Anyone Know How To Treat An Acid Burn ?

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preachtokill1032

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For quite some time I've had to use Drano in the bathroom shower. Some times I'll accidently get some on my hand or arm but I never panic, just quickly turn on faucet and leave under cool water for 15-20 mins. No big deal, it got a little reddish purple, peeled away in like a week give or take, no big thing. It happened again Friday though. The only difference though, is that today, while I was showering in the morning, the dead skin started to peel, but instead of being kind of shiny and pink, it was red, and it stung like a mother. Almost like a scrape or something.




While at work it started hurting a little more, so afterwards I went to the hospital down the street (at the suggestion of my boss) I was there for close to two hours and they never got to me. Just patched me up a little (ointment and gauze) and told me to wait in the lobby. After about an hour I decided to split. I wanted to stay but my arm missing skin combined with being around sick people is a recipe for infection. It doesn't hurt and its not bleeding. I guess it looks almost as if my skin was branded. I'm not rich and I don't have insurance, and I would only go to a Doctor as a last resort. To be honest my only two concerns are possibilities of scars/infection. Anyone know how I should take care of it until then ?




Andrew
 
If it's not open, that is not actually bleeding, then keep it protected and use antibiotic creme/ In a few days it will feel better, then start using vitamin E oil so it heals up well.

And quit using drano, get a snake or call a plumber and get it fixed right.

'sides chicks likes scars.
 
Isn't acid, just for future reference. It's sodium hydroxide- lye. Next time around, dunk your hands in vinegar- it'll kill the burn.
 
Sword and Shield said:
Isn't acid, just for future reference. It's sodium hydroxide- lye. Next time around, dunk your hands in vinegar- it'll kill the burn.
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Thus neutralizing the base, same exact thing they tell you to do in chemistry class. (Also in fight club :cool: )
 
I was hoping someone would get the FC reference. :) I've a nice lye burn on my hand, though Mr. Durden had nothing to do with it.
 
If "professional strength" Drano Gel isn't working out for you, get down to Lowe's, pick up a quart of "Drain Opener," and use the whole bottle at once. Costs nearly $9, but it's sulfuric acid with multiple buffers, guaranteed to dissolve "any organic matter." I'd advise you to wear rubber gloves and goggles (you need to puncture a foil seal with a screwdriver, and if it splatters it'll do a LOT more damage than lye), but you'll probably only need to clear your drain once a month rather than weekly. :thumbup:

When you're done with the bottle, recap it, toss it in a plastic bag, knot it off, and toss it in the trash outside . . . and rinse off the screwdriver. An untreated burn can eat down to the bone. :eek:
 
You might also try buying a cheap, hand cranked snake. I haven't used draino in years. Cleaning the snake off afterwards is gross, but it works well.

When my wife and I bought our house the tub drain was slow. I snaked it and pulled out about a pound of the previous owners long, red hair (with probably a few short, curlies too :barf: ).
 
Drain cleaners are no joke. Don't screw around with them. Use the gel types and be DAMN CAREFUL about how you pour them!

Drano and Mr Plumber are a combination of sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide and bleach. The hydroxides effectively supercharge the bleach.

Sodium and Potassium hydroxides will cause permanent & irreversible Blindness if you get it in your eyes!

Your skin feels slippery after the drain cleaners get on them because the chemicals are digesting your skin, just as they do so effectively to hair clogs.

All I'm saying is to be damn careful and realise what you're playing with.

You may want to try the CLR pressurised drain openers, or maybe just a plunger. Also, you could prevent the problem by putting a hair catch over your shower drain.

Keep safe.
 
I think drain cleaners also have organic solvents to help dissolve hair etc , does anyone know ?? In any case be very carefull handling drain cleaners . Eye protection is a good idea. If it spills on you , use generous amounts of water to flush of the chemical then use vinegar [acetic acid]to neutralize any remaining alkaline [sodium hydroxide]. ...For acid spills such as sulphuric acid from car batteries , also flush with lots of water but neutralize with baking soda [ sodium bicarbonate].
 
A plumber told me to use bleach in the drains, that it is the most effective and inexpensive, so that is what I use. Sorry about the burn though, sounds ouchy!!
 
Mete,
Drain cleaners don't have organic solvents. See my post above as to their active ingredients.
 
It's a second degree burn, if the second degree burn starts to blister you should see a doctor.
If they patched you up with cream and a patch you should be fine. The wound will slowly heal, just keep it well covered with a special cream for burnwounds. Most hospitals use "Flamazine" for the treatment of burns. It will keep away and destroys bacteria. It will increase the healing.

A caution with these types of burn. Try to keep them covered with Flamazine. The skin heals better when kept moist with cream then when you keep it "dry".

The burn will take weeks to heal completely. Second degree burns normally heal without any scarification when treated with good care.

I good sign of healing is the onset of numerous white dots on the burnt area. These white dots are skin "islands", from these islands the new skin will slowly grow and cover the burnt area.

Also consider the fact that burnwounds tend to give a lot of body fluid, this is a good thing, don't try to keep it dry, just let it "sweat" and apply layers of flamazine every 2/3 days.

When used the white cream will turn black due to the oxidation of the Silver sulfadiazine in the cream. This Silver sulfadiazine is aggressive against germs and bacteria and helps healing the skin.

The cream will also lessen the pain , although i should take some painkillers the first days.

Good luck. Sorry to hear about your accident.
 
Also to be considered, you may have developed an allergic reaction to one of the ingredients. It happens with some chemicals and its accumulative.

We gotta guy who can't use most comercial soaps/shampoos. He developed an allergy to one of our treatment chemicals that are found in trace amounts in them.
 
Man I have to tell you, I was pretty scared that my darn hand was going to fall off or something. Well it's been two days, some parts have gotten kind of pink and shiny, like the last couple of times, but one part in particular is still very red and raw, and there are little bumps on them. And a yellow crust is forming over it. I did what you all told me and I put Neosporin over it, for future reference would it be a good idea to cover it with a gauze or something, or should I let it breathe ? Man I hope it doesn't leave a nasty scar.




Andrew
 
Smooth Operator said:
I guess it looks almost as if my skin was branded. I'm not rich and I don't have insurance, and I would only go to a Doctor as a last resort. To be honest my only two concerns are possibilities of scars/infection. Anyone know how I should take care of it until then ?
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Go to a health food store, GNC, something along those lines, and get a bottle of emu oil. You might have to call around to find someone who actually has it in stock. Get 100% emu oil, but get the scented kind.
A 1 oz. bottle will probably be about $15, and you only need a drop or two at a time(it's oily, and you have to rub it in).
It's a deep penetrating moisturizer, and better than anything you'll get from a doctor, or anywhere else. Keeping the burn clean, and using emu oil will keep it from scabbing over, and getting infected-heals from the inside out, for lack of a better way of saying it.
Emu oil provides instant relief from 1st and 2nd degree burns(takes the sting right out), and much faster healing with those and 3rd degree burns. I would not use it on a fresh chemical burn under any circumstances, as it could actually make things worse by forcing the chemical deeper into you, but now that your burn is healing, it should keep it from scarring.
I'll give you a little testimonial:
I spent several years working on a job where 3000 degree molten rock sometimes sprays all over the place, and I tend to not wear a protective jacket when working that job(it's rather hot), and occasionally pay the price with small burns from flying slag or getting up against something that's red hot.
Had the stuff go through my "fire retardant" pants leg, set fire to the inside of my boot, burn my sock off, and burn almost to the bone in about a 3"x3" place on the front and side of my ankle. I kept it scrubbed out, wrapped up, and used emu oil on it daily. I can barely even find where the burn was, and the only evidence of it is a patch of skin about the size of a quarter that's a little darker than the surrounding skin.
It works.
 
Clembrewer, ok then it must be chlorine bleach since I do get an allergic reaction to drain cleaners .Do any have non chlorine bleach ??
 
Keep it covered and well creamed. The bumps are a good sign, new skin is forming. Once you have new pink skin put a good moisturizing cream on it and try to keep it out of the sun.

It looks like it's going great, but cover the open wounds up, the skin is our main defense against infection.
 
did you learn anything-like wearing glass's, gloves and shirts with long sleeves?

i did after my first acid burn-i acid wash floors quite often for my job
 
orthogonal1 said:
Also to be considered, you may have developed an allergic reaction to one of the ingredients. It happens with some chemicals and its accumulative.

Ortho is 100% on the money...:thumbup: So if I were you and i'm not I would avoid that drain cleaner at all cost's. Your next reaction could be more severe than this one. At the very least wear rubber gloves and eye protection. Also baking soda can neutralize most acid's. I would keep some handy acids do most of their destructive work on skin very very rapidly so neutralizing quickly is key. I know this first hand after working in a shop that uses many acids for printed circuit board manufacturing and have the scar's to prove it.
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