After 16 days, my Ina and I are on our way to full recovery, physically that is. Having this kind of traumatic experience gave me and my husband enough knowledge to know what to know, what to expect and what should be and should not be done to burns. As they say, knowledge is power and thank God for the internet, researching is made easier and more accessible.
Our Ina had second degree burns, I had first. Burns can be due to scalding, electrocution, chemical and fire. Our case was scalding due to hot water. Burns have three types:first, second and third. First degree is characterized by superficial burns. In my experience, I felt this stinging pain and redness and minor swelling can be seen. Healing time should take only 3-6 days. Second degree burns, on the other hand are characterized by redness, severe pain, blisters and in my daughter's case some falling off of skin. Healing period is 2-3 weeks. After two weeks, we are thankful my daughter's are almost healed. While third degree burns are the worst. They appear dry, waxy, leathery and the victim can feel little or no pain at all since the nerves are also damaged. Healing time is longer and skin grafting is needed.
So what does one do when he gets "burned?" In our case, we put toothpaste to a little part of Ina's burnt skin which turned out to be a little dangerous because this may increase the risk of infection. So much for the old school practice, it turned out to be a myth. I washed her arm with water from the faucet which turned out to be the right thing to do but was not able to remove her clothing immediately as I didn't know she had more serious burns in her torso and leg. Now we know that removing clothes and washing for at least 3-5 minutes helps. Seeing her serious burns, we immediately rushed to nearby Makati Med. She was given anaesthesia/pain reliever/sedative through injection because they needed to disinfect her wound. We were washed with sterile water from a medical bottle then a cream was generously applied which is called silver sulfadiazine or flammazine then was covered with a damp gauze followed by a dry one. This was a relief for me because the pain was somehow diminished but I still asked for an oral pain reliever.
The first 24-36 hours is crucial for any burn victim because it will determine the severity of the wound. My case was a little of that sort because a part of my previously first degree burn "progressed" to second degree burn characterized by a blister. It is also important to have a regular check-up or monitoring by a doctor, a surgeon in this case that can check for the wound's state. It somehow helped that we got a pretty cool doctor, who also happens to be the husband of my girls' pediatrician, emphasized to us the importance of cleaning the wound. It also helped that he has this reassuring and "positive" character that lessened our worries. Wounds should be washed with clean water without soup at least twice a day. We didn't take chances, we washed Ina with purified water. It is important to note that washing here means pouring water on the wound to wash out the cream that accumulated on the wound so as to leave it clean again for the next application of flammazine. Dar generously applied cream to the wound and when I say, generously, I really mean A LOT. I believe the fast healing time of my Ina's wounds was due to this antibiotic/antibacterial cream and the attention we put into everything that comes in contact of her wound. Everything was sanitized and disinfected. These were open wounds and they are very susceptible to infection so, again, we don't want to take chances.
Ina's injection didn't make her sleep during the process and she was uneasy and crying but otherwise still calm for her age. She showed tremendous bravery all throughout that still leaves me in awe until now. Her discomfort and pain didn't diminish her laughter, her energy, her naughtiness and charm. More than anything the ordeal made our family stronger. It was a trying time for me and my husband but it made us closer than ever. Without Dar, I couldn't imagine surpassing this. And with Prayers and God's Good Grace my daughter and I are recovering really fast.
Our Ina had second degree burns, I had first. Burns can be due to scalding, electrocution, chemical and fire. Our case was scalding due to hot water. Burns have three types:first, second and third. First degree is characterized by superficial burns. In my experience, I felt this stinging pain and redness and minor swelling can be seen. Healing time should take only 3-6 days. Second degree burns, on the other hand are characterized by redness, severe pain, blisters and in my daughter's case some falling off of skin. Healing period is 2-3 weeks. After two weeks, we are thankful my daughter's are almost healed. While third degree burns are the worst. They appear dry, waxy, leathery and the victim can feel little or no pain at all since the nerves are also damaged. Healing time is longer and skin grafting is needed.
So what does one do when he gets "burned?" In our case, we put toothpaste to a little part of Ina's burnt skin which turned out to be a little dangerous because this may increase the risk of infection. So much for the old school practice, it turned out to be a myth. I washed her arm with water from the faucet which turned out to be the right thing to do but was not able to remove her clothing immediately as I didn't know she had more serious burns in her torso and leg. Now we know that removing clothes and washing for at least 3-5 minutes helps. Seeing her serious burns, we immediately rushed to nearby Makati Med. She was given anaesthesia/pain reliever/sedative through injection because they needed to disinfect her wound. We were washed with sterile water from a medical bottle then a cream was generously applied which is called silver sulfadiazine or flammazine then was covered with a damp gauze followed by a dry one. This was a relief for me because the pain was somehow diminished but I still asked for an oral pain reliever.
The first 24-36 hours is crucial for any burn victim because it will determine the severity of the wound. My case was a little of that sort because a part of my previously first degree burn "progressed" to second degree burn characterized by a blister. It is also important to have a regular check-up or monitoring by a doctor, a surgeon in this case that can check for the wound's state. It somehow helped that we got a pretty cool doctor, who also happens to be the husband of my girls' pediatrician, emphasized to us the importance of cleaning the wound. It also helped that he has this reassuring and "positive" character that lessened our worries. Wounds should be washed with clean water without soup at least twice a day. We didn't take chances, we washed Ina with purified water. It is important to note that washing here means pouring water on the wound to wash out the cream that accumulated on the wound so as to leave it clean again for the next application of flammazine. Dar generously applied cream to the wound and when I say, generously, I really mean A LOT. I believe the fast healing time of my Ina's wounds was due to this antibiotic/antibacterial cream and the attention we put into everything that comes in contact of her wound. Everything was sanitized and disinfected. These were open wounds and they are very susceptible to infection so, again, we don't want to take chances.
Ina's injection didn't make her sleep during the process and she was uneasy and crying but otherwise still calm for her age. She showed tremendous bravery all throughout that still leaves me in awe until now. Her discomfort and pain didn't diminish her laughter, her energy, her naughtiness and charm. More than anything the ordeal made our family stronger. It was a trying time for me and my husband but it made us closer than ever. Without Dar, I couldn't imagine surpassing this. And with Prayers and God's Good Grace my daughter and I are recovering really fast.
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