What 2 do about this awful burn? Pic included?

Question

Ok, Wednesday night (the 21st) I got extremely drunk. I must have passed out with a lit cigarette because i noticed the most digusting burn on my leg i have ever seen. Also, my couch is burnded. I dont know what to do about it! What should i put on this bad boy to get it to heal fastest? What degree burn do u think it is?
And i already know that i have a drinking problem and that i was probably near death if i slept through a cigarette burning the hell out of me, so heres the pic. Thanks

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e230/bwilke26/IMG000040.jpg

I think its infected and I have no health insurance, life sucks.

Answer 1

It's 3rd degree for sure. The charring around the edges of the skin is a dead give away. I know you don't want to hear it but you need to see a doctor for antibiotics because of the high risk for an infection. Believe me if you think it's bad now, just wait for the infection! In the meantime keep it dry cover it with sterile dry bandage. Also, NO CREAMS! It won't help and may actually do more damage because it may trap an infection if one has already started. And yeah, as far as the drinking problem goes, I'm 21 and in AA and highly reccommend it. It saved my life. It's not always easy, but it always worth it. 107 day sober and I've never taken a legal drink and hope I never do! Check it out.

http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org/

Answer 2

Sounds like you may have 3rd degree burns. 1st degree is redening ( sun burn), 2nd is blistering and 3rd is burnt real bad where the skin is damaged and blackened. These burns happened over 3 days ago and you have to make sure you keep them clean and covered and keep a close eye for infection. Sounds like you didn't get medical help. It's not too late to get medical help. Don't listen to most of the answers unless they are medical people. Don't try to heal with over the counter meds.I would highly suggest you do seek medical help. It will take a while for the skin to heal and infection can and will set in eventually. Reach over and grab your butt as this is a wake up call warning you about a very serious problem. You already know what has to be done. I think you need some support and help to get you through this. If the cigarette burnt you that bad and the couch was burnt too, there is a possibility that others could have been injure if it didn't extinguish itself. It sounds like yesterday was really a day of Thanksgiving for you. We only get one chance to travel around the sun. Don't worry about smoking killing you. The way your going other things will kill you long before

Answer 3

get some aloe vera cream and apply it 3 times a day along with triple anitbiotic oinment. from the center of the burn it looks like you might have a slight infection setting in too unless that greyish junk is either ash or part of the couch. you're gonna need to debride this once a day. mix 1 part of rubbing alcohol to 20 parts water (1cc alc/20 cc h2o)get a squirt bottle and start by soaking the wound, and then spraying the water/alcohol mixture on it to flush off the dead old skin and scab. it's gonna sting. then apply triple antibiotic, then aloe, then sterile non-stick gauze pads. use a new clean bandage every time. i use and recommend neosporin all the time and it's about a 10th of the cost of bactracin, plus you won't have to get a prescription for it. if you could get your hands on some silverdene that would be awesome but only use it for 3 to 4 days twice a day.

Answer 4

At this point I would go to a doctor to get their advice as it's to late to do most of the things that you should have done. One thing that you might consider until you can get to the doctor is aloe Vera and vitamin E. My mother who's a nurse got a bad burn last week also but the first thing that she did was run it under cold water for about 15 minutes and than used a cold compress for another 20 minutes, Than she put Aloe vera on it right from the plant it's great for skin problems, but when she didn't like the look of it she went to her doctor who gave her some ointment. But she's also using vitamin E in between applications of the ointment.

Answer 5

I'll agree with Derek about "see a doctor."
Don't apply any lotions or creams, but especially not any ointments, which will hold heat in the burn and make it worse. You can cover it loosely with a dry gauze and tape, then go to a doctor or a nurse.
Edit: I recommend seeing a pro because they can prescribe a better medication that most OTCs to put on the burn, such as silvadene ointment or cream that will help it heal faster and help prevent infection. Also "wet" wounds may take longer to heal but they also don't scar as badly. Open-to-air is not the best idea, I think, for your wound based on the picture.

Answer 6

Wow.
That's a nasty burn. It looks like a 3rd.
You should probably put some neosporin on it and a bandage to keep that sucker from getting infected. If you think it hurts now wait until a doctor has to drain pus out of it. For relief you should avoid putting it in cold water. it feels like heaven when its in it, but hurts like hell when you take it out. I'd suggest putting a cold ice pack on top of your bandage. It will be nice relief. And don't forget Ibuprofen =]
Oh, also, if you slept through a burn like that you should probably try and lay off the drinks for a while XD

Answer 7

First off, let me say you're lucky to still be alive. Now with that said, the best thing you can do at this point is nothing, but a doctor, however, should look at it, those edges look dead (black skin is an indicator). If the skin around the edges is black, not from dirt or anything like that, you must go to a doctor (or emergency room) now!!! You have just invited a whole host of bacteria into your body, gangrene is just one of them. Dead skin provides a perfect environment for bacteria like gangrene, and yes, you will lose your entire leg if you don't get this looked at by a professional now.

Answer 8

a 3rd degree burn causes no pain because it is a full thickness burn which means the nerves that send pain messages to your brain have been burned, so thats how you can tell between a 2nd and 3rd. a 2nd hurts like hell and in either situation you need to go to a doc and get an ointment called silvadene to help healing and keep it from getting infected. this could get bad enough that you could loose your leg.

Answer 9

Looks like a 2nd degree burn, looks infected too. Puts some anti-bacterial gooey stuff on a dressing and keep that on it, replace it everyday. Should go see a docter to see what he says about the infection. I got 2nd degree burns all over both my hands in basic training and got a cellulitis infection on my finger and had to pull it out myself after a few days cuz the doctor couldnt reach it when i went it, looked just like yours.

Answer 10

If it not healing fast, and/or it looks to be getting worse, get to your doctor. Burns like that have a tendency to get infected. If you even have a suspicion about it looking worse, go. The longer your wait with an infection the tougher it is to treat with a AB. Keep it sterile!