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Accidents happen and they happen a lot more in the kitchen, where there’s fire than anywhere else. Maybe you got yourself a bad run-in with a hot pan or a heated curling iron, or you forgot to buy your sunscreen the last time you went to the market and now you have got a nasty sunburn. We all experience some kind of burn at some point in our lives. Exposure to the hot bright sun or any other heat source for just a few minutes can have consequences like drying, scarring and general discomfort.
Before we get on the tips to treat burns at home, you are advised that for severe and chemical burns you should pay a visit to your doctor as they require medical attention.
How to Tell the Difference?
Minor first-degree burns make the skin red or pink they don’t cause oozing, crusting or blistering. If the skin remains red lasts for more than ten days, or it starts to develop blistering or crusting, it needs medical attention as this may be a sign of a deeper.
Here are some ways to treat burns and to remove the scars of burns that appear afterwards.
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For Sunburn
The best remedy for sunburned skin is a thick, bland emollient like Aquaphor mixed with a cool compress. Use sunscreen with higher SPF to protect your new sunburn from the sun to avoid further irritation. Some chemical-based sunscreens may be too irritating to already burnt skin, especially when the wound is new.
When the wound starts to flake, it means that it is healing and the injured skin is being shed. Doctors recommend their patients not to peel or pick the flaking skin as it can remove too many of the healthy skin cells as well which can cause more irritation and increases the risk of scarring. Therefore, it is better that it is left alone.
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For Minor or first-degree burns
It can be treated in the same way as you treat a sunburn. Apply a cool compress right after you suffer a burn and then apply a layer of a thick emollient. Skincare products containing too many preservatives or fragrances can cause stinginess, irritation and prolonged redness. You can protect your skin with physical sunscreen to reduce irritation.
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How to Clear away the Burn Scars?
Sunburns or minor burns don’t leave a scar normally as they don’t damage the deeper the skin layer. But more severe burns do leave a scar, though its severity depends on how much damage it has done.
Use a scar cream as soon as the upper layer of your skin heals. Scar cream normally contains silicone which hydrates the skin.
You can also get DNA EGF Renewal DNA SCAR Therapy which treats the scar microscopically and more efficiently with DNA enzymes.
A zinc-based sunscreen keeps the scars from turning brown due to hyperpigmentation. Patience is key as scars can remain for a year. If the texture of the skin changes after the burn, precise resurfacing lasers can be used to smoothen the skin. If the redness remains unchanged, vascular lasers are used to reduce the scar more quickly.
You can avoid most burns by applying more sunscreen but if you still run into an accident and get a nasty burn where you do not want, you can treat them with these tricks to lessen the effects and reduce the scars.
