As I mentioned previously, I ordered up some burn jel. Arrived:
The bottle and dressings will go in the big first aid kit, the smaller single use ‘ketchup packets’ will get distributed across the various small first aid kits.
This stuff is awesome for those (somewhat) minor burns. When you’ve got the kind ofburn that gives you an ache right down to the bone, this stuff really seems to put a damper on it. As I’ve mentioned, I once burned my hand so bad that the only way I could sleep was clutching a cold, wet washcloth or a bag of ice. This stuff, though, took the pain away so I could finally sleep.
Good product and I heartily recommend it. Skip a couple lattes today, spend the money at Amazon, and get some of this stuff. Next time you grab the wrong part of your Dutch oven, try to pick up a hot lawnmower by the exhaust, or parboil yourself by opening the wrong end of the lid on your pressure cooker you will be so glad you have this stuff.
Water đź’§Jel Burn Jel IS GOOD “for its intended purpose”. I had a bad company nurse put it on a second degree burn of mine that the blister had torn open. Then she put on a supposedly non-adherent pad and wrapped it up. Not only did it burn like the devil going on, it also caused the pad to stick to the wound like a mild superglue and mixed with the adhesive on end of the pad and drilled another wound in. It was a painful nightmare getting that off a 4×3 inch burn. Right on the package it says “Do not use — on broken, blistered, or oozing skin”!!! (Direct quote off the package. Feel free to confirm CZ.) She did this with a doctor there who had checked it and apparently also did not know how to properly dress a open burned wound. So, folks, awesome for first degree burns, but read the instructions and don’t learn the hard way. (In case you’re wondering I do not have fragile skin.)
Thats the kind I carry. We also use it at work, lots of steam pipes and burners. Best stuff out their as far as I’m concerned.
Totally correct Mr Storyteller, this type of gel is GREAT for burn where the skin is not broken, BUT HORRIBLE for for a 2nd degree burn or higher where the skin has been breached. In fact this will increase the risk of infection in a burn with an open wound. If you have a 3rd degree burn (charred skin or flesh, loss of sensation in the interior of the wound) this type of gel is NOT what you need to be using.
I think I will buy a gallon for my blacksmith shop. I am, apparently, a slow learner.
These actually work quite well for bee and insect stings as well. I got blasted by a hornet a couple of weeks ago cutting the grass and a tiny light bulb went off recalling I had some sort of cream/gel in the bugout first aid bag in the truck. I pulled this out and it did a pretty good job off soothing away some of the throbbing pain. Also I didn’t need the whole pack so I cut the corner and used a bit and then folded it over and left it on the bathroom counter for 2-3 days. I was able to use the one pack for a couple days and was happy to have it. Wouldn’t recommend that for multiple users due to cross contamination but for just me it worked just fine.
My experience with bad (but not hospital time) burns and serious abrasions (road rash) is that SILVADENE Cream 1% (silver sulfadiazine) is like a miracle. Not medical advice, and YMMV, but get some of this stuff. You might find it on ebay from israel or in other places.
DEEP scrapes on my face healed very well. Bad burns also. My understanding is they no longer recommend it for faces due to a risk of staining, but I would use it again, especially in an environment where medical care wasn’t available.
It looks like hell while on your scraped open oozing skin, as it oxidizes to a dirty grey, and the paste will crack open to let fluid out, but I look normal now, and that’s something I really didn’t expect given the severity of the road rash.
Get treatment if available, follow Drs advice, but have some of this stuff in your kit for backup.
n
I will add an enthusiastic seconding of silver sulfadiazene. It works on real burns, and it works very well. Definitely add some of this stuff to your medical kit and first aid kits. It can be a literal lifesaver in the case of serious burns.
Looking for silver sulfadiazene (brand name “Silvadene”) on Amazon, all you will find is ‘colloidal silver’ bullshit. Check online pet supply places — the FDA has decided that humans can not take care of themselves with actual medications. But they will allow the sale of quack patent medicines?
you will have to find it on ebay, or some other website. It is only available in the US by prescription so amazon won’t have it.
n
A few years back my wife let her arm touch a red hot oven coil while removing a dish. We did not realize it was a 3rd degree burn but she insisted it did not hurt. We did the usual thing of run cold water over it for several minutes. Had I known it was 3rd degree I would have taken her for medical treatment, but instead I applied a silver colloidal gel and a light bandage cover. Each was replaced once or twice a day. Over the next few weeks it healed without infection or other problem – though she now has a scar.
The colloidal gel is anti-microbial and keeps wounds moist. I think both properties were key to the healing. I keep some around now in case medical treatment is not an option for small burns.
I’m going to pick up some individual packets for my range bag FAK. It happens sometimes that a person grabs a hot suppressor, and I’m sure this would help.
Any reason why you bought the 2% lidocaine version instead of the competing 4% lidocaine product?
Lack of awareness
For first degree burns, fine…
However, if you are going to end up at an emergency room, we will have to scrub that stuff off, which will hurt like hell (hopefully – a full thickness burn has other problems). Yes, we will medicate you while we are doing it. It will still hurt like hell.
And despite all the scrubbing, you might still have bits of gravel and glass coming out of your face years later….
Funny thing was, I never had a second of pain. I guess that was a bad thing.
On the other hand, second degree burns on nose and cheeks hurt like– well, fire. Crazy hot stinging fire.
Thank you for taking care of people like me, who through accident or misfortune end up on your table. Burns are really ugly and I’d hate to face that every day…
n
Got some of each of the 2%, as suggested in the buy together feature. Also a new tourniquet. Because I am a pedant, I bought this instead of the available 4%. Ah well, I’m sure I’ll be glad to have it when I need it.
I’m sure someone smarter than me has thought if this, but I’m guessing this would work great for sunburn too. I had a bad case years ago, and couldn’t even wear a shirt, even smeared in aloe.
These little sachets are great for first aid kits that go into cars, packs etc. For around the house, you may want to grow a few aloe vera plants. When needed, you simply cut off a chunk from one of the leaves, then squeeze out the aloe vera jellylike pulp and spread that on the burn. Aloe vera plants are a self-replenishing supply of burn ointment. They also have the additional benefit of greening up the home. 🙂
PSA:
Bear well in mind, the inventor sold this stuff to the Pentagon just before GW I by impregnating a blanket with it, wrapping it around his arm, and pointing a lit blowtorch at his forearm thusly protected for a minute or two, then showing the resultant zero skin damage afterwards. TPTB put a fireblanket in every tank and APC before that war, and they saved lives. (Kind of like Richard Wahtshisname selling Second Chance body armor when he started out by by going to police roll calls and shooting himself in the chest with a .44magnum, it’s hard to argue with a seller the stands behind his product, literally.)
In impregnated blanket from, it’s a godsend, and for 1st degree burns like sunburns and flash burns, it’s great stuff.
For partial thickness burns, however, the correct treatment is nothing but dry sterile (non-stick, if possible, which for partial- and full- thickness burns is a relative term) dressings soaked in sterile water or tap water, the colder short of freezing the better, to pull the heat out of the wound.
Burns continue to cook until you cool the entire thickness of your meatsuit.
Putting anything else, including silvadene, onto an open burn before it’s been examined by a practitioner is just a recipe for getting it all removed again via scrub brush while they serenade you with their screams.
Don’t do that to people you like. It isn’t fun nor funny, for anyone involved.