How to restore skin after a burn

Thermal skin lesions are the most common type of household injury. The burn is caused by prolonged exposure to sunlight, boiling water, electric current, aggressive chemicals. Damaged skin needs to be repaired. Measures depend on the degree of the burn.

Skin recovery after sunburn

To learn how to restore the skin after a sunburn, you first need to familiarize yourself with the symptoms of the lesion.

With a sunburn, the first symptoms appear after half an hour, and throughout the day their intensity increases.

There are 4 degrees of sunburn, each of which is expressed in a special clinical picture:

• skin redness;
• blistering on reddened skin, symptoms of intoxication;
• sensitivity, swelling, soreness of the affected skin. The burn covers all layers of the skin (epidermis, dermis and subcutaneous fat).

Fourth-degree sunburn causes complete dehydration, disruption of the heart and kidneys, and can be fatal. Suffer not only superficial, but also deep layers: muscles, tendons.

Doctors suggest how to restore the skin after a burn. With the first degree of damage, it is necessary to use topical preparations that promote tissue regeneration and prevent the degeneration of healthy cells into malignant ones.

Helps with sunburn:

• Dexpanthenol. The tool relieves inflammation, eliminates itching, has a healing effect. Apply ointment 2-4 times a day;
• Carotolin. This solution reduces redness, heat and inflammation, and has a cooling effect. Carotolin is applied to a gauze napkin and applied to the burnt places. Repeat the manipulation 2-3 times a day;
• zinc ointment. The drug has an anti-inflammatory effect and protects the affected areas from infections. Apply the ointment in a thin layer, 3-5 times a day;
• Rescuer. The balm contains beeswax, tea tree extract, lavender essential oil. These components accelerate the recovery of the skin, have an antiseptic effect. It is recommended to lubricate burns with balm 3-5 times a day.

Repairing the skin after a second-degree blistering burn requires the use of antiseptics, which reduce the risk of infection. Miramistin is suitable - a universal antiseptic. They need to treat the burnt areas before applying restorative preparations.

Restoration of the skin in the third and fourth degree of damage is carried out on an outpatient basis. In the most severe cases, skin grafting from other parts of the body or donor transplantation, removal of areas of mass necrosis is required.

Therapeutic measures for chemical damage

A chemical burn of the skin occurs when they react with such aggressive chemicals as:

• phosphorus;
• kerosene;
• alkalis;
• acids;
• heavy metal salts;
• bitumen.

Some household chemicals can also cause heat damage.

Even a weak concentration of a chemical causes severe burns. If a reaction occurs, wash the affected areas under running water for 20 to 30 minutes. After that, neutralize the chemical with a weak solution of soda (for acid burns) or vinegar (for alkali damage).

How to restore the skin after a chemical burn? With lesions of the first and second degree of severity, conservative treatment is prescribed. Healing ointments with a light texture, which have an antibacterial effect, are applied to the burn sites. This is Levomekol, Synthomycin. They are applied under a sterile bandage, which must be changed regularly.

The skin around the wounds is treated with antiseptics - Miramistin, Chlorhexidine solution, hydrogen peroxide (3%).

At the later stages of healing, physiotherapeutic methods are introduced into the recovery course to stimulate tissue regeneration, improve blood flow, and restore the body's defenses. Results give infrared and ultraviolet irradiation, ultrasound therapy.

What to do when scalding with boiling water?

How to restore the skin after a burn with boiling water? This type of damage is often received by adults and children through negligence. To protect the integument, you must immediately substitute the burned area under the tap and turn on cool water. Wait about 20 minutes. This will help relieve swelling, slow down circulation, and reduce the risk of blistering.

The water should be exactly cool, not icy: sudden changes in temperature will lead to the death of the upper layer of the skin.

After that, you need to treat the burn area with a soapy solution for disinfection, wipe it off, and treat it with an antiseptic.

If there are no blisters on the burned area, you can lubricate it with Sulfargin. This ointment prevents the death of deep epithelial layers and the formation of blisters, has a disinfecting effect and soothes pain.

How to quickly restore the skin in the presence of blisters? It is necessary to use such topical preparations:

• ArgoVasna Nut. It is a gel with natural ingredients that reduces blisters, removes redness, dries out small ulcers, and also reduces the risk of scarring. ArgoVasna starts the process of regeneration of skin cells;
• Vishnevsky ointment. This inexpensive drug prevents tissue death, has a mild analgesic and disinfecting effect, and promotes wound healing. It is best to use it as a compress, under a bandage, once a day;
• Streptinitol. The ointment is used for burns with wounds, purulent lesions. Streptonitol has a restorative and antibacterial effect.

Before using topical preparations, you should carefully study the instructions to eliminate the risk of developing allergic reactions.

Recovery after a severe burn

Restoring the skin after a 3rd degree burn is difficult and time-consuming, as the affected areas of the skin die off. The process of their restoration begins only after the rejection of dead layers.

The duration of regeneration is 3 months or more.

In addition to restorative, antibacterial and antiseptic agents, topical preparations are used to eliminate scars. This:

• Contractubex. The ointment restores the dermis, fights the effects of a burn, eliminates scars;
• Clearwin. The drug removes scars and spots, accelerates the process of restoring the affected layers;
• Mederma. The tool helps to eliminate even large and chronic scars on the skin.

Also, to eliminate scar tissue and restore integument after third-degree burns, the following procedures are performed:

• laser resurfacing. This procedure is a deep peeling, complete removal of the upper layer of the epidermis and partial removal of the dermis. It is performed with a laser machine. It emits light, which causes soft tissues to evaporate. The depth of impact is 150 micrometers. As a result, the skin relief is leveled, scars and scars are eliminated;
• photochromotherapy. This is a physiotherapy procedure based on the healing effects of light. The red spectrum is used to restore the skin layers. The rays cause vasodilation, healing of damaged skin, stimulation of the development of elastic fibers;
• laser therapy. The procedure promotes tissue repair, helping even with deep lesions of the epidermis.

To accelerate the process of formation of new cells, it is recommended to take vitamin complexes. These are Duovit, Complivit, Biomax.

How long does it take for skin to recover from thermal burns?

How much the skin recovers after a burn depends on the degree of damage:

• at the first degree, recovery occurs in 3-5 days;
• in the second, if there is no infection, the reparation processes take 3 weeks. If bacterial microorganisms are attached, the process is delayed up to 30 days;
• the third degree of burn damage takes a long period of rehabilitation - from 3 months or more.

Recovery of the skin after a fourth degree burn can take about a year or more: the prognosis in this case is unpredictable.

Burns of the skin can cause the degeneration of healthy cells into malignant ones, therefore, measures to prevent thermal damage must be observed. If a lesion occurs, you need to consult a doctor and undergo treatment in full.