3 1/2 Year Old with Slight Hand Burn

According to my pediatrician, do not put any lotion, potion, ointment or cream. They do more harm than good. To relieve the pain, put his hand in a glass of ice water, my daughter stuck her hand in a HOT pizza and the cheese blistered her hand, this was the advice I got.

As long as they don't get infected you should be fine treating them at home.

Theoretically we're not supposed to pop the blisters, because the fluid provides some cushion, and it lessons the chance of infection. That said, kids nearly always pop or tear theirs...and sometimes it just plain feels better to not have this big painful blister.

NEVER put a burn in butter, oil, lotion -even aloe lotion-, or non-burn ointment. These things keep the heat in, and actually make burns worse. (The old put a burn in butter thing was from back in the days when butter was kept on ice in the celler, along with steaks, it was the cooling factor of something that was cold when cold water was not readily available. Hence also the steak on a black eye. Icepacks, before icepacks. Ice was too precious to be wasted, butter or steaks could be used/cooked. Ice had to be chopped in the winter and kept all year).

For minor burns:
- Cool/cold running water immediately after to stop (blanche if you will) the burn
- Aloe (straight, plain aloe gel) until the skin breaks
- Neosporin or other antimicrobial ointment after the skin breaks
- Allow it to breath at night if you're bandaging
- Keep clean and dry (ish...meaning don't keep wet, or go swimming) but getting wet in everyday life is fine)
- Don't submerge in hot/warm water (like a bath, or while washing hands)
- Tylenol or Ibuprofen (yup. not just for headaches & teething)
- An icepack (with a washcloth or other barrier between the skin and the icepack) can also feel nice. You only have a few seconds to a minute or so to put a burn in something cool to keep the burn from getting worse...but cool things on burn even long after the fact usually feels very nice.

If it gets infected, or if a fever develops, or if the area burned is, say, bigger than a quarter...take him in to the Ped. Otherwise, no biggie. Just make sure you check it often. I usually check at mealtimes, bath, & bedtime...or if there's some kind of "ruckus" like wrestling, or playing with the dog, or a sneaked trip to the sandbox, etc. Anywhere that it might tear or get dirty.

Mmmm...future caveat...even if small (larger than a pencil eraser, or even that small but near the eye), any burn on the face/neck/genitals warrants an immediate trip to the Ped.

If it makes you feel better btw...when I was 5 I stuck my finger in a steam pipe...and when I was 8 decided to try the "walking on hot coals" trick I'd seen on Discovery by reaching into the BBQ ash and grabbing a coal. For the first, I looked like a cartoon that has just hammered their thumb...and the second gave me a burn that covered my entire palm. My own son decided to try grabbing the hair curler from the wrong end. My best friend in the 2nd grade poured boiling water down her chest (grabbed a bowl that had been destined for instant potatoes and tipped it out on herself (that one required grafting). I have such a big family I could give you 50 stories easily...but suffice it to say...kids do these things. They get burned (hopefully mildly like your son), and learn not to touch hot things. Or at the very least to grab less quickly, and test for heat.

Holding the cold ice water glass is a good idea. In the future, be sure you do something similar, or hold his hand under cold running water immediately following the burn and keep it there until it no longer hurts to bring it out of the water and have it warm to body temperature (usually 30-45 minutes). You can make if fun by slowing the drain (don't completely close it) and putting some of his favorite toys in the sink and let him splash around. Now he is probably experiencing pain because the skin is no longer elastic and as he goes about pulling on his pants, the tender skin stretches a bit. This will go away as new skin is formed underneath the damaged skin will begin to shed. Do not use any lotions or OTC burn ointments but you can use Aloe Vera Gel just as you would for a sunburn, just store it in the fridge and apply several times a day, ONLY if there are not blisters or broken skin. The absolute best thing for burn healing is leaving it open to the air, but if your child needs to do something that might require you to protect the burned area fold a sterile 4X4 square of gauze and hold in place while wrapping a roll of gauze around the hand/knuckles. Wrap as much of the hand as necessary to secure the 4X4. Finish on the TOP of the hand on or near the knuckles (away from the burn) and tape in place using first aid tape.

This is going to sound odd, but super glue them! It doesn't sound like he has any major burns, but touching any irritated spot... espeically a burn... hurts. Putting a thin layer of super glue over the spot will protect it and take away the burn, as well as allow him to use his fingers without feeling any pain. Trust me... My mom did it, I do it, and my kids do it!!!

Try lavender essential oil. They sell it in any natural food section. You can dilute it slightly since your son is younger, but it probably isn't necessary. It might not be as effective since it has been a while since he burned it, but everytime we have used it for ourselves or our 2 year old it almost immediately takes the pain away! Our son reached up and touched our stove while the burner was still hot and burned the tips of 2 fingers. We put lavendar oil on it shortly after and then when he woke up during the night crying about them and it worked amazingly. I now keep a bottle in the kitchen.

Aquaphor is good for burns and helps to relieve them. You can find it in most pharmaceutical stores like Walgreens, Rite-Aid, etc. It is a vaseline type ointment, but helps relieve burns. My FIL burned his face very badly and that is something the doctors recommended to him.

Good Luck & I hope he feels better soon!

My son burned his palm and fingers more severely a few months ago. We did go to the ER, and they popped the blisters and prescribed an antibiotic burn cream, which was applied under a sterile gauze wrap that covered his entire hand. He had to wear the dressing for about 10 days. Have you tried wrapping his entire hand for a few days? You may have to put a sock over the entire thing to keep him from pulling at the wrap too much.

I just completed a 12 week first aid course and learned: Your son has a second degree burn. Burns on children need special attention, as their body mass is much smaller than an adult. Infection can take over quite quickly. I learned in my course that any time a child has a burn, even if it is small, it should be looked at by a doctor or taken to the ER to determine the severity and treatment required. Also, on a minor burn, cream or neosporin should only be put on at the time of the burn after you wash it the first time. After that, it needs to be dry and aired out so that the body will send out the right messages for the natural healing antibodies we have to do their job.

My daughter had a burn on the back of her hand at her knuckles from steam when she was 2. What the Dr. had us do was to keep the burn clean, apply SSD cream (perscription), cover with a non-stick sterile pad and keep in place and protect the burn by wrapping with a gauze bandage. We did have to wrap and weave thru her fingers so as to keep on but it healed quickly with out scar tissue and she was able to be her active self with out complaints or restictions.

If it is an old burn go to your doctor. There is an compound that contains silver that heals burns and prevents infections. Works wonders. Aloe vera is good in the meantime.

Hi,
A friend of mine's daughter did the same thing but i think it was probably a lot worse of a burn than your son's. I think if I were you I would go and just have it checked out by his primary care doctor. Burns are very delicate things and can become infected very easily. They can scar as well, and especially on the hands this can be an issue if the skin becomes too tight. The MD might also prescribe some ointment, possibly with antibiotic properties which may also help with the pain. Hope he is better soon! -jvh

If the burns didn't blister they are slight indeed, and aloe may help keep them moist. If they blistered and came open then you need to fight off infection, so keeping them very clean, and covered if possible, is probably important. That said, i had a blistery burn on my arm from a cookie tray only two weeks ago, and now its just a red mark - i only really needed the bandaid for a day or two.

Burns are pretty nasty - I'd at least put something like Zink ointment on -- and if there is ANY sign of infection- however small--- off he goes to the dr. Since the burns ( though small) are on his hand- there is a good chance he's either going to get urine on them -- or irritate them when he washes his hands-- just Old Moms' opinion.

Blessings,
J.

You need to keep the area clean and safe from further injury. No band aids probably won't stay on, so you need to wash, or soak the hand clean, gently using a liquid soap to remove dirt off his hand. Then to help with the pain and minimize the possibility of infection, use neosporin ointment on each of the burned areas. Now using a gauze squares that you have cut down to fit on his smaller hand, lay them or it on the palm of his hand, covering the injured areas. Now using a roll of gauze, wrap his hand with the gauze. Using a modified figure 8, running it in between his finger to lock everything in place, If he's going to be playing outside in the dirt have him wear a glove over his bandaged hand. Change the dressing every day. Let the hand soak in tepid water and gently scrub it each day, at minimum once a day, preferably twice, morning and night. If it's not improving in 3 days, take him to your doctor. Watch for any swelling or increased redness.
Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

Since it's a child may need to be looked at by a doctor, if
treatable at home "EMU oil" has been a miracle in my home.
I keep some in my kitchen whenever cooking, Eventhou it
can be used after fact, and helps it to heal effectively
but always keep some and watch it work miraculously if you
put it on immediately. Many times I have experienced it to
calm the pain and you may forget about it and couple days
later you may say what is this dried mark , that's where it has drawn the inflamation out. You can find at your local health food store,it's all natural. I believe Fred Meyers carry it also in their organic section.