Sunday, October 21, 2012

Canning Burn Update.

A few weeks ago you might remember, i sustained a pretty good burn while canning apple sauce in a water bath.  i accidently poured scalding water down my arm.  i was wearing a tight fitting sweater, and literally dumped the water down my sleeve.  So the boiling water pooled right above my elbow, and it took a few extra second to get the sweater off which was sticking to me, and get my arm under cold water. 


Originally, the burn appeared to be mostly first degree, with obvious second degree at the bottom where the water had pooled.  i took this picture immediately after getting burned and within an hour, the blister had doubled in size and  was at least 1" thick.


 Within a couple of days the burn really began to present itself.  What i had thought was a very minor first degree burn, turned into a second degree burn.  The upper part of the skin that was a light pink, i was expecting to just fade.  Instead it began to darken eventually blistering and seeping like the lower part of my arm :(   This is when i actually began to feel pain from the burn. Rather than feeling a pain on the burned skin, i felt a deep throbbing ache similar to tendentious. i kept the burn covered with sterile pads and loose gauze, but as the blisters popped and the burn seeped it constantly stuck to the bandages. My skin was literally falling off where the worst of the burn had been.  Although it didn't appear infected, i was feeling a little depressed about the severity of it.  i've never really had a serious injury of any kind and i definitely didn't expect it to get worse before it got better. 

i had several folks recommend Silvadene (Silver sulfadiazine) but i could only find it as a prescription drug, and being that we are uninsured, i did not want to go to the doctor unless it was totally necessary.  My friend Kathy had recommend gel cooling pads, and so i headed over to CVS to see if they had any in stock. i was able to find anti-microbial Silver gel and Moist hydrogel pads.

Oh my goodness, what a difference that made!!  Within days i could see/feel a difference on my arm.


Less than 3 weeks after getting burned, my arm is almost back to normal and there is very little scarring.  The majority of my arm looks good as new. At the base of the burn, where it was the worst is just slightly pink. It's barely noticeable enough to even consider it a scar, and i wouldn't be surprised if it fades even more!  So we will definitely be keeping both the silver gel and the cooling gel pads in our first aid kit!  The difference they made within just a day of using them was incredible!  i am really glad that my burn healed as well as it did and i didn't have any complications. i'm really amazed that the scarring isn't worse and i definitely learned that i need to be more careful when canning!


 

7 comments:

  1. Wow - I'm so glad that it's getting better - what an amazing difference between those pictures! I've had many close calls when canning - I will make sure never to wear a sweater when canning.
    Thanks
    Angie
    godsgrowinggarden.com

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    1. Angie, the funny thing is that i wore the sweater to protect my arms from the applesauce, because sometimes it will erupt out of the pot and fly everywhere. i really think i need to wear goggles and protective gloves that go up to my elbows when canning! ha ha.

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  2. that's amazing! no scar or anything, wow!

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  3. Wow! Glad that was able to heal up so well!

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  4. I'm glad the gel pads worked. Dakota picked up a mandrel that he had put in the torch and then put down. When he picked it up again he picked it up too close to where it had been in the torch. Blistered his thumb and index finger. They put the gel pads on him and within a couple of hours he was no longer in pain. Two days later it was just a thin line. Now it's gone, less than a week later. Guess if my little man is going to continue to work with glass I'd better invest in some of them myself. Tell Kenan he'll have some competition in a few years.

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    1. i am so glad you recommended those gel pads!! i wouldn't have gone to the store otherwise, because i didn't think i could get the silver gel without a prescription. Those gel pads are truly amazing!! We bought an extra box for Kenan to keep at his shop. Can you believe the man runs a hot glass shop and doesn't have any burn first aid supplies at his shop! hat is wonderful that Dakota is learning to work with glass!

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  5. That's truly amazing. I really thought you were going to have to go to the doctor. It looked really serious.
    I'm going to go get that stuff for our medicine cabinet too.
    I just can't believe the way your arm looks now after that burn.
    I love alternatives to going to the doctor.

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