Idiots

[MrSlack]

This. I dropped a scalpel in my foot once. Was like it hit a dart board. Blood everywhere. Three stitches and several chuckling nurses. I instinctively jump back if I drop anything now.

[Cerebus]

i went though what felt like 40 ice cubes, trying to deaden the nerves to the pain..and it was still horrid.

Isn't the right thing to do is to avoid water, and put vegetable oil on the burn?
At least that's what works best for me.

No, don't put stuff like oil (or butter) on burns.

When you go to hospital, they'll just have to scrub it off.

If you do burn yourself badly enough that a hospital visit might be on the the cards:

1) Run the affected area under cold water for a whole ten minutes. This seems like ages when you do it but *will* minimise the damage you've done and will pay back as less pain later.
2) Cover the, still wet, burn with cling film (saran wrap for the Yanks). This is damn near sterile and will exclude the air. It also means that whoever sees you at hospital can inspect the burn without removing the dressing until they are ready to actually treat it and redress it. Doing it wet means that it will still transfer heat if you want to put a cold dressing over the top of it. Furthermore unlike many other possible dressings it doesn't stick to the burn.

[jh15]

Ice cube on any (even if you think it is minor) burn for 15 mins, or cold water. When I don't bother to do this even when making coffee or soldering, you get a blister, sore or whatever for days.  Is why my wife thinks I'm crazy that I run to the ice cubes instead of swearing when I pick up the teakettle (or soldering iron by the wrong end) or other minor burn incident.

15 mins of ice or cold water DOES seem like ages, but worth it.

[Brumby]

After having done a few silly tricks around hot things - such as minor scalds and soldering iron mishaps - I've developed my own way of dealing with them - and I enforce it with anyone else in the household who does the same....

Firstly, oil, butter or anything like that is a big no-no.  Cool running water is the best - and ice cubes if you really must.  Time is not the measure for how long - comfort is, but a 10 minute minimum is not a bad place to start.  If you can still feel discomfort - keep running the water.  If things are not noticeably less painful after an hour it might be time to seek medical assistance.

Otherwise, once you are feeling a little more relaxed and the pain has subsided, you can remove the (up until now, continuous) running water - but don't stray too far.  If, after the skin has been exposed to the air and starts to warm up you find the pain increasing, then wet the affected area.  For finger burns, I take a cup of cold water with me - and when I start to notice discomfort, I dunk them in until comfort returns.  When the water starts warming up, it gets replaced with cool tap water.

After some hours, the pain will often ease to the point of being able to manage without further cooling.  You still have to deal with any numbness and/or skin issues, but the pain part has been dealt with.

This has worked for me - YMMV.

[m98]

That's the number one golden rule for the lab, never try to catch anything sharp, hot or chemical. Only exception might be instable explosives 
To reduce the pain after an up to 2nd degree burn on an aera approximately not bigger than a DIN A3 sheet, you should use clean water, ideally tap water at about 20 degrees celsius for about 10 minutes. No oil, ice or cold water please, because especially the ice would even further increase the tissue damage.
Also with anything above degree 2a burns, even if its just a very small aera and doesn't hurt, you should see a doctor as soon as possible.

[Lomax]

If you do burn yourself badly enough that a hospital visit might be on the the cards:

1) Run the affected area under cold water for a whole ten minutes. This seems like ages when you do it but *will* minimise the damage you've done and will pay back as less pain later.
2) Cover the, still wet, burn with cling film (saran wrap for the Yanks). This is damn near sterile and will exclude the air. It also means that whoever sees you at hospital can inspect the burn without removing the dressing until they are ready to actually treat it and redress it. Doing it wet means that it will still transfer heat if you want to put a cold dressing over the top of it. Furthermore unlike many other possible dressings it doesn't stick to the burn.

This is most excellent advice - I shall make a mental note!

I cut my hand pretty badly one evening about a year and a half ago; not a very big cut, but deep enough to sever some blood vessels, and I found I was unable to stop the bleeding - not least because I didn't have any first aid equipment at home whatsoever. As in not even a single plaster. After 45 minutes of running around bleeding - with a cooking pot under my elbow to catch the blood - I relented and phoned the medical hotline. I explained my situation to the nurse at the other end she was like "you should go to the hospital" and I was like "ok, fine, but how?" I was on my own, and there was no way I could hail a cab, or ride my bike, in my condition - and the hospital is probably close to an hour's walk away. At the same time, I clearly didn't need an ambulance either. "Dishcloths" she said. Did I hear that right? "Yes, have you got any dishcloths, you know the thin blue and white ones? Unused, of course." This I did have, in an unopened package, and with these I was finally able to dress the wound with enough pressure to stop the bleeding. Phew. I had been contemplating tearing up sheets or a t-shirt, but dishcloths turned out to be the perfect thing. I surveyed my kitchen and it looked like a murder scene, with bloodstains on the floor, some running down the kitchen cabinets - and I had a cooking pot with almost a pint of blood in, which by now had congealed into an inch-thick gelatinous placenta. I flushed it down the toilet. I still remember the schlopping sound as it fell in.

The next day I went to my local doctor's to have the wound properly checked and dressed, and was admonished for not getting it stitched. When I came home I ordered an exhaustive first aid kit, with every kind of dressing, bandage and plaster known to man - including for burns - all contained in a quick-response wall mounted case. Cost me over £100, but it suddenly seemed like a good investment.

As a consequence of the injury I lost all sensation on the outside of my thumb, none of which has come back, and some specific movements feel a little odd, but other than that it healed up pretty well. Let me know if you wanna see a picture of the cut!

[Lomax]

an aera approximately not bigger than a DIN A3 sheet

I distinctly remember hearing, on more than one occasion, that any burn with significant blistering and/or broken skin that is larger than the palm of the victim's hand should be immediately treated by a professional. Obviously cold water still needs to be applied continuously, but it seems a good rule of thumb(!) to decide whether a trip to the hospital is needed.

Also, A3 = 2xA4 - did you mean A5?

[Carl_Smith]

I remember back when I was a kid, I had the $5 Radio Shack soldering iron, plugged in with the cord hanging down the front side of the desk.  I bumped the cord, the iron fell off the edge.  In a fraction of a second I thought "I'm going to get in trouble - that will burn a spot in the carpet" and caught the iron, by the wrong end, of course.  And still dropped it.  So I ended up with a bad burn on my hand and a burnt spot on the carpet.

I felt like making a sign that said "Do not catch falling soldering irons."

Then there was the time when I thought that steel wool might work good for cleaning a hot iron tip, so I picked up a piece and pinched the tip of the iron in it, and got a lesson in how fast heat transfers through steel wool.

[sentry7]

She's just that good.

[c4757p]

I felt like making a sign that said "Do not catch falling soldering irons."

"Do not catch falling tools" in general is a very good habit for everybody to get into. Depending on the sort of tools you work with, it can be quite good to not only lose the habit of trying to catch them, but develop a habit of jumping back so they can't fall on you in any way. Once they fall and stop moving around you can decide what to do with them.

[Lomax]

She's just that good.

Nice space-saving workbench too. As long as no-one tries to sit on it.

[vk6zgo]

I did the catching too one or 2 times, it's some kind of built-in response you can't suppress it seems.

I haven't done it with an iron, but I did it with a small potted cactus that fell off of the counter when I was a kid.  Quick reflexes, and grabbed it hard to make sure I caught it well.  I caught it perfectly...up side down.  That sucked.

This reminds me of the times I instinctively tried to put my feet under a falling cellphone to minimize damage and ended up kicking it 3 meters further away. Luckily they were all Nokias so they look back at me and laugh, unscratched 

I tried that with an AVO Model 8 once.
It fell from the top of a transmitter & I put out my foot to break its fall.
I was wearing "thongs" (what non-Oz folk call "flip-flops").

The AVO was unscathed,but it hurt so much my eyes watered.
Strangely enough,there was no real damage to my foot.

[m98]

an aera approximately not bigger than a DIN A3 sheet

I distinctly remember hearing, on more than one occasion, that any burn with significant blistering and/or broken skin that is larger than the palm of the victim's hand should be immediately treated by a professional. Obviously cold water still needs to be applied continuously, but it seems a good rule of thumb(!) to decide whether a trip to the hospital is needed.

That's what I said. Just that you shouldn't even try to apply water to a burn the size of a DIN A3 sheet, because you don't want to give that guy hypothermia. Always remember that the water doesn't really do anything except being a broadly available analgetica and doing a bit of placebo effect, so don't even try to cool your 3rd degree burn with water, before getting to the hospital as fast as you can.
Please note that everything here is just broadly simplified, and that a proper first aid instruction for burns could easily be several pages long.

[Lomax]

DIN A3 sheet

Ok. That would be an area roughly covering my entire chest or back. No other part of my body has a surface area that big. I hope to god I will never have to deal with a burn of that magnitude, but my first-aid kit does include a 20x30cm burn dressing. Also:

1. Why do I need to use cool running water for 20 minutes?

Our research has shown that cold, running water applied for 20 minutes will significantly improve the healing of burn wounds so that they heal faster and with less scarring. Twenty minutes seems like a long time, but scars last even longer.

and

11. If the hospital is next to my house, can I go to emergency immediately?

Go to emergency AFTER you have applied cold running water for 20 minutes. At the hospital they may not be able to attend to you straight away, so it is a good idea to apply first aid treatment before you go.

Source: Centre for Children's Burns and Trauma Research

Based on my reading of this, and other sources, if a large burn was to happen I would 1) apply running cool (but not freezing) water 2) phone an ambulance, 3) apply a gel burn dressing if one is to hand.

[ion]

I've got what's left of a 20+ year old can of sooth-a caine spray - I've found it works wonders for minor burns, the pain stops in minutes and it cools the area quite well.  Pity it seems to be discontinued, but worth grabbing if you can find some.
A couple of months ago I accidentaly grabbed the hot end of my soldering iron - not an experience I want to repeat, but I was able to continue soldering shortly after applying the spray.

Otherwise, I agree - cold water is the first treatment.  And if the burn is small enough it might be enough.

[vodka]

I've got what's left of a 20+ year old can of sooth-a caine spray - I've found it works wonders for minor burns, the pain stops in minutes and it cools the area quite well

The triturated  aloe vera pulp's is best for low and moderate burns, because when ointment dry it , it forms a  protective film on the injured  that lasts a few hours. After the film falls itself or you can to take off with a soft tissue  and you can to return to put

[m98]

DIN A3 sheet

Ok. That would be an area roughly covering my entire chest or back. No other part of my body has a surface area that big.

Or one arm, lower leg, etc...
Well, won't get there by grabbing the soldering iron the wrong end, but it's not one of the most unlikely injuries to happen in the kitchen, or with a big cup of coffee, to keep the EE relevance

Based on my reading of this, and other sources, if a large burn was to happen I would 1) apply running cool (but not freezing) water 2) phone an ambulance, 3) apply a gel burn dressing if one is to hand.

The important part is to get to the water as fast as you can after the burn, because this is the time where you can really minimize tissue damage. When there's a hydrogel burn dressing in reach, you can stop cooling with water after 2-5 minutes and apply that. If it's faster, you could also directly apply the hydrogel burn dressing, but who always has a trauma kit handy? There are products also containing lidocaine, most famous should be "Burn Jel".

[Lomax]

DIN A3 sheet

Ok. That would be an area roughly covering my entire chest or back. No other part of my body has a surface area that big.

Or one arm, lower leg, etc...

I need to start going to the gym I think. Half an A4 will have me covered...

you could also directly apply the hydrogel burn dressing, but who always has a trauma kit handy? There are products also containing lidocaine, most famous should be "Burn Jel".

I have both. Now. Haven't needed to use any of the dressings, and I hope I never will, but the Burnjel stuff is brilliant for small burns from soldering irons etc - especially if you apply it right away. Recommended!

[macboy]

I've got what's left of a 20+ year old can of sooth-a caine spray - I've found it works wonders for minor burns, the pain stops in minutes and it cools the area quite well.  Pity it seems to be discontinued, but worth grabbing if you can find some.
A couple of months ago I accidentaly grabbed the hot end of my soldering iron - not an experience I want to repeat, but I was able to continue soldering shortly after applying the spray.

Otherwise, I agree - cold water is the first treatment.  And if the burn is small enough it might be enough.

"Bactine" may be an alternative. It has lidocaine in it for pain, and other medicinal ingredients. I just wouldn't use it on a burn with open skin (3rd degree).

[m98]

I need to start going to the gym I think. Half an A4 will have me covered...

That was for the european standard adult male, and should be interpreted as 9% of your total body surface aera. In EM the "Wallace rule of nines" is used to make a approximation of the TBSA, Illustration can be found there: http://img.tfd.com/mk/R/X2604-R-27.png
If you've a burn larger than 10%, you should immediately call the ambulance and lie down with slightly elevated legs to prevent hypovolemic shock.
But yeah, we were talking about soldering irons...

[Gyro]

But yeah, we were talking about soldering irons...

Grow an Aloe Vera plant in a pot, either in the lab, or more usefully , in the kitchen. Snap off a piece of leaf and apply the sap. Great for minor burns, both for pain and healing. 

[Shadetreeprops]

i went though what felt like 40 ice cubes, trying to deaden the nerves to the pain..and it was still horrid.

Isn't the right thing to do is to avoid water, and put vegetable oil on the burn?
At least that's what works best for me.

No, don't put stuff like oil (or butter) on burns.

When you go to hospital, they'll just have to scrub it off.

If you do burn yourself badly enough that a hospital visit might be on the the cards:

1) Run the affected area under cold water for a whole ten minutes. This seems like ages when you do it but *will* minimise the damage you've done and will pay back as less pain later.
2) Cover the, still wet, burn with cling film (saran wrap for the Yanks). This is damn near sterile and will exclude the air. It also means that whoever sees you at hospital can inspect the burn without removing the dressing until they are ready to actually treat it and redress it. Doing it wet means that it will still transfer heat if you want to put a cold dressing over the top of it. Furthermore unlike many other possible dressings it doesn't stick to the burn.

Worse burn i ever got, i was working on a running tractor. When i raised up, without thinking i grabed the exposed exhaust pipe. I said ouch, i felt nothing, until the next day. Worse bleeding pain i ever felt in my life. I think it would have been better to chop my hand off then deal with the pain going up my arm.

i went to the hospital on that one, they cut all the burnt flesh off my hand, 2nd and 3rd degree burn, Even with morphene pumping though my veins the pain was intense enough i was crying. I begged them to put me to sleep, knock me out something..but they wouldn't

so now anytime i work on running engins, thick leather gloves, long sleevs, stay away from moving parts.

Now with my iron, i wrap my fingers with cloth bandages to protect my fingers. casue this last burn was enough for me to say NEVER AGAIN..i hate burns..i rather cut myself badly, or even chop something off.

[ruffy91]

Never catch falling tools also applies to tweezers.. I catched them between my thighs, unfortunately perpendicular to the thighs, fortunately I missed the artery. Hurt as hell!

[Carl_Smith]

Here's another piece of advice - if you are working around electrical wiring that can carry large currents remove any rings, bracelets, or watches with metal bands.

In a previous life I worked at an electric forklift manufacturer.  The batteries in these things could put out a few thousands amps.  One of the assembly workers was wearing a watch with a metal band, and reached in around one of the drive motors and managed to short from the B+ to B-.  The watch band became very hot very fast.  And when your reflex pulls back, it doesn't help when the red hot watch band is wrapped around your wrist.

[Cerebus]

Here's another piece of advice - if you are working around electrical wiring that can carry large currents remove any rings, bracelets, or watches with metal bands.

In a previous life I worked at an electric forklift manufacturer.  The batteries in these things could put out a few thousands amps.  One of the assembly workers was wearing a watch with a metal band, and reached in around one of the drive motors and managed to short from the B+ to B-.  The watch band became very hot very fast.  And when your reflex pulls back, it doesn't help when the red hot watch band is wrapped around your wrist.

That applies to the humble 12V car battery too. The one sitting the other side of the room is rated at 440 Amps cranking and it's on the small side as car batteries go.