Burns - World Class Holistic Homeopathy
Treatment
SKIN – Burns
Deepavali – the festival of lights – is one of the most auspicious
occasions celebrated every year. If it is not celebrated carefully, it may make
life terrible. It is high time to caution everyone to enjoy it cautiously;
especially children.
Usually, Deepavali is celebrated with sweets and crackers. It brings
ecstasy and prosperity. Of course, it may also bring the following if we are
not careful.
·
First thing –Most of the Sweets served during this
occasion are often prepared with ghee and sugar, if taken without any limit,
may cause indigestion and diarrhoea. Also milk sweets are not advisable to take
after 3-4 days of preparation.
·
Second thing – Sound created by crackers often crosses 95
decibels (dB) of noise and sometimes, may reach up to 115 dB. This level may
cause damage to the eardrum. Our eardrum can tolerate noise levels well up to
90 decibels only.
·
Third thing – Smoke created by crackers will
cause breathing distress in asthmatics and allergic patients. They should
stay away from smoke.
·
Fourth thing – Burns caused by fire accidents from
Candles/crackers/ rockets/sparklers/flower pots, etc., may often make life
miserable. A spark is enough to change one’s life. Most often many get injuries
in the hand or eye. The burns ward and eye clinic account for critical cases
during Deepavali and often report disability/total loss of vision. So one
should be more careful with burns rather than sweets, sound or smoke created by
crackers as they can be easily prevented or we can stay away from them. But,
burns come accidentally and unknowingly due to our carelessness in the midst of
joy. So, handle crackers with caution.
What are burns?
The skin is a protective covering
for our body. It protects our body from heat or cold, external germs, toxins,
etc. Burns are injuries to layers of skin which may bedue to severe
thermal/chemical/electrical changes. Burns often cause disfigurement/functional
loss of the part, if it occurs very deep. Also, extensive burns always need
immediate intensive medical care, whereas minor burns caused by thermal
variation can be treated easily as outpatient procedure or at home itself.
Burns should not be ignored. If they are not properly cared for, then the
infection would supercede which may even lead to a fatal condition.
Burns may be classified as:
·
First degree or epidermal or superficial burns are very
common and often limited to the outer most layer of the skin, i.e. the
epidermis. It won’t produce any blisters. It will just appear as a painful
reddish dry spot. Redness is the marked symptom of the first-degree burns. This
type of burns often heals within a week without any trace of scar.
·
Second degree or superficial dermal burns involve the
layers of epidermis and the superficial part of the dermis. It produces
blisters and is often very painful. The vesication or blisters are the marked
symptoms of second degree burns. In case of opened wound, it normally appears
as moist and takes 2-3 weeks to heal.
·
Third degree or deep dermal burns involve all the layers
of skin and appear as charred thick burnt area. This type of burns is often
painless since the burn process destroys the nerve endings also. Necrosis (cell
death) is the marked symptom of the third degree burns. This type of burn
usually takes more than a month to get healed. Also healing ends with scars.
Fourth degree burns destroy the entire dermis and even extend down to
muscle/bone. It is rare and usually requires skin grafting for healing.
Causes:
The burns caused by heat are most commonly due to contact of hot liquids
(coffee/boiling water/water from top of the pans of hot foods/car radiators),
hot steam and hot metals like kitchen utensils, tea pots, cookers, iron box,
heaters or directly from flame of burners or stove. During Deepavali, burns are
common with candles, sparklers, crackers, flower pots, rockets, etc. To prevent
injuries/burns on this auspicious occasion, one should be aware of safety rules
to reduce the risk of accidents.
Prevention:
·
Adults should be with children while igniting powerful
cracker
·
Don’t allow children to launch rockets
·
Don’t allow children to cover the crackers with boxes or
bottles
·
Don’t hold ignited crackers/rockets/flower pots in the
hand for fun
·
Don’t walk barefoot while bursting fire crackers
·
Children should not be allowed to play with matches and
lighters
·
Don’t wear synthetic materials while near any flame or
fire
FIRST AID
·
Stop/stay away from the burning process
·
To put off the intensive fire, make the victim roll on
the floor with a blanket
Remove dresses and ornaments from the affected area.
Do’s
·
Cool/flood the burn area – with running tap water for
about 10- 15 minutes (this cooling process not only cools the burn but also
cleans the burn area and reduces the pain)
·
Be hygienic to rule out any infection
·
If the injury is extensive, rush to the intensive burn
care unit immediately
·
Keep burnt area elevated to prevent odema formation
(swelling)
Don’ts
·
Don’t apply ice on the burn as ice may cause
vasoconstriction and hypothermia
·
Don’t apply ink/butter which may attract infection
·
Don’t remove blisters, since intact skin could prevent
infection
·
Don’t give any oral foods/drinks to the seriously injured
victim
Symptoms
The signs of burns are redness, swelling and blisters with or without pain
in the affected area. The skin may also peal, appear white or charred
(blackened) with numb feeling. The most serious burns may cause shock with the
symptoms of faintness, weakness, breathing difficulty with cold, clammy, bluish
skin.
Diagnosis
Most of the burn cases are easily diagnosed in severity with the source of burn,
affected body area (BSA – body surface area), degree and depth of burn, extent
of burn, dehydration and age of the victim. In severe cases, the risk
of infection should be cared. Also, burn on the face and fingers/toes
should be treated with special concern or otherwise disfigurement and loss of
movement will result. In case of head/face burns, pulmonary complications
arising from burn, smoke and spasm causes wheezing (stridor) which indicates a
fatal sign.
Complications: Complications often arises from infection and
dehydration:
·
Infection – can cause septicaemia with fever, more
discharges and discolouration. Finally this process ends in renal failure.
·
Dehydration – often causes renal shutdown due to reduced
blood volume caused by increased discharges. Dehydration is often indicated
with excessive thirst, dizziness, fainting, dry skin, absence/reduced volume of
urine, etc.
·
Keloid formation and disfigurement – due to scarring with
contracture and deformity.
·
Depression often follows with disfigurement and
deformities
·
Duodenal ulcers, namely Curling’s ulcer, occur commonly
in burn patients
General treatment – Commonly, if burnt areas exceed 55 per cent with
first degree burns, 30 per cent with second degree burns & 15 per cent with
third degree burns, prognosis is poor, since they are all considered as
critical burns. Often, extensive burns are fatal, either immediately or later
on while healing, due to infection and renal shutdown. Facial burns are often
treated by skin grafting with plastic surgery to restore near normalcy. Modern
methods usually do the following procedures for treating burns:
·
De-roofing of blisters and debridement (removal of dead
skin) of necrosis parts
·
Apply silver sulfdiazine as external application
·
Cover the burn to keep it clean to avoid infection
·
Pain killers for pain relief
·
IV fluids to tackle dehydration
·
Moisturiser if the skin is not blistered
·
Antibiotics to avoid risk of infection and complications
Homeopathic approach
Traditionally, burn victims are made to lie on plantain leaf and Honey is
applied to the burnt area. Even now plantain leaves are used in sophisticated
hospitals, since it will not get stick to the burnt area but honey is not used
as it is sticky and is tough in maintenance and assessment of wound, even
though it is supposed to have good healing powers.
Nowadays, blisters are often opened and covering skin is often removed for
fast healing. This procedure should not be followed in case of minor burns.
Closed wounds often prevent infection spread. And also,
·
The blister fluid consists of plasma proteins and
electrolytes which usually encourage better healing with out any scar or
discolouration.
·
If you happen to open it, the healing ends with
discolouration and takes time to revive normalcy.
Never underestimate the seriousness of a burn. Major burns may turn fatal
even after 3 weeks of proper care.
Homeopaths follow with Cantharis & Urtica urens
mother tinctures to treat burns in non-toxic doses. Cantharis often prevents
blister formation if applied immediately after the injury. Homeopathic
medicines often soothe the pain of burns and reduce the chance of blistering.
Homeopathy medicines treat the burns in a better way and wonderfully. In
Homeopathy, external tinctures and internal medicines work simultaneously to
heal the injury.
Homeopathic medicines commonly used in cases of burns are Acid nit,
Achyranthes asp, Ars alb, Cadmium sulph, Cantharis, Causticum, Hypericum,
Ledum, Petroleum, phosphorus, Rhus tox, Stramonium, Urtica urens, etc. These
Medicines should be taken under the advice and diagnosis of a qualified Homeopath.
For new hope
Dr. S. Chidambaranathan, BHMS, MD
(Homeo)
Laxmi Homeo Clinic
24 E. New Mahalipatti Road
Madurai, TN 625 001, India
Tel: +91-984-319-1011 (Mob / Whatsapp)
Clinic : +91-452-233-8833
Web : https://drcheena.in | https://drcheena.org
Youtube : https://www.youtube.com/@DrChidambaranathanhomeopathy
E-mail: drcheena@gmail.com
(Disclaimer: The contents of this column are
for informational purpose only. The content is not intended to be a substitute
for professional healthcare advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the
advice of healthcare professional for any health problem or medical condition.)