For the Elite Burn Club:D

This is for those of you who like myself made the mistake of sleeping with a heating pad on and burned yourself.

I didn't think it was that big of a deal, mostly because its in an area I am still quite numb. But tonite I was just checking around and I freaked out to see 2 large red areas from where the blisters had broken.

Its not infected, some is still draining, but I wonder if its because my clothes are rubbing on it that it looks worse than it is...

I think the reason I am so nervous is because I cannot feel in that area and I am a diabetic. DH patted some peroxide on it to clean it and I felt a jab in one tiny spot, then he covered it with bandages...

Just wondering if anyone else has any suggestions - I'm sure most of it is middle of the night fears but I just didn't think it was that bad!

Thanks

It sounds to me like you did the right thing putting the peroxide on it although I'm not sure what the jab pain was, maybe just topical nerves. I am so sorry you burned yourself bad enough to leave blisters. That is awful on top of surgery !

My doctor warned me against using the heating pad for that very reason. But on my first day home, sure enough, because of numbness, I didn't realize I was burning myself until I happened to lift up the pad (I guess to go the RR - too long ago to remember why).

I started using wet washclothes put under cold water and wrung out. That felt really good! Plus my bed has a heated mattress pad (heat from the bottom up) I would really recommend the cold, wet washcloths. Hope it helps.

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44 TAH kept ovaries - fibroids, enlarged uterus, severe anemia

I did the same thing with a heating ad about a year ago. I had low back pain because of the fibroids. Anyway, the burn ended up with a blister about the size of a quarter that stuck out over half an inch. It really really hurt. I called my sister who is an RN ans she said to get to the store ASAP and get some gel or wet would dressings. A regular bandage is not going to do in this case. I forget exactly what the brand was or what they were called , but they were like a thin gel pad that stayed wet. I found a size that fit sklightly bigger then the blister and used that. The pain was gone almost immediately, most of the time. You want to keep the blister whole and protected so it does not break. It will slowly be absorbed back into your body. You may still have a scar, but not nearly what you would have if you break the blister and use a dressing and bandage. My burns always take a long time to heal, but this one was better then most.

My sis is a home health nurse that deals with lots of wound dressings, so I felt she was a good person to help and actually know what she was talking about. She said that wet or moist dressings were the best choice.
Hope this helps and you feel better soon.

Instead of heating pad try using an ICE BAG - I've been sleeping with one since my TAH and it is amazing how much it helps.