Burn treatment in the bush

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Shewie

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Dec 15, 2005
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Are there any natural ingredients found in the UK which can be used to treat burns? I carry a tube of Savlon in my FAK but just wondered if there was an alternative?
 
Aug 13, 2011
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No......

John is correct....

Cold Water and lots of it is the only way to go..... Followed by a clean dry dressing..... Unless the burn is big then Cling-film fer a while.....

Anything else will screw the burn site up.....
 

shaggystu

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Nov 10, 2003
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Derbyshire
minimum of 20 minutes under cold running water, followed by at least 20ml of whisky under no water at all, works for me!

stuart

edit; the whisky's for drinking, not for pouring on the wound, not that whisky would do any harm on a burn, it may even help, it's just a waste of good whisky!
 
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udamiano

On a new journey
Yep lots of 'CLEAN' cold water, and about 20mins is about right for the time (most people don't do enough time)
Then any dressing that won't adhere to the burn, otherwise its going to sting like a sod when they try and remove it at the hospital. The courses I've attended all recommend Cling film, to keep it clean, or similar. I've always got some burn gel in my medi kit, and have used it a number of times, a bit pricey though, but worth it
 

Toddy

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Jan 21, 2005
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Check your local £stores; our local ones had a wee box of five sachets of the stuff for the £.

Shewie I think it depends on your burn. If it's just a wee nippy fingertip one the cold water is fine, but, it won't stop that pain niggling because of all the nerves in the fingertips. The cold water will just cool everything down enough that there won't be any more damage. That's when stuff like the burngel is good :)

None of the plants I know that were traditionally used are considered to be recommendable nowadays, and the only one I'd say off the cuff, so to speak, is the houseleek. This is kind of our native aloe vera.

Otherwise, best advice is to follow the first aid guides.

atb,
M
 
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Aug 13, 2011
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Woah....... Be careful of applying anything that the patient could be allergic to....

Anything beyond cold water could be "Prescribing"......

Lots of ointments contain Lanolin (Wool)....

The stuff like Lavender and Savlon may feel good, but can introduce complications...

Take care.........:)
 

ged

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jul 16, 2009
4,980
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In the woods if possible.
When I had this nasty burn

http://www.jubileegroup.co.uk/JOS/misc/hand.jpg

from my Ghillie kettle about 18 months ago, initially I poured cold water that I had handy just in case (and very glad of my precautions I was too). Then I put it under a cold tap for about a quarter of an hour.

Then I took myself off to A&E, and got there about half an hour later. They sent me straight to the front of the queue, sat me next to a sink and put my hand under the cold tap again, for another quarter of an hour.

Half the skin on my hand eventually fell off but it healed very quickly with no scarring at all

Action on burns has to be FAST.
 

Scots_Charles_River

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Dec 12, 2006
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paddling a loch
www.flickr.com
As others have said just cold water and cling film, to protect from infection. You lay on the cling film, take one full turn off first, so it's sterile. This is to protect the wound from infection. Anything added eg Burn gels, will only cause problems but may mask symptoms.

I burnt my calf last year. Was descending a hard MTB descent in the Pyrenees. Lifted my bike down a drop and the rear disk touched my calf. Luckily having a water bottle I skooshed it for the last ten mins of descent before I got to a tap. It branded me but did not blister due to the cooling of the burn with water.

Nick
 
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Toddy

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Jan 21, 2005
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Bilgerat I suspect that Shewie was asking for himself.
We generally know what our familiar outdoors companions are allergic to.

Not decrying your sound advice, just clarifying, and as was said, depends on the 'burn'

Toddy
 
Aug 13, 2011
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No problems.... However I would not even self apply........... Cept Water, Clingfilm & Dry dressings....

Everyone listens to tales of what works, Butter was meant to be extremely good at one point.....

Savlon will help stop infection on cuts etc..... Major non starter here.... Pseudomonas Pyocyanea (P. pyocyanea) Will grow on Savlon........

Natural remidies ie. leaves... Will only contaminate and bring on infection.....

I have 38 Years Front Line Medical experience.......:)
 
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Toddy

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Jan 21, 2005
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Thing is though, when you're out, and it's a wee nippy, painful, getting in the way of everything you're trying to do kind of burn, that it's instinctive to do something to stop it hurting.

This is just the latest thread on a common theme, and at the end of the day most of us treat ourselves, and even if (and most of us have) done FA courses year upon year, so know not to 'treat' anyone, we still offer advice on what worked for us.

I look on Shewie's question in that light.

Scorched fingers ? cold water, dry dressing......damned all use when he's stuck on an island in the middle of a loch (and that's likely knowing him :) ) and needs to be able to work effectively to get himself onto mainland and drive home again.
Cold water, and keep it cold, take the edge of pain off with the burngel and get a good night's sleep and fit to paddle ashore and drive home safely the next morning....now that's more likely.

No one's decrying good first aid advice, but this isn't a first aider getting someone out and to medical facilities. It's about
garnering enough information on what works so that the weekend's not a washout and safely back home. Besides, we're curious, I might know a fair amount of old remedies, but I really like to know what actually works :D

We're not in dispute, just widening the focus :)

cheers,
Toddy
 

Shewie

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Dec 15, 2005
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I thought there'd be a few suggestions of plants but it seems that's not the case, just good old cold water.

I guess I was referring to burns occurring round a regular camp, just small stuff really. Finger burns from picking something up which you shouldn't have, a singed arm or hand from rearranging a trivet or clumsily lifting a griddle incorrectly.

I was expecting somebody to say honey, sphagnum and spit mashed up on a rock
 

Toddy

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Jan 21, 2005
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Liam swears by flour, and he's a chef :)

Honey's good for ulcerated stuff, and sore throats (watch me get shot down in flames now :) ) I wouldn't use it on burns :)

Anyone else think we're sometimes in danger of allergy panicking ourselves into not trusting anything ?............and I *am* allergic to some things so I'm not being facile in my question.
cheers,
M
 

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