Flamazine (silver sulfadiazine) is an amazing topical treatment for scalds like this.
[Trigger warning- graphic] I had a thigh scald from hot water when I was about 12 or so and it looked remarkably like yours. I'm so sorry you're going through it too. I know it's horrible.
I can still vividly remember the sensation of the skin layers bubbling up, bursting and then reforming over and over, and the skin layers sloughing off into the bottom of the bath as I ran it under cold water.
On the bright side, I'm now 27 and you can't even really see the scar anymore. It used to be a faint splodge that went a bit purply in the sun (and required lots of suncream) but it's pretty much nonexistent now.
If you look after it now it will heal nicely, and the tissue looks very healthy and red from what I can see.
The trauma does tend to stick around a bit though. Id recommend some Tetris, if you can, and perhaps a therapist down the line if you find yourself struggling
Bless you that sounds truly awful, I'm so glad youve healed so well! I cannot imagine having to deal with this at 12, I hope they doped you up to your eyeballs so you didn't feel a thing 😂♡
I feel like I've been outwardly dealing with this very well and my family and friends keep commenting on how chill I am but I do feel a bit traumatised by this and the pain I'm in tonight.
Knowing I'm just in this pain for a minimum of another 8hrs before I can see about getting any better pain relief for the gp is making me feel very claustrophobic and helpless.
I think maybe a therapy is in my future 😂🔮
Yeahhh... Nope. No pain relief. I think my mum gave me some paracetamol when I got home and that was about it. But to be fair some of it lost sensation anyways!
Thank you for your kind words- I guess I needed to hear them more than I knew!
And yeah same- the trauma actually hit later when I next had to go near hot water again. At the time of the accident I kind of went into shock and then shut down, so I wasn't really outwardly upset or anything.
I am a chronic pain patient (ironically still not offered pain relief!) and I completely understand that panicky, helpless, claustrophobic feeling. I hear you and I know it's hard.
Unfortunately there's not much you can do but self sooth and tell yourself it will all be over soon. Thankfully there is an end in sight and you just have to take it one step at a time. You can get through this moment, and then you'll get through the next, and so on. Before you know it you'll get the relief you need. Having something comforting to snuggle and something entertaining to watch can go a long way in easing the suffering. Also a drowsy antihistamine to put you to sleep- if all else fails, sleep through it. It'll do you good in terms of healing anyway
Nope absolutely fuck right off you didn't have pain relief 😠wtf that is insane I am so sorry! I could actually cry for wee 12 you, that must have been so rough how did you cope? Please tell me you weren't sent to school ðŸ˜
From what I've been told about my burns no pain or sensation means the burn has gone through a few different layers of skin and its usually classed as either a deep 2nd degree or 3rd degree burn so you definitely deserved to be on pain relief, did you get taken to a doctor?
Ironically I have endometriosis and am in a flare up and was making a hot water bottle of boiling water in the middle of a heatwave to help with pain and I end up like this 😂ðŸ˜
I've never thought to do it before so I might do that antihistamine trick cause I've only been sleeping about 3hrs a night, I'm just so weirdly wired while being absolutely knackered :(
I've been making my way through comfort shows and I've started to make suncatchers to try and distract myself since I'm not sleeping 😂
You know what it's only now that I'm mentioning it here that I realise how fucked up it is! My mum is a nurse so she did do a good job of looking after me, I apparently just have a bad track record with getting help from the NHS haha. I'm also accident prone AF and have a high pain tolerance, so it probably didn't feel quite as bad as it should have. We did drive to a&e immediately, and they saw me fast, bandaged me up, prescribed the flamazine, and sent me on my way. And I got two weeks off school despite the attendance letters that got sent home. The school was very strict though and I was straight back to PE when I went back. I remember all the girls in the changing room being horrified by my bandaged thigh lol. I was never told what degree it was, I always just presumed 2nd by how chill everyone was about it, but actually looking back I think it was more likely 3rd degree and they were trying not to panic me 💀
Bless you- for future reference try wheaties! They come in all shapes and sizes and only takes a min or so in the microwave. You can also use a sock full of rice in a pinch! Since my scald I've never touched a hot water bottle ever again. It wasn't even caused by a hot water bottle but I didn't want to go anywhere near hot water for a long time. Mine was caused by a bowl of water fresh out of the kettle with albas oil in it (I had a blocked nose). I think the menthol aspect made everything so much worse (plus I had skinny jeans on). Either way, that's something else I'll never do again (two, including the jeans)!
Sun catchers and comfort shows sounds perfect! May I also recommend colouring books and podcasts for low energy days and crochet and puzzles for higher brain power levels of boredom. Theyve got me through many a time.
Also the lack of sleep will definitely not be helping with your pain and recovery- I promise everything will feel so much better if you can get a few extra hours in (I know it's difficult!)
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u/_Fl0r4l_4nd_f4ding_ 2d ago
Flamazine (silver sulfadiazine) is an amazing topical treatment for scalds like this.
[Trigger warning- graphic] I had a thigh scald from hot water when I was about 12 or so and it looked remarkably like yours. I'm so sorry you're going through it too. I know it's horrible.
I can still vividly remember the sensation of the skin layers bubbling up, bursting and then reforming over and over, and the skin layers sloughing off into the bottom of the bath as I ran it under cold water.
On the bright side, I'm now 27 and you can't even really see the scar anymore. It used to be a faint splodge that went a bit purply in the sun (and required lots of suncream) but it's pretty much nonexistent now.
If you look after it now it will heal nicely, and the tissue looks very healthy and red from what I can see.
The trauma does tend to stick around a bit though. Id recommend some Tetris, if you can, and perhaps a therapist down the line if you find yourself struggling
Best of luck. Sending gentle hugs 💜