There are very few homes whose inmates have not at some time or other
suffered more or less severely from the effects of a burn; there are
few persons who ever forget the severity of the pain that succeeds a
bad burn; and yet there are very few who make any provision for the
proper treatment of such wounds. This neglect arises from indifference
or from ignorance, but chiefly the latter. A burn treated in time does
not take nearly so long to heal, and generally heals better than it
otherwise would. The object of the present paper is to make familiar a
few of the remedies which are generally applied to burns—remedies so
simple in themselves that they can be applied by any person.
The best thing to apply to a burned or scalded part is Carron oil
spread on lint or linen. The main object in the treatment of a burn is
to keep the affected part out of contact with the air; but the part of
the treatment to which our attention should be first directed is that
which will lessen or remove the pain. Ice or cold water is sometimes
used; and sometimes water moderately warm, or a gentle heat, gives
relief. Carron oil—so called from the famous Carron ironworks, where it
is extensively used—not only lessens the immediate pain, but covers the
part with a film which effectually shuts out the air and prevents the
skin getting dry.
This Carron oil can be prepared in a very simple way. It consists
of equal parts of olive oil and lime-water. Olive oil, or salad or
Lucca oil, is the oil best suited for the purpose; but if not easily
obtainable, linseed oil answers the purpose very well. Lime-water can
be easily made by any one, if it cannot be procured otherwise. About
a teaspoonful of the lime used by builders—if the purer kind is not
obtainable—added to a pint of water and well shaken, is all that is
required. It is then allowed to settle, and the water when required
is drawn off without disturbing the sediment at the bottom. Pour the
oil on the lime-water, stir or shake well, and the mixture is ready
for use. It is poured freely between two folds of lint, or the lint
dipped in the mixture; the lint applied to the wound, and held in
position by a bandage. The wound may be dressed twice a day; but in
dressing, the wound should be exposed to the air the shortest possible
time. If the lint adheres to the wound, it must not be pulled off, but
first moistened thoroughly with the oil, when it comes off easily.
In some cases, it is not advisable to remove the lint. Under such
circumstances, the best way to proceed is to lift up one fold of the
lint, drop the oil within the folds, replace the fold as before, and
secure the bandage. Carron oil is one of those things that no household
should be at any time without.
Considering the simplicity of the cure, how easily olive oil and
lime-water can be obtained, let us hope that for the sake of relieving
even a few minutes’ pain, no reader of this paper will be in the future
without a bottle of Carron oil.