Burns and Burn Deformities
28CHAPTER
Serious burns are common in villages where people cook, warm themselves, or sleep
by open fires.
First aid for burns is discussed in health care manuals, including Where There Is
No Doctor. Here we discuss only the precautions that can be taken to help prevent
deformities and disabilities from burns.
The most common deformities resulting from severe burns are contractures, and the
scarring, or sticking together, of skin around joints. For example:
231
Lupito slept too close
to the fire and his
blanket caught fire.
He was badly burned
under the arm and
behind the knee.
As he was healing, Lupito lay
with his arm and leg bent.
This kept the air away from
the burns, and they hurt less.
But as a result, the
skin scarred to itself.
After the burns healed,
Lupito could not lift or
straighten his arm or
straighten his leg.
TO PREVENT SCARRING TOGETHER OF THE SKIN AT JOINTS:
Keep the joints extended
(straight) while the burns heal.
You may have to support or tie
the limbs so that the child does
not bend them in his sleep.
For burns between fingers or toes,
keep them separated with sterile
cloth pads with Vaseline.
To keep the chin from scarring
to the chest, it is very
important to keep the head
tilted up as the burns heal.
TO HELP BURNS HEAL: When possible, leave the burns open to the air.
Protect against
flies and dust
with mosquito
netting or by
covering the
burns with
light gauze.
To keep the blanket or
mosquito netting off
a burned part of the
body, cut a cardboard
box or make a frame
to hold it up.
If burns need to be covered, you can put petroleum jelly (Vaseline) on sterile gauze or
sterilized cloth and gently cover the burn.
To help healing, and to prevent or control infection
of deep or open burns, you can put bees’ honey or
sugar directly on the burn. Or make a paste of bees’
honey mixed with sugar. It is important to wash the
burn with water that has been boiled and cooled,
and to put on fresh honey 2 or 3 times each day. (If
the honey gets too diluted with oozing from the burn,
it will breed germs rather than kill them.)
BEES’ HONEY
IS EXCELLENT
FOR HEALING
BURNS AND
OPEN SORES