How to get rid of pain after a burn

A hot frying pan, careless use of an iron, hair styler, or overturned hot tea can all cause a burn. In case of serious skin damage, consult a doctor immediately. In this article you will learn how to provide first aid and how to relieve pain from a burn.

October 16, 2016

How to relieve pain after a burn?

There are several simple ways to relieve unpleasant pain after a burn.

1. Cold compress.

Apply ice or any item chilled in the freezer, such as a bag of frozen berries or vegetables, to the damaged area of ​​skin. Such a compress will not only help relieve swelling, but will also have an analgesic effect. You can also place the burn site under a stream of cool water for 10-15 minutes, or lower it into a basin or other container. Be sure to monitor the water temperature; it should not be too cold, otherwise there is a risk of frostbite.

2. Painkillers.

Analgin or aspirin are drugs that can be found in any home medicine cabinet. They will help reduce pain and temporarily forget about the unpleasant incident. You can use any medications only if the victim does not have allergic reactions to the components.

After cooling the skin, treat the burn site with a medicinal spray or ointment with an anesthetic, such as panthenol, bepanten, sulfargin or solcoseryl. Ointments with ice caine, such as Emla, are also very popular.

If you don’t have any pharmaceuticals at hand, you can use traditional methods.

How to relieve pain from a burn? Folk recipes

As for pain relief at home, there are several simple but effective methods.

For example, raw potatoes will help reduce pain and also relieve inflammation. You need to chop the potatoes on a coarse grater or cut into small pieces, then wrap the mixture in gauze and apply to the damaged skin.

Aloe also plays the role of a natural anesthetic. The leaf of the plant is cut in the middle and the pulp is applied to the burn site.

All of the above methods will be effective only in case of minor injuries, burns of the first and second degrees of severity. If blisters appear on the skin, tissue necrosis begins, etc., you should immediately consult a specialist for advice and not self-medicate.

Intense, unrelenting pain can be a symptom of serious skin damage that requires not only pain relief, but also additional healing agents. Be healthy!

Burns are divided into thermal (from exposure to boiling water, steam, open fire), chemical, radiation and electrical, as well as deep and superficial. There are 4 degrees of domestic and industrial burns, depending on the depth of tissue damage.

In the first minutes after receiving a burn, there may be no pain. But as soon as the shock wears off, the injury site begins to burn and the victim suffers severe pain. To alleviate the condition, it is important to provide first aid correctly.

Photo 1. For 1st and 2nd degree burns, the first step is to cool the damaged area. Source: Flickr (Aikawa Ke)

Features of pain in burns of varying degrees

For 1st degree burns the pain is permanent and does not require pain relief. For 2nd and 3rd degree burns very severe pain appears because the nerve cells that transmit the alarm signal to the brain are affected. With 4th degree burns, necrosis of the deep layers of the epithelium and muscle fibers, including nerve endings, occurs. They all die and do not send any impulses to the brain. Shock may cause no pain at first. The victim must be urgently sent to a burn center for treatment.

At home, only 1-2, sometimes 3 degree burns can be treated.

Incorrect actions in case of burns

Categorically Do not apply any fats to your skin: goose fat or vegetable oil creates a protective film under which thermal processes continue to occur. It covers the burn site with a “cap”, which creates additional temperature in the deep layers under the skin.

This is interesting! After lubricating the burn site with grease, a huge blister will definitely appear!

You should also not touch the wound with your hands or care items (cotton swabs, swabs) and treat burned skin with iodine, potassium permanganate solution or alcohol-containing tinctures.

How to numb an injured area

After receiving a thermal burn, the victim must give me a pill analgin, ketanol or other medicine from the category of analgesics. As an alternative, for severe pain, you can take an ampoule of novocaine or lidocaine and pour the contents onto a piece of bandage. Apply a generously soaked bandage in the solution to the burned area.

Note! It is recommended to give painkilling injections only for thermal, electrical or chemical burns when unbearable pain occurs.

Cooling the burned area

Heat penetrates deep into the skin after a thermal burn. Cooling the burned area will reduce the depth of tissue damage - the cold will stop the spread of heat deep into the body. At home, you can use running tap water, exposing the affected area under cold running water. In outdoor conditions, use bottled water or apply soft ice for 20 minutes.

It is important! It is better to apply ice from the freezer wrapped in a thick towel. The cold should gradually cool the burned tissue.

Medicines and ointments

Ointments and pharmaceutical anti-burn products are intended for pain relief, protection against infection of open wounds, their healing, softening of the skin and drying of weeping blisters. The most effective medications:

1. Panthenol. The most effective and affordable pharmaceutical remedy for reducing pain and preventing the formation of a bubble on the burned area in the form of a foam spray. Before use, shake the can thoroughly and apply the foam evenly to the affected area of ​​the skin.
2. Levomekol. Antibacterial ointment is recommended for use only after the blister bursts and a purulent open wound appears in its place. The components of the ointment penetrate deeply into the tissue and stimulate the regeneration process of the skin.
3. Syntomycin ointment. It has antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, softening, healing and analgesic properties. Immediately after receiving a burn, apply a thin layer of the product. If the affected area is large, it is better to apply a bandage using a napkin generously lubricated with ointment.
4. Solcoseryl. The Swiss drug is available in two versions: ointment and gel. They differ in their effect on skin cells. It is advisable to use gels in the first stages of treatment, when it is necessary to create a protective film on the wound, start the healing process and dry the discharged liquid. When the wound begins to heal and a new, thin, pink layer of epithelium appears in its place, you need to switch to Solcoseryl in ointment. Its use will help improve tissue nutrition and speed up the healing process.
5. Bepanten. An effective remedy for burns of any origin: thermal, chemical or resulting from radiation. The main purpose is healing and scarring of shallow layers of burned tissue. Available in the form of lotion, gel and cream.

Folk remedies for pain relief

After the initial treatment, you can begin traditional methods of anesthetizing the burn site:

1. Raw potatoes cut in half and apply to the sore spot. If the wound is more serious, grate the potatoes, spread the mixture on a soft cloth and make a compress;
2. Egg white whisk and gently apply to the affected area;
3. Aloe. Take the thickest leaf of the plant, cut it and apply it to the sore spot;
4. Laundry soap - also a great way to reduce pain and disinfect the wound. Simply rub the affected area of ​​the body with soapy water while washing.

Features of pain relief from chemical burns

Chemical skin burns occur after exposure to aggressive reagents and chemicals on the skin. They are divided into deep and superficial. A distinctive feature of such burns is the absence of blisters (except in rare cases) and the appearance of a rough ulceration with a dense scab due to the penetration of foreign substances into the deep subcutaneous layers and cell necrosis. Tissues take a long time to heal after a chemical burn, but the skin regenerates poorly. After recovery, scars or deep scars often remain on it.

As a result of exposure to chemicals on the body that cause discoloration, pain, burning and other signs of a burn, the following procedures must be performed:

1. Releaseaffected area of ​​the body from clothing;
2. Rinse place of flow water at least 15 minutes, trying to avoid touching the wound as much as possible (with the exception of aluminum powder. If it comes into contact with water, it can ignite);
3. After washing off the reagent from the body, treat the affected area with a disinfectant mixture, the composition of which depends on the chemical components that caused the burn. If it was alkali, take vinegar and pour a little citric acid into it; if it’s lime, treat the wound with sweet water; and in case of a burn from acids, add half a teaspoon of soda to a glass of water;
4. Apply cold to reduce pain;
5. Apply a bandage if necessary.

How to reduce pain from a thermal burn

First of all, try to cool the burned area as quickly as possible. Pour cold water over the burn or apply a metal object to it (metal, due to its high thermal conductivity, cools well), or an ice pack. If a burn occurs at home, you can use a bag from the freezer for cooling, for example, with a piece of frozen meat, mixed vegetables or berries.

Many sources advise lubricating the damaged area with alcohol or cologne. But this should not be done under any circumstances, because pure alcohol dries out the skin and the burn can become even more painful!

After the pain disappears or at least noticeably decreases, you can use a cream containing aloe juice or zinc ointment. Grated potatoes relieve pain and promote rapid healing. It should be slightly squeezed to remove excess liquid, then apply the paste to the burned area and secure with a gauze bandage. When the paste dries completely, it must be carefully removed, replaced with fresh one and covered with gauze again. Repeat this several times.

If the pain does not go away for a long time, you can take some analgesic. But it is better to consult a doctor, because every medicine has contraindications.

How to get rid of pain if there is a chemical burn

You can get burned by some caustic chemical not only at work, but also at home. After all, many detergents and cleaning products contain such caustic components! If such a problem happens to you, follow the first aid instructions that should be on the package. If for some reason you cannot read it, first of all, quickly rinse off this substance with plenty of running cold water. Then, when the pain subsides, neutralize the remaining substance. If the burn was caused by an acid, you will need to sprinkle baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) on the affected area or rub it with a baking soda solution. If you are burned by alkali, lubricate the damaged area with table vinegar.

If you don't have vinegar on hand, you can use lemon juice.

After this treatment, rinse the burn area again with plenty of water. If necessary, call an ambulance. This must be done immediately if there is a burn to the mucous membrane, such as the eye.