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Burned My Hand With Boiling Water. Applied Soframycin. Have Severe Itching. What Is The Cure?
Question: On Tuesday 22nd oct, some amount of hot water fall into my hand and I got burnt.it was a slight burn and hence I washed it with water for few mins and then also applied paste.till Friday,it was fine except that I saw a boil on th area.this got burst on contact with my child's hand. I applied soframycin and also Brookline as it was soothing buti have a severe itching in the area. pls suggest
Brief Answer:
Kinldy follow the suggestions below
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Welcome and thanks for posting your query to healthcare magic.
I can understand your concern for the hot water burn on the hand.
I have read you query with diligence and after all the information provided I can make out that it is first degree burn so the first and foremost thing is that these kind of first degree burns are very superficial one so do not worry about any grave possibility.
To explain you medically- any type of burn are of three types- Ist degree where there is only the most superficial part of the skin is damaged, in IInd degree burn it causes damage to superficial dermis and in IIIrd degree burn the damage is to deep dermis also.
In yourself the hot water burn occurred on 22nd October and you remained alright for 3-4 days without any problem makes the best possibility of Ist degree burn. In these type of burns the skin superficial skin remains intact and at the maximum there is very mild blisters are formed. These type of burns require minimal medications.
Now presently form yesterday boil developed and bursted- this is a normal sequel of the Ist degree burn where there is infection by bacterial proliferation which are usually present on the skin. Most commonly it is due to the staphylococcus group of bacteria. The good thing is that the boil bursted by itself so now there is least possibility if the infection to spread further.
For the management of the raw area it will be better if you can apply a good antibiotic cream like mupirocin or fucidin. Apply it after gentle cleaning with slightly warm water. It should be applied in a very thin layer so that it should not be visible to the naked eye. It will take care of the boil in next 48 hours. In between do not even touch the area unnecessarily.
I can not make out the hand (right or left) on which the burn is present. If it is in working hand then the hand should be used minimal for next 48-72 hours.
For the part of itching it is quite usual to have itching after 72 hours of the burn injury die to very superficial nature of burn. In superficial-most of burn injuries it is basically itching rather than pain is is more pronounced after 3 days. So do not worry. You can take antihistamine tablet such as Loratadine or fexofenadine 2 times a day till the time you feel itching. This can remain for 7-14 days of the burn.
You can continue your soframycin cream till 14 days of of the burn. Also apply the cream in very thin layer so that it should not visible to the naked eye. DO not apply boroline a it will not help in healing. The burned skin will start falling off after 7th day and will completely fall off in 14 days.
One more thing which I want to suggest is to go for tetanus immunization if not done before in last 1 year. Though it is not mandatory but it is always better to get a prophylaxis.
I hope you must be relaxed now. If you have any further queries I will be happy to help.
With best wishes of early recovery,
Dr. Sanjay
MD
Kinldy follow the suggestions below
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Welcome and thanks for posting your query to healthcare magic.
I can understand your concern for the hot water burn on the hand.
I have read you query with diligence and after all the information provided I can make out that it is first degree burn so the first and foremost thing is that these kind of first degree burns are very superficial one so do not worry about any grave possibility.
To explain you medically- any type of burn are of three types- Ist degree where there is only the most superficial part of the skin is damaged, in IInd degree burn it causes damage to superficial dermis and in IIIrd degree burn the damage is to deep dermis also.
In yourself the hot water burn occurred on 22nd October and you remained alright for 3-4 days without any problem makes the best possibility of Ist degree burn. In these type of burns the skin superficial skin remains intact and at the maximum there is very mild blisters are formed. These type of burns require minimal medications.
Now presently form yesterday boil developed and bursted- this is a normal sequel of the Ist degree burn where there is infection by bacterial proliferation which are usually present on the skin. Most commonly it is due to the staphylococcus group of bacteria. The good thing is that the boil bursted by itself so now there is least possibility if the infection to spread further.
For the management of the raw area it will be better if you can apply a good antibiotic cream like mupirocin or fucidin. Apply it after gentle cleaning with slightly warm water. It should be applied in a very thin layer so that it should not be visible to the naked eye. It will take care of the boil in next 48 hours. In between do not even touch the area unnecessarily.
I can not make out the hand (right or left) on which the burn is present. If it is in working hand then the hand should be used minimal for next 48-72 hours.
For the part of itching it is quite usual to have itching after 72 hours of the burn injury die to very superficial nature of burn. In superficial-most of burn injuries it is basically itching rather than pain is is more pronounced after 3 days. So do not worry. You can take antihistamine tablet such as Loratadine or fexofenadine 2 times a day till the time you feel itching. This can remain for 7-14 days of the burn.
You can continue your soframycin cream till 14 days of of the burn. Also apply the cream in very thin layer so that it should not visible to the naked eye. DO not apply boroline a it will not help in healing. The burned skin will start falling off after 7th day and will completely fall off in 14 days.
One more thing which I want to suggest is to go for tetanus immunization if not done before in last 1 year. Though it is not mandatory but it is always better to get a prophylaxis.
I hope you must be relaxed now. If you have any further queries I will be happy to help.
With best wishes of early recovery,
Dr. Sanjay
MD
Note: Hope the answers resolves your concerns, however for further guidance of skin related queries consult our Dermatologist.Click here to book a consultation
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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