It's too late now, but there is a product out there that would have basically eliminated the burns. it's called water jel
http://www.waterjel.com/home2.cfm
and it turns a second degree burn into a first degree, and a first degree into no burn. Check out the testimonials on that website.
We've used this product in oil refineries for decades.
No, it's not hype. Many years ago I was splashed in the face with a little 400 degree oil.
I could feel the blisters on my face when I covered it with my hands. They rushed me to the control room and immediately covered my face with water jel dressings. By the time the refinery paramedics arrived and removed the dressings for evaluation, the blisters were gone and I only had a few red blotches which went away in few days. Everyone who watched could not believe it. They saw the large blisters and thought I was in really bad shape, until 15 minutes later the blisters had completely disapeared.
I saw a buddy of mine burned with a large amount of 600 degree steam. We only had enough water jel to ocver about 50% of his back. the areas we covered ended up being first and some second degree, most of the areas we didn't cover required skin grafts. it really is that good.
Here's one testimonial (
http://www.waterjel.net/file/nlc_letter_1993.pdf ):
Quote:
Nancy L Caroline M.D. Metulla Israel
10 January, 1993
Dear Sir.
About two or three years ago, you were kind enough to send me some samples of Water-jel dressings for me to evaluate. I did so, was favourably impressed, and as a consequence included an endorsement of the product in my text-books*. I also recommended strongly to the Israel Defence Forces and Magen David Adom (the Red Shield of david, Israel's Ambulance service) that they equip themselves with water-jel dressings. To date, unfortunately, nothing concrete has come of these recommendations. I'm writing though to share with you a case that may eventually, lead to some progress on that front.
last march, a two-and-a-half year old child here in the Northern Gallilee, the son of the newly arrived Russian immigrants, fell into a bathtub of near boiling water and sustained second degree burns over 80 to 90% of his body and face. I heard the MICU reporting on the case from the scene and requesting a helicoopter to evacuate the baby to Rambam Hospital in Haifa. Since I still had a few water-Jel dressings left from the package you sent me, I radioed the ambulance and told them I would meet them at the helicopter landing pad. We reached the landing pad at about the same time, and I used all the water-jel dressings I had left to cover most of the crucial areas (the baby's face, hands, feet, genitals and whatever else we could manage to cover with the remaining dressings)
The babies photgraph appeared in the newspaper a few weeks later, over the headlines :"The Doctors said A Miracle Occured Here." The article goes on to express the wonderment of the medical staff at Rambam Hospital that the burns did not progress and lead to permanent disfigurement. The hospital physicians were not aware that a special dressing had been used in the field.
Impressed with the result, one of the paramedics who had cared for the baby petitioned Magen David Adom headquarters in tel Aviv to furnish all Israeli ambulance with Water-Jel dressings. The paramedics request was referred by MDA to Israel's top burn specialists, for their advice and comment. The unanimous opinion was that Water-Jel was a superior product and should indeed be standard equipment aboard our ambulances. The recommendation still stands, apparently stalled because of budgetary constraints, but I am hopeful something will come of it, since the life-saving potential of the dressing has been clearly demonstrated.
In any event, I thought you would be interested to hear of a case in which Water-Jel saved a child from permanent disfigurement.
Sincerely yours
Nancy L. Caroline. M.D.
*EMERGENCY CARE IN THE STREETS. 4th.ed. Boston: Little, Brown. 1991
*EMERGENCY MEDICAL TREATMENT. 3rd.ed. Houston: Little, Brown. (Company study guides
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I recomend everyone gets some and keeps it on-hand just in case.