BURNS AND SCALDS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20922, 11 July 1931, Page 7 (Supplement)

BURNS AND SCALDS.

BY A FAMILY DOCTOR. Burns are of different degrees of severity depending on the number of layers of the skin involved. If the injury has been severe enough to lay bare the nerve endings which lie in the deeper layers of the skin very great pain is experienced and is sufficient to cause the most serious degree of. " shock," which, if not treated immediately and skilfully, may even be fatal. Again, if a large area of the skin has been denuded by the injury the contraction of the scar formed in the process of healing may give rise to a considerable degree of deformity. Furthermore, unless great attention is paid to cleanliness, burns and scalds are particularly liable to become septic, and their healing is then a long and tedious process and can be accomplished only by the formation of a peculiarly unsightly scar.

For these reason's severe burns and scalds should under no circumstances be treated lightly, and expert medical advice and careful nursing are essential. The most ' soothing antidote, which should be immediately applied, is a piece of gauze or lint soaked in a strong alkaline solution, such as bicarbonate of soda, <ind covered with a piece of oil silk. An alternative application is some antiseptic lotion mixed with paraffin or glycerine. If a blister has been raised, it should be carefully punctured with a sterilised pair of scissors and evacuated, the dead skin being cut away. In recent years, tremendous progress has been made in surgical treatment of burns and scalds by the introduction of the tannic acid spray." An anaesthetic is administered, and the charred area is carefully scrubbed with spirit. The denuded parts are now sprayed with a solution of tannic acid. The spraying is repeated at frequent intervals until a thick black protective scab is formed. This method is especially "efficacious in combating the shock which is present in the more severe cases.