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So, I spilled boiling water on my hand

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Rivyn said:
What the fuck at the people saying cold water.

Never, ever use cold water. Put it between warm and cold and then put your hand under their for at least 4 minutes.

If you use cold water, and you feel that your hand is getting numb without feeling, you are doing it all wrong.
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I'm saying cold water because its the basic procedure listed in first aid.

Maybe its different in your country or something, I dunno.
 
Rivyn said:
What the fuck at the people saying cold water.

Never, ever use cold water. Put it between warm and cold and then put your hand under their for at least 4 minutes.

If you use cold water, and you feel that your hand is getting numb without feeling, you are doing it all wrong.
Click to expand...

St John first aid says use running cold water for 20 minutes. Then cover with sterile, non stick dressing. Then go see a doctor or ER.
 
Slavik81 said:
I'm guessing that either it evaporates quickly, causing cooling to the area, or it contains something that causes numbing.
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Supposedly (I've get to Google it for myself), hand sanitizer's burn comes from your own body heat. It cools down the affected area to the point where it causes a sting. So based on that, I decided that it should probably cool down the affected area on its own nicely. Which it does, until it dries (which, being hand sanitizer, it does very fast).
 
Rivyn said:
What the fuck at the people saying cold water.

Never, ever use cold water. Put it between warm and cold and then put your hand under their for at least 4 minutes.

If you use cold water, and you feel that your hand is getting numb without feeling, you are doing it all wrong.
Click to expand...
Official medical advice here is cold water for at least 10 minutes after a burn.
 
JokerOfSpades said:
Supposedly (I've get to Google it for myself), hand sanitizer's burn comes from your own body heat. It cools down the affected area to the point where it causes a sting. So based on that, I decided that it should probably cool down the affected area on its own nicely. Which it does, until it dries (which, being hand sanitizer, it does very fast).
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Cold water ffs!
 
Cling film is supposedly good if wrapped loosely. But that might have been early on and it's a bit later now.
 
Rivyn said:
What the fuck at the people saying cold water.

Never, ever use cold water. Put it between warm and cold and then put your hand under their for at least 4 minutes.

If you use cold water, and you feel that your hand is getting numb without feeling, you are doing it all wrong.
Click to expand...
A lot of the burn happens afterwards. Cooling the skin prevents more damage.
 
richisawesome said:
Exactly. Me and my partner are St. John volunteers, so we know what we're on about.
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I did the course a few weeks ago and have the book right here. Only other thing to mention is you need to make sure the water isn't too hot if the pipes are heated up like in WA in summer.
 
Sadly, I don't have much of anything. No dressing of any sort...

I'm on campus at present - not much I have around. And I'm already in bed... I was trying to get a good amount of sleep so I could get up early... pity.
 
Yagharek said:
I did the course a few weeks ago and have the book right here. Only other thing to mention is you need to make sure the water isn't too hot if the pipes are heated up like in WA in summer.
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Heh

I'm in England. We don't get hot weather.
 
JokerOfSpades said:
Ouch.

What should I do about this? The pain is making it difficult to sleep, and I've an exam tomorrow.
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I poured boiling hot soup on my foot, it's second degree burns, go to an ER now the burn might get infected and will bubble up soon.
The scars are still on my foot...
 
Put it in cold water with ice for 15 minutes. Then bandage it. That's what I'd do but hell, I'm not sure if it's the right or best thing to do. Pretty sure it's okay tho. Do it.
1234525508_ben_stiller_-_do_it.gif
 
Nothing, It'll go away. You'll have burn marks for quite a few weeks and that's that.

Next time immediately hold the part you burned under running cold water for a few minutes.

I now GAF will be up in arms but if it's just a small portion of the hand there's really no need to bother a doctor.

EDIT: Go to a pharmacy, they should be able to help you out.
 
If you are able to, throw that hand sanitizer in the garbage. Depending on how bad the burn is, your fucked. There is no way you are going to make it any better before your exam, and on the bright side your current state is the best it's going to feel until it heals.
 
cold witch haze helps with sun burns what about water burns?

Just refer to Dr. Google Internet MD, man it's hard to imagine surviving without the answer man. This guy might be slathering himself in butter without the interweb.
 
Depends what meds you have handy. Burns can get infected quite easily, best to use Savlon or something on it and keep it dressed. Take pain meds for the pain. You should be grand. You'll only get a scar if the burn is more than 2nd degree or it get's infected.
 
Drazgul said:
You don't need to go to the hospital for every little boo-boo. People are such pussies these days.
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Well the average American doesn't go to the hospital until the absolute last minute because medical care in the US is an expensive privilege. Which is why your statement is funny because preventative care would actually be cheaper than waiting until it's too late.

Baldwin_the_First said:
Put it in cold water with ice for 15 minutes. Then bandage it. That's what I'd do but hell, I'm not sure if it's the right or best thing to do. Pretty sure it's okay tho. Do it.
1234525508_ben_stiller_-_do_it.gif
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No not do this, inversely do not run hot water over frost bite.
 
Rivyn said:
What the fuck at the people saying cold water.

Never, ever use cold water. Put it between warm and cold and then put your hand under their for at least 4 minutes.

If you use cold water, and you feel that your hand is getting numb without feeling, you are doing it all wrong.
Click to expand...

first, why are you surprised - thats what everybody is told to do.

second, clearly I've been doing it wrong all this time. I hold it under running cold water even though the cold is painful. So lukewarm water? just a bowlful or running?
 
For minor burns, including first-degree burns and second-degree burns limited to an area no larger than 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) in diameter, take the following action:

Cool the burn. Hold the burned area under cool (not cold) running water for 10 or 15 minutes or until the pain subsides. If this is impractical, immerse the burn in cool water or cool it with cold compresses. Cooling the burn reduces swelling by conducting heat away from the skin. Don't put ice on the burn.

Cover the burn with a sterile gauze bandage. Don't use fluffy cotton, or other material that may get lint in the wound. Wrap the gauze loosely to avoid putting pressure on burned skin. Bandaging keeps air off the burn, reduces pain and protects blistered skin.

Take an over-the-counter pain reliever. These include aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others), naproxen (Aleve) or acetaminophen (Tylenol, others). Use caution when giving aspirin to children or teenagers. Though aspirin is approved for use in children older than age 2, children and teenagers recovering from chickenpox or flu-like symptoms should never take aspirin. Talk to your doctor if you have concerns.

Minor burns usually heal without further treatment. They may heal with pigment changes, meaning the healed area may be a different color from the surrounding skin. Watch for signs of infection, such as increased pain, redness, fever, swelling or oozing. If infection develops, seek medical help. Avoid re-injuring or tanning if the burns are less than a year old — doing so may cause more extensive pigmentation changes. Use sunscreen on the area for at least a year.

Caution

Don't use ice. Putting ice directly on a burn can cause a person's body to become too cold and cause further damage to the wound.
Don't apply egg whites, butter or ointments to the burn. This could cause infection.
Don't break blisters. Broken blisters are more vulnerable to infection.
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http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/first-aid-burns/FA00022
 
All is well. I put a bowl of water by my bed and dipped my fingers in it when they hurt. Positioned it so I didn't have to move much, and I could get some sleep. Hand feels much better, exam was alright.
 
I've had a couple of burns at my old job. Spilled searing fresh hot coffee on my hand and I burned myself with a long neck lighter.
Spreading mustard on it helps.
Or burn ointment. Your choice.
 
Members freaking out on people putting cold/icy water on burns are overacting. I've done it twice with bad burns and I've never died nor made my burns worse.
 
This might be a good place to ask:

I had a grandmother who was a total bamf, but seriously old school. She used a lot of old 'folk remedies' constantly. Tobacco on insect bites, stuff like that. For burns, she would pour bleach on them. It sounds nuts to me, and when I was a kid, she DID pour bleach on a burn I had and it took the pain away, but there has got be some damage there right? I mean, it's freakin' bleach.

So Gaf, while I know it's a stupid home remedy, where did it come from? Have you heard of it?
 
Has it penetrated the skin, if so how deeply? If not, is the surface area of the burn larger than the palm of your hand?

If the above critieria are met, go to the hospital.

I don't have my first aid manual to hand, but from memory/St John training. I'd highly advice keeping it under cold water from a tap for a very long period of time, and then gently blanketing it in cling film.

Kid said:
What the fuck at the people saying cold water.
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I was taught to use cold water during training and it has been backed up here numerous times independantly.
 
Funny, i got a splash of boiling water on my hand yesterday and it only hurt for a couple of minutes.

Does this mean i'm somewhat invincible?
 
Fiction said:
This might be a good place to ask:

I had a grandmother who was a total bamf, but seriously old school. She used a lot of old 'folk remedies' constantly. Tobacco on insect bites, stuff like that. For burns, she would pour bleach on them. It sounds nuts to me, and when I was a kid, she DID pour bleach on a burn I had and it took the pain away, but there has got be some damage there right? I mean, it's freakin' bleach.

So Gaf, while I know it's a stupid home remedy, where did it come from? Have you heard of it?
Click to expand...


This sounds like scorching a fleshwound to stop the bleeding. Effective, but i would not reccomend it persé.
 
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