“I usually place ice on the burnt skin,” she says.
That remedy is not what Dr Ishwor Lohani, a plastic surgeon and Head of the Plastic Surgery and Burn Unit at Tribhuvan University´s Teaching Hospital, would recommend.
There are many so-called household remedies that are used to lessen the pain or to reduce the intensity of a burn. Some prefer rubbing the wound with tomato, while others use aloe vera. What is the actual medical prescription then?
“A quick wash of the burnt part with room-temperature water would ease the pain and lessen heat damage,” says Dr Lohani.
He doesn´t recommend applying ice or dipping the burn in water for a long period.
The following are some of the myths regarding burn treatment prevalent in our society, myths Dr Lohani debunks.
Myth I: Apply tomato or aloe vera
A myth exists that rubbing raw tomato or aloe vera on a burn not only eases the pain, but also reduces the intensity of the scar. Dr Lohani says applying raw tomato does not necessarily help, and that while aloe vera could have a cooling effect, it is important to ensure the aloe is sterile.
Myth II: Apply ice
Although ice cools burns, it also inhibits blood circulation in and around the damaged area. Therefore, says Dr Lohani, ice should not be applied to a burn.
Myth III: Apply gentian violet
Many minor burn victims come to Dr Lohani with gentian violet smeared over the burn spot.
“I don´t understand why they do this,” he says. He recommends the use of the anti-burn creams available in pharmacies, rather than gentian violet or iodine.
Myth IV: Refrain from a normal diet
Mothers usually do not allow children with burns to eat rich or oily food.
Dr Lohani feels such dietary strictures are unnecessary. If dietary changes must be made, he says, a change to a protein rich-diet would help burn wounds heal faster. For a burn victim, he proposes extra intake of egg whites.
Dr Lohani´s suggested methods of treatment:
After thoroughly washing the burn, the burn victim should, for a while at least, raise that part of the body that has been burnt to above the level of the heart. This will help reduce swelling, thereby reducing the pain.
Should the burned area swells, the skin needs to be pricked with a sterile object, and the excess liquid removed without damaging the skin. Only then should anti-burn cream be applied to the spot.
If the burn is serious and covers a large portion of the body, the burnt area should be held under running water, the patient should then be wrapped in a clean sheet and taken to hospital as soon as possible.
kushal@myrepublica.com
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