers:
you do need to see a doc
cold water is the best/only first aid when you burn yourself - 20 minutes under the tap and no less. NEVER ice OR vinegar OR milk OR butter OR green tea OR mustard OR toothpaste OR sunscreen OR semen OR vaseline OR tomatoes OR vanilla extract OR yogurt OR sour cream OR egg white OR egg yellow OR lavender oil OR cocoa butter OR salt OR tea bags OR potato OR shaving cream OR olive oil OR baking soda OR banana peel OR petroleum jelly OR whipped cream OR avocado OR bacon grease OR corn starch OR turmeric OR lemon juice OR curd OR pickle juice OR soy sauce OR urine OR talcum powder OR mashed strawberries OR exfoliating scrub OR mayonnaise OR peroxide OR bleach OR deep heat OR ketchup OR red grapes OR hairspray- not until the skin is fully healed!
ibuprofen or aspirin will help but large burns are often accompanied by stomach ulcers, so tylenol/panadol is best for pain if you are gonna tough it out. drink plenty of water or energy drinks that don't have caffeine (gatorade)
i would advise that you cover the burnt area with white soft paraffin (white petroleum) or aqueous cream bp. (check the links below and see if you can find a local equivalent). wash the burn and reapply every 4-6 hours - cover with cling wrap if you wish to cover with clothes - this will stop your clothes getting covered with paraffin and maintains the burn.
cling wrap alone is also ok if you can't get hold of any paraffin. it acts as a protective artificial skin - helping retain moisture and protect from further damage and pain. cling wrap is cheap and clean off the roll. in Australia ambulances often use this when someone has been burnt. - please note that cling wrap isn't always practical, like on your face.
aloe is good coz it remoisturises but that moisture can be quickly lost as the skin can't contain fluids. so put aloe on, and then the paraffin on over the top. if there is broken skin leave out the aloe - just paraffin.
http://www.doorone.com.au/xgs-aqueous_cr...
http://www.pharmacyonline.com.au/david-c...
http://www.cvs.com/cvsapp/cvs/gateway/de...
email if you still have questions - send photos feedingthedogcustard@hotmail.c...
finally if you are really worried go to a hospital that has a burns unit or plastic surgeons. serious sunburn i.e. blisters (and all other burns) should be seen by a burns trained doctor or nurse.
i burnt my leg on a motorcycle muffler once, and by the end, i had a blister with a 1.5 inch diameter. it really wasn't that bad, but i went to see a doctor anyway, and it healed faster than it would have on its own without any help.
if you get pus, which you do, then it's time to see a doctor.
The pus is a clear sign of infection. Of course, the BEST time to have seen a doctor would have been the earliest moment possible after the injury, but, of course, I realize that may not have been possible. And, it may very well have appeared that the injury only needed some first aid.
Getting back to the present, I recommend you see a doctor right away. You don't want to wait for all three guaranteed signs of infection to begin treatment. He may give you an antibiotic to fight back that infection before you lose any more healthy tissue.
you could try scrubbing it out really good (it'll hurt but it's good for it), cleaning it with antibacterial soap and then applying some neosporin to it. keep it covered too. if you start getting a fever or the wound just won't heal, go see your dr.
Burns are highly susceptible to infection. You need to see a doctor. It sounds like this burn is definitely infected. Chances are you will need antibiotics and possible debridement of the infected tissue (I won't lie to you...debridement is very painful).
Since you are having drainage and pus, you need treatment. Please don't try to treat this on your own or see if it will heal on it's own. See a doctor.
EMT
Are you running a fever? Are there red streaks around the wound? If so, get your butt to an ER now.
sounds like it needs to be looked at.
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