What to do When Burning Accidents Occur.
There are many simple remedies which, in case of burning accidents, can be applied before the physician comes. So much immediate and future suffering can be averted by the prompt use of some remedy, that everybody should have fixed in mind some of the proper things to do. Slight burns, such as one often gets in the kitchen or laundry, can be relieved, and blistering be prevented, by coating the burned part with oil, lard, or butter, then covering with baking soda, and finally with a piece of linen. In a short time the pain will cease, and, unless the burn be very deep or the remedies be applied too late, there will be no blister. Lime water also is good for burns.
Children are often scalded by falling into hot water left within their reach, or by overturning some hot liquid upon themselves. In a case of scalding it must be remembered that the clothes clinging to the body are saturated with the hot liquid, and that as long as they are allowed to remain in this condition the heat will be kept in, and the burn become deeper. The first thing to do in a case of this kind is to pour cold water over the sufferer. This at once cools the clothing, which should afterward be taken off as gently but quickly as possible. Next pour sweet oil over the burns and cover them with soda, if you have it; if not, cover with soft linen cloths, and then wet with lime water. If there be no oil at hand, lard will do. The things at which to aim are, to cover the burn at once with some pure oily substance and then with soda or lime water, to take out the fire; to have the place covered with linen, which will not stick to the wound; and, finally, to cover closely from the air. Nothing is better for this purpose than a thin roll of cotton batting spread over the linen. Sometimes the cotton batting is saturated with oil and laid directly on the wound; but it is apt to cling to the flesh, and cause much trouble and suffering. A fine quality of cotton batting may be obtained at any druggist’s.
In every house there should be a closet or drawer on the first floor where a few simple remedies are kept. Here is a list for burns: a roll of old linen, such as handkerchiefs, napkins, pieces of table-cloths, sheets, and pillow-cases; a roll of cotton batting, a bottle of sweet oil, with the stopple drawn and gently put back, so that it can be quickly removed; a bottle of lime water; a box of powdered baking soda; a ball of soft darning cotton; and a needle, thread, thimble, and scissors. One may have no use for these things in many years; but the trouble of keeping them is trifling, and should there be need of them the advantage of having them ready for use is beyond estimation.
To make lime water, put about half a pound of unslaked lime in an earthen bowl, and pour over it three pints of boiling water. Stir with a stick, and put away in a cool place for eight or ten hours. At the end of that time pour off the clear lime water, letting the sediment remain in the bowl. Bottle the water, and put the stopple in, but not so far that it cannot be easily drawn.