Among all household thermal injuries, the most common are burns from boiling water and oil. A burn with vegetable oil is more dangerous than exposure to boiling water on the skin - the injury is not only accompanied by unbearable and prolonged pain, but also more often provokes various complications. Only high-quality and timely pre-medical care and competent further therapy minimize the risk of developing unpleasant consequences.
Peculiarities
The danger of burns from hot oil is due to its physical properties. Oils:
- boil at high temperatures (olive oil - at 180° C, and peeled sunflower oil - at 260° C);
- characterized by high heat transfer due to the high density of the liquid;
- getting on the skin, they form a film on its surface that prevents the natural cooling of burned tissues.
Contact of even a small amount of boiling oily substance on the skin can cause severe burns with damage to the deep layers of the dermis.
Degrees
There are 4 degrees of oil burn based on the depth of tissue damage.
- The superficial tissues of the skin are damaged, which is manifested by pain, redness and swelling of the burn area. As a rule, tissues are restored within a few days even without special treatment.
- The damage affects the deeper structures of the skin and is accompanied by unbearable burning and pain, swelling and hyperemia, and the appearance of blisters filled with transparent serous content in the burn area. After opening the blister, a wound remains on the skin, healing on average in 2 weeks.
- Deep damage accompanied by necrosis (death) of tissue. In this case, a dry scab (crust) forms on the surface of the affected area. Since, in addition to the dermis, nerve fibers are destroyed, pain sensitivity at the site of injury is reduced or completely absent. But the skin around the wound becomes inflamed, and the slightest touch to the area next to the burn causes severe pain.
- The most severe lesion, in which pathological processes spread to the subcutaneous tissue, muscle tissue, and sometimes bones. It is almost impossible to get such an injury in everyday life.
Folk remedies - how to treat a wound?
Potato . First you need to peel two potatoes, then grate them using a grater. Place the resulting mixture on a piece of gauze, then apply it to the damaged area and secure the compress with a bandage. The compress should be placed on the sore spot until it warms up. Then change it.
Cabbage . Grind a few leaves of white cabbage, add egg white to it and mix well. Apply the resulting mixture to the sore spot. Change the mixture regularly to a new one.
Aloe . To prepare this medicinal product, you will need to peel the aloe leaves (literally a couple of leaves), grate them and squeeze the juice from the resulting pulp. Then soak a piece of gauze in aloe juice and apply it to the damaged area for 2 hours, then change the bandage to a fresh one.
Streptocide . Grind 10 tablets of streptocide, add 100 grams of vegetable oil to the resulting powder and stir well. Then place the mixture of streptocide and vegetable oil in a steam bath for about half an hour. After the time has passed, remove the remedy from the steam bath, cool and lubricate the sore areas with it several times a day.
If you have tried many remedies and don’t know how to treat burns, try making lotions from yogurt, whey or kefir. To do this, soak a piece of gauze in one of the above mentioned products, apply to the wound and leave for several hours. At the same time, do not forget to regularly moisten the bandage.
Symptoms
As with other types of injuries, with an oil burn the following is noted:
- hyperemia and swelling of the skin;
- pain and burning;
- blisters filled with serous or hemorrhagic fluid (depending on the degree of injury);
- decreased pain sensitivity of the skin (with deep damage);
- tissue necrosis, formation of a dry scab (with a 3rd degree burn).
With timely and competent treatment, damaged tissues are gradually restored. But if a burn with hot vegetable oil (especially 3rd degree) is not treated, various complications may arise - infection and the development of a purulent process, sepsis.
The development of pathological processes is indicated by:
- bluish discoloration of the skin around the wound;
- bleeding of the wound surface;
- itching, twitching sensations in the area of injury;
- discharge of purulent contents from the wound;
- increased body temperature;
- signs of intoxication - weakness, nausea, dizziness.
What to do if you burn with essential oil
The use of essential oils is a very popular procedure today. But if they come into contact with the skin while hot, they can severely burn, especially if you do not follow certain rules when using aromatherapy.
It is important to remember that such products are not used in their pure form . They dissolve in cream, cream, honey.
It is not recommended to use water for dilution. Since the interaction forms a film, minor burns may occur upon contact with the skin.
In undiluted form, essential oils are used only as a spot application on boils, warts, and acne. But even in this case, it is better to dilute it in half with the base oil.
If a burn with essential oil has already occurred, you need to do the following:
- Wipe off the oil thoroughly with a dry cloth.
- Rinse the affected area well with cool running water.
- In case of a deep and extensive burn or damage to the mucous membranes, you should immediately seek medical help.
- Only minor injuries can be treated at home. Panthenol and other anti-burn drugs are suitable for independent use. Traditional medicine recipes will help reduce pain and speed up the healing process.
First aid
According to doctors, high-quality, timely first aid for burns with vegetable oil reduces the degree of damage by one, and illiterate actions, on the contrary, increase it.
To provide first aid for an oil burn, you must:
- rinse the burned area under running cool water for at least 20 minutes so that the hot oil is completely removed from the surface of the skin - this will help cool the tissue and stop its further destruction;
- free the burned area from clothing (the fabric must be cut and very carefully removed from the wound; if some particles are not removed, leave everything as is);
- after washing, treat the oil burn with Panthenol or Olazol spray (for mild damage not accompanied by the appearance of an open wound);
- cover the damaged area with a sterile bandage;
- wrap the victim in a warm blanket and give him plenty of fluids to drink (preferably alkaline water without gas) - this will help eliminate the symptoms of intoxication that inevitably occur with deep thermal damage;
- to relieve pain, give the victim any painkiller (Analgin, Ketanov);
- call emergency medical assistance.
Calling doctors is mandatory if:
- the burn is severe or covers a large area;
- the face, head, feet, and groin area were burned;
- the victim feels unwell or is unconscious;
- an elderly person, a pregnant woman, and a child were injured.
What not to do if you get an oil burn:
- cool damaged skin with ice or too cold water (less than 15 ° C), otherwise thermal damage will be complemented by hypothermia and frostbite of tissues;
- tear off stuck clothing from the wound;
- apply a tight bandage (this will impair blood circulation and cause additional tissue damage);
- touch the wound with your hands;
- open blisters that appear;
- cover the wound with a plaster;
- use cotton wool to treat the burn area;
- treat the burn site with oil, rich cream (they cover the wound with a greasy film, which slows down tissue restoration), fermented milk products, egg whites and other folk remedies (you can introduce bacterial flora, thereby triggering the development of infectious complications).
What to do if you are burned by sunflower oil
While working in the kitchen, you can easily get burned by sunflower oil, what to do first depends on where the hot liquid got into.
In most cases, the damage is not severe; only slight redness can be tolerated. A sunflower oil burn becomes very dangerous if the hot oil comes into contact with the skin for a long time.
If boiling oil gets on your clothes, you need to quickly remove them and wash off any remaining product from your skin. If a large amount of hot oil gets on your body, you should rinse the affected area with running water.
You should not wipe the damaged area; you can gently blot it with a paper napkin..
If the damage is minor, the wound can be smeared with a special anti-burn agent. If the injury is severe, the person should be taken to a medical facility immediately.
Treatment
A 3rd degree burn with boiling oil or damage to a large area of skin is treated in a hospital setting. Therapy includes antiseptic treatment and cleansing of the wound from necrotic tissue. Antiseptic solutions (Chlorhexidine, Miramistin, Dioxyzol) are used for primary treatment of burns. In the future, their use is impractical, since the products dry out quickly, which requires frequent changes of dressings. Subsequent therapy includes the use of various local agents and systemic drugs.
Medicines
To speed up wound healing and prevent infection, ointments for burns with oil with antibacterial and regenerating, anti-inflammatory and anesthetic properties are prescribed:
Do not apply oil to burns; if you are choking, do not slap your back!
Headache is one of the most common types of pain that affects humanity.
Photo: Ivan MAKEEV
Well, who will immediately run to the doctor if they have hiccups or are bitten by a mosquito? And after a frying pan burn, people rarely rush to the clinic. Most of us use folk first aid recipes, absorbed with mother's milk. Whether they always help and whether they do no harm at all is a question. To get the answer, we compared popular advice with scientific and medical research data.
GET AWAY, HICCUP
Not everyone is aware that hiccups are an involuntary strong breath that occurs due to a sudden contraction of the diaphragm (the muscle that separates the chest and abdominal cavities). The reason may be too hasty swallowing food or drink. For example, carbonated drinks, along with which air gets in. Another possible cause is slow gastric emptying. Air accumulates in it, irritates the diaphragm, and it begins to contract.
What to do?
Traditional recipes: drink water, inhale deeply and hold your breath.
Just like science: Gregory Levitin, an otolaryngologist at Mount Sinai Hospital (USA), explains that any distraction can work: “I advise patients to hold their breath for some time. You can also massage the base of the neck, where the nerve that stimulates the diaphragm is located (in front above the fossa - the jugular cavity. - Ed.).”
If hiccups last for several months, the question of treatment, including surgery, may arise. There are also medications that have a relaxing effect on the diaphragm muscle.
IF YOU ARE BIT BY A MOSQUITO
Mosquitoes are much more attentive to us than we are to them. The likelihood that an insect will show a vested interest depends on the odors emitted by our body. There are people who are not bitten by mosquitoes at all! There are approximately 20% of these among humanity. There is also a hypothesis that mosquitoes especially single out people with the first blood group and bite them 2 times more often. And one of the scientific studies confirmed that insects are twice as likely to attach themselves to those who drank beer (for how long ago, the researchers did not specify; apparently, this depends on the individual metabolism of each person).
American scientists, in turn, have found that mosquitoes react most actively to the smell of sweat, or rather to the chemicals contained in it. So if you've just gotten out of the shower, you're much less likely to get bitten.
There are people who are not bitten by mosquitoes at all!
Photo: GLOBAL LOOK PRESS
What to do?
Traditional recipes: wipe the bite area with alcohol or vinegar solution, apply a used tea bag.
Just like science: experts confirm that alcohol lotion will really work if you wipe the skin or apply soaked cotton wool as soon as possible after the bite.
You can also dilute 2 teaspoons of soda in a glass of warm water and treat the bite area with the solution.
If you have not yet had time to comb the skin to the wound, you can wipe the bite site with a weak solution of vinegar (a few drops per glass of water).
A tea bag is most effective if swelling has developed at the site of the bite. The secret is that tea contains tannin, which quickly relieves swelling.
HEAD IS BURNING IN
Headache is one of the most common types of pain that affects humanity. People who have headaches regularly or very severely should definitely consult a doctor (as a rule, such complaints are dealt with by a neurologist). According to medical data, in most cases, headaches occur due to overstrain of the muscles of the neck and back of the head - for example, as a result of being in an uncomfortable position. Another common reason is a psychogenic factor: that is, when the head splits due to stress, depression, chronic fatigue. The so-called tension headache can occur during stress or be the result of a hard day at work.
What to do?
Folk recipes: wrap a scarf tightly around your head and lie down; place cold or warm towels on your forehead or temples.
According to science: to relieve a tension headache, it is advisable to lie down or sit in a dark room, try to relax your neck, shoulders and back.
Breathing exercises in the form of deep inhalations and exhalations will help relieve tension. Warmth or, conversely, cold can ease the pain. You can apply a warm bottle to the back of your head or make a compress from a damp towel. If you prefer cold (reactions to heat and cold vary from person to person), you can wrap pieces of ice in a towel and then apply it to your forehead, neck, or the back of your head.
Special exercises help relax the neck muscles. For example: place your palm on your forehead and press your head against it, while keeping your hand motionless to create resistance.
You can also use pressure techniques. This is a branch of Chinese medicine that, like acupuncture, uses stimulation of specific points on the body. To ease a headache, it is recommended to press both thumbs on the points on the back of the head: where the head meets the neck. These points are located on both sides at a distance of about 5 cm from the middle of the neck.
MAN CHOKED
If a person chokes, this means that his airway is blocked by some foreign object, most often a piece of food.
What to do?
Folk recipes: tap on the back.
It's like science: you shouldn't actually clap, it can only make the situation worse! By tapping on the back, you can change the position of the foreign body in the respiratory tract, and with a high probability the access to oxygen will be even more blocked.
In fact, the most effective way to clear your airways is to cough while bending your torso forward.
If the victim cannot cough, most likely a foreign object has completely blocked the air passage. In such cases, speech disappears, there is no breathing noise, and the skin of the face turns blue. If the person is conscious, the Heimlich method must be applied. To do this, stand behind the victim, place one fist at the point between the sternum and the navel, and fix the fist with the other hand. Make several pushes inward and upward. In most cases, under pressure, the foreign object leaves the respiratory tract.
HOW TO HELP WITH A BURN
A burn can be thermal, electrical, chemical, or radiation. In any case, it causes severe pain, and the first desire is to anoint the skin with something, to cool it.
What to do?
Traditional recipes: anoint the burn area with sunflower or olive oil; pour cold water over the affected area.
According to science: applying oil to a burn is a grave mistake! It is known that burns heal faster when exposed to air. Oil forms a film on damaged skin and limits the access of oxygen to the wound.
In case of a first and second degree burn (in everyday life, unless a terrible emergency like a fire or explosion occurs, we usually get 1st and 2nd degree burns), the wound must be washed with running water at a temperature of 15-18 °C. Then the damaged area of skin should be treated with antibacterial ointment or a special burn cream.
Fig.: Katerina MARTINOVICH
QUESTION OF THE DAY
What folk remedies do you use?
Mikhail KONEVSKY, emergency doctor with 37 years of experience:
“If anything happens, I’ll diagnose myself and know how to treat it.” And water and honey are always at hand. Drink more water - the body itself will remove toxins. And I don’t need all sorts of roots and herbs.
Ruslan ISAEV, head of the Independent Narcology Guild:
— As a child, I applied plantain to the wound. Now, for example, for gastrointestinal problems - a spoonful of honey with warm water.
Andrey TUMANOV, head of Gardeners of Russia:
— If there is no stomach medicine at the dacha, I’ll make tea with mint. Mild cold - honey with linden blossom. One day they called from TV asking if you had a hero for a program about treatment with potato peelings. I answer that they were incredibly lucky - they say I was cured just by using potato peelings. From syphilis, tuberculosis and schizophrenia. After a long pause, the girl on the phone carefully asked: “Are you kidding?” But it’s hard for me to imagine that a person who studied chemistry and biology could believe in conspiracies and “magic” infusions...
Leonid Olshansky, lawyer, vice-president of the Russian Motorists Movement:
— I bring bags of herbs from Crimea. I put some pinches in tea, some for illnesses - hawthorn for blood pressure, clover for high cholesterol.
German STERLIGOV, peasant:
— I will answer as the head of the society of lovers of ancient writing. In ancient times there was Gallenic medicine. The Lord has created countless medicines that are under our feet and within reach. I ruined the health of my older children with vaccinations. He was crazy then and didn’t understand that you can’t instill diseases in children. But the younger ones are not vaccinated - and they are dexterous, strong, and see in the dark like cats. I bring all kinds of infection from Moscow to the settlement. Children who are not vaccinated recover within 24 hours. Well, we give the herbs to lie on the stove - they have a powerful immune system. In our settlement, we treat with herbs and minerals for free. We have a good herbalist.
