Helping burns to heal?

Former Member

Hello guys,

Basically I burnt myself really badly the other day and it went all nasty and blistered and stuff and being the dickhead that I am, I kinda picked at it and now it's really red and painful and infected to the point where it hurts to touch skin half an inch away from it. Now, this was only Friday that I did this, and burns I've had before have never been this bad even when I didn't put anything on them. I did once get some antibiotic cream from the doctor which was amazing but I gave it to someone more needy ages ago and if I go to the doctor again my mum will just tell me to stop being stupid and blahblah. I've been using Sudocrem but it's just gotten worse so is there anything I can buy from Boots or somewhere that will work better?

Former Member

Franki wrote: »

if I go to the doctor again my mum will just tell me to stop being stupid and blahblah.

What's it got to do with your mum? It sounds quite bad and it could need stronger than OTC.

Former Member

g_angel wrote: »

What's it got to do with your mum? It sounds quite bad and it could need stronger than OTC.

Well, if my mum even finds out about it I will be in an even bigger pile of homely nastiness than I am already, so I want to try and avoid the doctor unless I really have to.

Former Member

Go and show it to a pharmacist. They'll be able to either give you something suitable, or tell you if you really need to see a doctor

Former Member

Cover it up to stop it getting infected. The best thing to use is cling film.

Former Member

Go to your doctor, tomorrow. If you've got an infected burn you need to start treating it a.s.a.p. with anti-biotics.

Former Member

Melian wrote: »

Cover it up to stop it getting infected. The best thing to use is cling film.

It's already infected.

RS - I can't go tomorrow because I'm working from 9-5 - my doctor opens at 8 (when I have to start walking to work) and closes at 6ish, which is aroundabout when I'd get home.

I will ring them on Thursday if I can (working 5am-2pm and all the appointments are usually gone by 10ish in the morning so unless I get my break around 8am I have no chance) and if not I'll go to the pharmacy on my way home.

Bleh.

Former Member

Is there an out of hours GP at the hospital you can go to tonight? Say you're going to a friend's or something.

You don't really want to be leaving it until Thursday when it could get worse and you really will need treatment that you can't hide from your mum.

Former Member

No , and my nearest A&E is a half hour bus ride away (I also have no cash, so that's a no-go too). She wouldn't believe I was going to a friends anyway .

I'll ring up the doctor in the morning and see if they have any emergency appointments for around 6ish. At least then I can just tell her I was doing a 9-6 rather than a 9-5 .

Former Member

You got any Savlon??
Sounds like it does need something from ya GP, probably Fucidin.
If you get any red lines coming from the burn area then you should really think about a minor injuries unit/walk-in centre/A&E tonight.

Former Member

Sikorah wrote: »

You got any Savlon??
Sounds like it does need something from ya GP, probably Fucidin.
If you get any red lines coming from the burn area then you should really think about a minor injuries unit/walk-in centre/A&E tonight.

My nearest A&E is a half hour away . I will call my doctor tomorrow though. It's like constant pain right now and it's so fucking red . I don't have Savlon, just Sudocrem which is pretty much the same I think. It's antiseptic cream, anyway.

Former Member

i know its difficult to go to A&E, but IF you see red lines coming from the burn then thats quite serious.

Former Member

Sikorah wrote: »

i know its difficult to go to A&E, but IF you see red lines coming from the burn then thats quite serious.

What do they mean?

I don't have any, but I would like to know in the possible event of this happening.

Former Member

It's recommended you don't apply creams to burns except in the case of an infection.

Former Member

Illuminatus wrote: »

It's recommended you don't apply creams to burns except in the case of an infection.

And I've already said twice that it is most definitely infected.

Former Member

Franki wrote: »

And I've already said twice that it is most definitely infected.

Then you should go to a doctor and he'll decide whether to put you on a course of antibiotics or not. No-one here knows if it's infected or not and you're just guessing. Ignore your mother.

Former Member

Illuminatus wrote: »

Then you should go to a doctor and he'll decide whether to put you on a course of antibiotics or not. No-one here knows if it's infected or not and you're just guessing. Ignore your mother.

That is very difficult to do. If she even gets the slightest inkling about this she WILL kill me. I'm going to try to go to the doctor, anyway, but my surgery isn't the easiest to get an appointment at.

Former Member

Franki wrote: »

That is very difficult to do. If she even gets the slightest inkling about this she WILL kill me. I'm going to try to go to the doctor, anyway, but my surgery isn't the easiest to get an appointment at.

Your health is more important really. Infected burns can lead to sepsis which can be very serious.

Former Member

Franki wrote: »

What do they mean?

I don't have any, but I would like to know in the possible event of this happening.

Means it's definitely infected and your arm could go septic = very bad thing.

GO SEE THE DOCTOR.

Former Member

yeah, it means the infection is spreading and if ignored can lead to blood poisening.

Former Member

Maladjusted wrote: »

Means it's definitely infected and your arm could go septic = very bad thing.

GO SEE THE DOCTOR.

I never said it was my arm .

But ok. I mean, I'm fairly certain it's infected anyway (the bit where I burnt it is yellowy/white and the skin around it is bright, bright red and I think the skin around it has swollen a bit 'cause it's raised up a bit and it looks separate from the burnt skin), so I'll go to the doctor asap.

I'm such a dickhead >.<.

Former Member

Ignore patronising replies. Burns dont look pretty and it will be red anyway, obviously. Raised edges, warm to touch, yellowy wound could just be the burn itself. Yellow goo is a definate sign of infection though.
Im glad you are going to try going to the docs tomorrow.

Former Member

For the future, elastoplast do really good burn plasters. They're quite expensive (about £5 for 5) but you just put one on the burn and leave it on for about a week and it really helps it heal. It also stops you being able to pick it. I know it's not any help in this case but for the future if you think you might be at risk from burns it couldn't help to have some in case.

Former Member

Knee High Stripy Socks wrote: »

For the future, elastoplast do really good burn plasters. They're quite expensive (about £5 for 5) but you just put one on the burn and leave it on for about a week and it really helps it heal.

I think I know the ones. I burnt my hand a couple of years ago and used someones fast healing plasters and that stopped the burn getting any worse and reduced the scarring to barely nothing. Not cheap but worth it.

Former Member

How did you get it and how big is it?

Sounds like definitely needs medical attention, and I'm guessing you won't get this until you get back from work now but if you can't do anything else then can you nip out to a pharmacy in your break or on the way back from work.

Another thing that won't do it any harm, and will hopefully stop you picking and reduce the pain is to ice it. 10 mins at a time, something cold.

Former Member

Scary Monster wrote: »

How did you get it and how big is it?

Sounds like definitely needs medical attention, and I'm guessing you won't get this until you get back from work now but if you can't do anything else then can you nip out to a pharmacy in your break or on the way back from work.

Another thing that won't do it any harm, and will hopefully stop you picking and reduce the pain is to ice it. 10 mins at a time, something cold.

I don't want to go into how I got it, but I think it's fairly obvious that it was self-inflicted. It's not big at all, about the size of my thumbnail.

Saw the doctor yesterday and she gave me some cream (Flamazine?) for it. She said it wasn't infected and that it was quite clean but she did also wince when she saw it so I assume it was pretty bad. If the cream doesn't work she said to come back but it should work. It's still hurting quite a lot but I'm trying to just ignore it now.

Former Member

Sorry, didn't quite think through the how you got it question. It was along the lines of some things (like chemicals burns) cause more problems that the standard contact with something dry and hot burns.

Flamazine is really good stuff for wounds, so fingers crossed that does the trick. Please please try not to pick it, if it's not infected at the moment you don't want it to get that way. If it's quite small and you're tempted to pick it then it's worth thinking about putting a plaster over it, tis better than getting infected and burns are notoriously vulnerable to infection.

Take care, and if it hurts and you can do it without your mum noticing then you may find putting ice on it helps reduce the pain, even if only temporarily.

Former Member

Really glad you got to the doctors and that it is not infected

Are you already getting help with the 'other side' of the issues? I really hope you are.

xx

Former Member

Scary Monster wrote: »

Sorry, didn't quite think through the how you got it question. It was along the lines of some things (like chemicals burns) cause more problems that the standard contact with something dry and hot burns.

It's ok, I don't really talk about it because I very rarely do it anymore, I wasn't expecting everybody to realise . I've been putting plasters on it while I've been at work and I've not picked it since (except to get fluff out of it because I don't fancy having that permanently in my belly!) so I think it will be ok.

RG - I'm not right now, but I hardly ever do anything like that anymore. I was just having a really, really bad night and I was having an argument with Rich at the time and you know how things just go BANG in your head and stuff. The doctor was actually really good and suggested trying counselling again but obviously because I'm going to uni it'll be difficult to start it now. I said I would have a look at the counselling when I get back to uni .

Former Member

Franki wrote: »

RG - I'm not right now, but I hardly ever do anything like that anymore. I was just having a really, really bad night and I was having an argument with Rich at the time and you know how things just go BANG in your head and stuff. The doctor was actually really good and suggested trying counselling again but obviously because I'm going to uni it'll be difficult to start it now. I said I would have a look at the counselling when I get back to uni .

Glad to hear the doctor was good. Sometimes they (often at our request) treat the body part that is hurt when really it's us that needs treating cos we hurt. Hope your burn heals soon and that you heal soon too

Former Member

Randomgirl wrote: »

Glad to hear the doctor was good. Sometimes they (often at our request) treat the body part that is hurt when really it's us that needs treating cos we hurt. Hope your burn heals soon and that you heal soon too

She was definitely the best one I've seen, although she didn't quite get the "I hardly do it anymore, it was just a slip-up" bit.

I've decided that I'm gonna try and get a tattoo around my tummy so that it covers the scars (will that work?) and it means I won't be tempted to do it anymore .