burned arm on oven.

[Lynnie]

how would I stop it from really really hurting ??

mushed arm up against heating coil in electric oven set for 350. literally cooked part of my arm (nasty smell, sorry tmi). put ice on it right away for long time. then neosporin and band aid. really hurts.

any advice ?

and the banana bread didn't even turn out all that great.

[purpleeyes]

Yikes! I hope you are feeling better. I don't have much experience with this, but I think when it gets that serious-"cooked off part of arm" it may be a 3rd degree burn and you might need a drs. opinion. Do you have an urgent care near you?

I'm sure some more informed people will chime in. Mostly, I hope you are doing better!! keep us posted.

Beth

[Jenny_A]

It sounds like you may need to have a doctor look at that! I'm sorry that happened! Burns really hurt! My first thought is aloe. I've always heard aloe does wonders for burns. My other suggestions are to possibly call your local fire department and just ask if they can suggest something over the counter (who would know best other than firefighters about burns?) OR just run by the pharmacy and see if the pharmacist knows of something. Take some Advil or Tylenol for pain too.

Again, sorry that happened to you!

Jenny

[Marisa6826]

OWWWWWWWWWWIES!

Lynnie, I would get to the ER to rule out a 3rd degree burn ASAP. It's an open wound that can *very* easily get infected.

Seriously, it's not something to fool around with.

If you decide against going, if nothing else, call your doctor. Have them call in a script for Silvadene. It's a prescription burn cream that works very well. It's kind of the consistency of cold cream.

Please, consider the ER. You don't want to have to deal with a nasty infection.

hugs

Keep us posted!

-m

ETA - how big is the burned area? What does it look like? Just red or (eww) charred, or blistered? DO NOT pop any blisters!!

[Lynnie]

thanks guys,

i think it is only second degree (i googled before i came on here to ask) it just hurts !! I did it over 3 hours ago, and it still hurts. (big baby here)

its not that big because it is only where the electric heating element thingy was, so it was only a small part of my arm. a few layers of skin came off right away and now some of it is blistering on top of what was left. but part of it is sortof open.the edges are more of a dark brown, not black, so I don't know if I'd call it charred. (the banana bread is though). not red at all. just pink with brown edge and blisters.

DH is out of town, and i REALLY don't think it is 3d degree, so I think I'll call my doc and get a prescription for the cream. in the meanwhile, I guess I'll put more neosporin on it, and cover it back up so nothing gets in it. And have some aspirin or a stiff drink to kill the pain....

yuk. it was nasty. I have burned myself plenty in the kitchen, but never anything like this. yuk yuk yuk. I guess i didn't feel it at first, or didn't get my arm away quickly enough. ewwwww.

[MamaMolly]

Owwie-Kazowwie!
I second the Silvadine. My sister had a nasty (and I mean NASTY) 3-4th degree burn when we were in HS and it was one of the best things. We used it forever, a little goes a long way. And also, I have to ditto the posts about seeing a Dr. ASAP. Burns create nasty scars, and can easily get infected. We had to clean my Sis's burn daily and wash it with Betadine. Take care of yourself!

[ShanaMama]

Ouch! So sorry, Lynnie.
The only advice I will add to the Silvadine & medical attention is to cover it with gauze rather than a bandaid. The gauze will let it breathe while keeping it clean. A bandaid will probably trap moisture inside. (I never heard this from a medical person, it's just my instinct.) And do get it looked at, please. Burns are not the type of thing you want to experiment with.
Feel better

[shilo]

lynnie,

so sorry about your burn. hope you are feeling better soon. i obviously haven't seen your burn, so none of this is meant to take the place of seeing your own doctor and having the wound evaluated - which it does sound like you need to do given the description.

silvadene is commonly prescribed for burns resulting in open wounds. it is a sulfa based antibiotic (some people are allergic to sulfa based drugs and i don't think you can use them while pregnant or nursing - just in case that effects you) and is helpful in preventing infection while the burn is healing. when i was doing wound care on a regular basis, we usually kept it refrigerated b/c it provided soothing/cooling relief during application.

in general, you absolutely do want to keep a burn wound dressed (covered) if it's open because it is prone to infection, but also because the body's own healing process (breaking down the dead tissue and filling in with new - called autolytic debridement) is dependent on sealing in the body's own juices - like a scab does. a scab is the body's own natural dressing, so once that process starts, it's probably better just to keep it covered with something breathable like the gauze mentioned until the scab is well formed. when the healing is done underneath, the scab falls off.

there are many dressings out there now that work to mimic the body's own healing process for the period of time while the wound is still open and filling in, before the scab forms. this protects the wound from infection and also protects the new cells filling in the bed of the wound getting it ready to close and scab over. for burns, i prefer what are called hydrocolloid dressings. it's an opaque piece of semi-sticky-gel-like material that adheres directly to the skin - including the open part. i know, sounds weird and counter-intuitive to put something adhesive against an open wound and allow it to stay 'wet' underneath, but this is how the dressing works and how your own body heals itself. as your body secretes it's own healing juices (just like it does under a scab), the dressing will form what looks and feels like a little bubble of jelly. totally normal. just leave the dressing on until it starts to come up on its own (anywhere from 1-5 days usually) or as directed by your md, if he wants you cleansing it more often. the hydrocolloid dressings are available from band-aid brand in any local drug store under the name "band aid brand advanced healing". their "advanced healing blister care" is the same material, but comes in bigger sizes if you need more coverage. make sure you follow the directions about getting the dressing up to your body temperature before you stick it on - you will get much better adhesion that way.

as far as cleansing goes, more recent research has shown wound washes like betadine, hydrogen peroxide and iodine, once the gold standard of wound care, to actually be cytotoxic (cell killing). so while they may help in removing bacteria, they can also take new, healthy, healing cells with them. not something that helps the wound heal. for the most part, most of the plastics and wound doc's i've worked with in wound clinics just prescribe 'normal saline' now to cleanse wounds.

again, from your description, (open wound bed, with blisters and singed edges) i do think it probably does need to be looked at. i hope you are on the mend and painfree soon.

hth, lori
Sam 5/19/05 How lucky I am that you chose me.

[elephantmeg]

ooh, ouch and fwiw you should never put ice on a burn, just cold water (don't want to hurt the tissue worse). Maybe you can get your doctor to call in some silvadine for you today. Ibuprofen will help too. Watch very closely for any signs of infection. I'm so sorry!

[Tondi G]

I would take some motrin to help with the pain and inflammation! OUCH is all I can say. I am so sorry... burns are so painful! Hope it heals up quick for you!

~Tondi