URGENT: burn

[petey44]

DD (25 months) just pulled a cup of coffee odwn on herself. We're staying at a stupid hotel that has one of those brew a cup at a time into a paper cup coffeemakers, and of course there's no surfaces high enough or deep enough to be safe for a child. So she pulled it down on herself, as she was pulling it down I grabbed her and ran her to the shower, held her in there with cold water for several mintues, then put her in the sink with cold water for a few minutes, then held a cold wet towel on her. The rest of her seems fine but her elbow has a dime sized patch where the skin rubbed off. I think maybe it would have blistered, but because I was holding her on her elbow, it broke instead.
She says she feels fine now but I'm really nervous. What's my next step? Should I put burn cream on? Bandage? Let it breathe?

[Latte Mama]

Where did the coffee hit her body? Just on her arm? It sounds like you got the cold water on it in time BUT burns can be tricky. Even 1st degree burns can be very painful.
Is her arm reddened? Or is it just that dime sized area?

You can put some antibiotic ointment on the open area with a gauze or bandage. But if there is any chance that she sustained a large burn area, I'd take her in to the ER.

[confustication]

If the area is smaller than a couple inches AND is not oozing etc, you can treat it at home. The biggest risk with any burn is infection, but keeping the area clean and dry will go a long way to helping with that.

You have already done a great job cooling the area, now you cn give some ibuprofen to help minimize inflammation and cover it with a sterile gauze dressing (you want it breathable, no bandaids.)

Keep an eye on it and take her in if she seems really uncomfortable, or if you see increased discharge or swelling as it is healing.


Do not apply ointments, creams, or otherwise unless instructed by a physician- these are occlusive and will increase the risk of infection instead of helping to eliminate it.

[leighi123]

You need to keep it in cool water until it doesnt hurt any more. My ds got a minor burn all over his hand a few weeks ago and kept it in cool water for a couple hours before he could take it out and say it didnt hurt. Its longer than you think (maybe stick her in a cool bath if its a large area)

Then get some antibacterial, pain killing burn cream. Its a nasty yellowish brown color and smells bad. The one we had came in very small individual tubes in the package. It really works well and stopped it from hurting.
Then bandage very lightly with soft gauze. I kept his hand bandaged when we went out and at night, but tried to let it air out while at home. The bandage keeps the cream on (and less messy) too.

You can give ibuprofen too if it still is hurting after that, but ds didnt complain once the cream was on (and he has never had it before, he is allergic to everything so I dont want to give him meds unless absolutely necessary)

[mamalisa]

Lavendar oil has wonderful healing properties, I always use it with some vitamin E on burns. I keep burns covered, for me they seem to heal better that way.

[DahliaRW]

You do not want to put any creams or ointments on it for the first few hours (I think up to 24). Burns keep burning beneath the surface, and anything that takes away the ability for the burn to "breath" can cause it to burn more.

If it doesn't look too bad, I'd cover it with a breathable dressing and keep an eye on it. If it yellows or starts oozing I'd go get it checked asap.

[JBaxter]

Jack did that at about 20 months. I went to the ped the next morning because over night the blisters got HUGE. They prescribed silvadine ( spelling?) cream I didnt want to risk infection it looked bad for several days. Luckily it didtn scar it was his WHOLE arm

[sapphire_chan]

Silvasorb gel is awesome on all wounds and really improves elasticity of healed skin vs other anti-microbals.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19165109 Ah, it's actually a competitor and improvement on Silvadine.

[mtiger]

Originally Posted by JBaxter

JThey prescribed silvadine ( spelling?) cream I didnt want to risk infection it looked bad for several days. Luckily it didtn scar it was his WHOLE arm

Silvadene works very well, but it is prescription. Still - if it's a larger burn, well worth it.

[petey44]

Just wanted to come back on, now that we're home, and say thank you for all of the good advice. Luckily it's long sleeves weather now, so that's helping to keep the burn loosely covered and clean. That's all we've been doing until after her bath tonight, when I put some antibiotic ointment on it. I'll reassess in the morning to see if I want to keep doing that, or just leave it be. It's not oozy at all or anything, but it does look raw.
That was really the worst moment of my life so far as a parent, and I'll continue to be uneasy until it's completely healed. Again, thanks for the advice!! It's times like this that I really feel lucky to have found MDC!

[zebu]

Originally Posted by confustication

If the area is smaller than a couple inches AND is not oozing etc, you can treat it at home. The biggest risk with any burn is infection, but keeping the area clean and dry will go a long way to helping with that.

You have already done a great job cooling the area, now you cn give some ibuprofen to help minimize inflammation and cover it with a sterile gauze dressing (you want it breathable, no bandaids.)

Keep an eye on it and take her in if she seems really uncomfortable, or if you see increased discharge or swelling as it is healing.


Do not apply ointments, creams, or otherwise unless instructed by a physician- these are occlusive and will increase the risk of infection instead of helping to eliminate it.

yes, this! We went through this with my 13 month old just a week ago! Two different doctors said to keep it dry, so no ointments and no bandages that will trap moisture. Dampness and moisture can cause further damage. Keep any blisters intact, because they work like natural band-aids. They will take care of themselves.

The good news is that they heal fast at this age! It's just over a week later and my little one's burn is just a pink spot of brand new skin.

[devon]

Originally Posted by nmbutts

Two different doctors said to keep it dry, so no ointments and no bandages that will trap moisture. Dampness and moisture can cause further damage.

Overall, that is not actually true. My son at 23 months had second degree burns on his hands. The most current research shows that moisture therapy is the most effective at treating burns. It is allowing the new skin to grow without scabbing (which is basically from exposure to air), which can get jostled and torn off, injuring the skin more. For his, they kept them moist in a compression glove with gauze, this other wrap thing, and an antibiotic gel until the new skin started to grow. Amazingly, he healed completely with no scarring, etc.

Of course, in this situation, you'd be under the care of a physician, not just self-treating a first-degree burn.

[mamayogibear]

This just happened to my daughter and I feel awful. I was making a cup of tea and I went to the bathroom. While I was in there she opened the microwave and pulled out the water onto her face! I ran into the kitchen and put her in the sink with cold water running over her face for about ten minuets until she started yelling about being chilly. It is so pink! I have aloevera gel and arnica but no 'burn ointment' should I use either of those or just leave it be? I gave her some kids tylenol which I almost never use and I think it's helped her. She isn't screaming anymore but she keeps saying it hurts and she needs snuggles. Any advice is appreciated!

[mama2soren]

If she has scald burns all over her face you should take her to see a doctor.  How hot was the water?

[mamayogibear]

Thanks for the reply mama! I took her to the doctor this morning without an appointment and after an hour of waiting they saw her. It turns out that she is fine. I used arnica and aloe on it last night and this morning there was a small blister in the middle of it so I rushed (as much as a mom of two with no car can rush) her to the doctor. The doctor said not to get burn cream for it and if the small blister did pop to use neosporen on it and that's it. At least I'm no longer panicking over it.

[mtiger]

Originally Posted by mamayogibear 

This just happened to my daughter and I feel awful. I was making a cup of tea and I went to the bathroom. While I was in there she opened the microwave and pulled out the water onto her face! I ran into the kitchen and put her in the sink with cold water running over her face for about ten minuets until she started yelling about being chilly. It is so pink! I have aloevera gel and arnica but no 'burn ointment' should I use either of those or just leave it be? I gave her some kids tylenol which I almost never use and I think it's helped her. She isn't screaming anymore but she keeps saying it hurts and she needs snuggles. Any advice is appreciated!

In all honesty? A burn on her face from boiling water would see us at the ER pronto. My son, when he was ~3, burned his hand helping his Dad put his bike into the garage - grabbed the exhaust by mistake. My daughter jarred a fondue pot of hot oil on her hand/arm at ~7. Took them both to the ER. Better safe than sorry. Both were prescribed Silvadene; neither have any scarring at all.

I really wouldn't mess around, myself.

[mamayogibear]

If the water had been boiling I think I would have called 911 but the water was just hot. The beverage setting on my microwave doesn't heat a cup filled with water to boiling but just really hot.