If you’ve burned yourself, here are some steps to take to heal from your burn injury. Properly caring for the wounded area will help it heal more quickly and minimize scarring. No one wants a scar if they can avoid it!
How Severe Is Your Burn?
The severity of your burn will determine how it needs to be treated. You can treat most minor burns on your own at home. But it’s a good idea to go to the doctor if your burn is severe or covers more than 10% of your body, as this could require more extensive treatment than you can do at home.
Some burn injuries are so severe that you need treatment at a burn center. These burns cover large areas of skin and sometimes require skin grafts. It’s not unheard of to need a feeding tube, breathing assistance, or plastic surgery for severe burns.
Treating Minor Burns
If your burn injury is minor, you can most likely treat it at home. Here’s what you’ll need to do.
- Cool the burn.
Don’t use cold water or ice cubes. Your tissue will be very sensitive from the burn, and anything cold could further damage it. Instead, use cool water. This will help ease the pain without hurting your tissue.
2. Take off your jewelry.
If your burn is bad enough to swell, take off any jewelry you’re wearing. Otherwise, it might get stuck and need to be cut off. You’ll want to remove your jewelry immediately before swelling has a chance to kick in.
3. Leave blisters alone.
You might be tempted to break a blister open, but you shouldn’t. The fluid in the blisters helps protect you from infection. Having said that, if a blister breaks, it’s essential to clean it with water and put ointment on it.
4. Use lotion liberally.
You’ll want to keep your skin as moisturized as possible. A lotion with aloe vera or a moisturizer will help soothe your skin. Just wait until your burn has cooled down to apply the cream.
5. Put on a bandage.
Protect the burn with a sterile gauze bandage. Avoid using fluffy cotton. Don’t securely tighten the bandage. Wrap it loosely so the burn can heal while being protected.
6. Take a pain reliever.
A burn injury can be pretty painful, so we recommend taking an over-the-counter medication that contains ibuprofen, naproxen sodium, or acetaminophen.
Following these six steps will help minor burns recover. If you’re in tremendous pain, we recommend going to the doctor for more intensive treatment.
Flickinger Sutterfield & Boulton
Did you suffer from a burn injury? It can be a terrible experience to go through, and one we hope you heal from quickly. Some burn injuries are from accidents, but another person’s negligence causes some.
If someone else caused your burn injury, you might be a personal injury victim. Flickinger Sutterfield & Boulton is here for you. We’ve represented personal injury victims for over 25 years. Contact us today for your free case evaluation.