How to Treat a Second Degree Burn | Auburn Medical Group

A blistered second degree burn is treated with antibiotic ointment and a self-adherent foam dressing. The patient already washed the wound with tap water before dressing it at home with a non-adherent dressing. The burn was about one day old at the time of evaluation.

Any over-the-counter topical antibiotic ointment is appropriate for application on intact burned skin, even with a blister. That is, as long as the patient is not allergic to any ingredients in the ointment.

This patient did not have a fever or feel sick. He was in normnal health. His body surface area involved was less than the size of the palm of his hand. The skin and blister were both intact. A burn with any conditions different from this should be evaluated by a doctor.

New videos are posted on Friday afternoons.

This video is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition. It is for educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for evaluation by your own doctor.

You can follow Dr. Mark Vaughan on Twitter and Instagram: @doctorvaughan.

Please comment and ask questions. Share with your friends who would be interested in seeing this video.

All patients on our videos give written consent to post videos on YouTube of their office visit and for discussion of their medical condition voluntarily and without coercion.

Music Credit: "Up Above" by Letter Box (Royalty Free Music on YouTube).

[hcolumbia]

A while ago my mom burnt her whole hand because she grabbed something from the oven without a glove... Thank god I had prescription lidocaine... After I had her soak in cold water for hours I made a concoction of neosporin, lidocaine and burn relief cream and bandaged that sucker up! Saved her an urgent care bill and it healed within the week. I was 12...

[kittycatsiena]

i got a second degree burn on my leg from noodles

[urgx]

Thanks so much for this vid. I love how the doc keeps up to date on the latest medical journals and knows all that knowledge off hand! I got a partial thickness burn on my hand, now that I watched this vid I know not to bust it open and to use an antibiotic ointment on it. Great job folks! Keep these videos coming. Saved me a trip to the immediate care and saved me some $$ in the process! Just an FYI the reason I didn't go is because my blister is even smaller than his -- if you have like REALLY large blisters and they are blowing up big you need to go in and have it examined. If you don't have insurance try to find a free clinic near you.

[latricemariemorris]

I had a seizure on Monday the way I fell the steamer water at work i have 2nd degree burns

[ginagonzales]

my lil brother just got one this helped a lot

[christinac]

I had a second degree burn on my ankle from a motorcycle exhaust and I woke up with a massive infection! I had red streaks, green pus and the most excruciating pain! Burns are the worst pain ever.

[VampFlirt]

I bet that hurt at first. he did the right thing by rinsing it under tap water & pitting the dry dressing on it before going to see the Dr. good info re: burns & how to treat them.

[srkucrickk]

That second degree burn is extremelly superficial. I guess that man ended up fully recovered and with no scar after a few months.

[Asptuber]

Interesting - I've never even thought of isolating small burns (with or without blisters), I get them all the time (clumsy in the kitchen). Big things like this guy had, sure, but thankfully I've only had that once - and then it was the palm of my hand, so pretty difficult to dress in any meaningful way for more than a day or two.

I did recently discover that pure shea butter actually seems to make burns (without blisters so far) heal faster. Surprised me quite a bit, but it actually seems to work.
I only wish there was something more effective for the pain than cold water (and short stints of icing). That time when I burnt my palm I seriously asked if they could do a local anesthetic for the whole hand, it hurt so bad (no, they didn't).

[omarb]

Great video Dr. Vaughan, keep them coming!

[The_Blondi]

5 weeks ago I was making popcorn on the stove, and it just got finished popping. I took it off the stove and my arm touched the bottom of the pan (the pan was just off the stove and it was the bottom) so it burned my arm giving me a 3rd degree burn, it hurt for 3- 4 weeks and now I have a scar for the rest of my life.

[lindsayantwine]

Here I am, 5 years after my first comment to reiterate my original point. I would absolutely have to pop that blister. No way around it. Probably would also have to tear off the thin covering of deflated skin after the fluid had drained out.

[adkelly]

Great vid that brings back painful memories. I had an approximately 3.5" x 5" fully blistered burn on the back of my calf from the side pipes on my dad's truck when I was about 13. A center spot about the size of a quarter was charred looking. I will never forget how badly that hurt, so I feel terribly for poor Reg. My mom had me put something called Foille (sp?) on it, which helped the pain quite a bit. I had a huge scar until I was in my mid-twenties.

Honestly, I don't mind the music at all.

[ashnkksmom]

I had a burn like that from the exhaust pipe on a motorcycle. It took quite a while for it to heal. My daughter touched a BBQ when she was about sixteen months old. Her palm looked white when I rushed her to the sink to cool it down. She didn't fuse much and it did not look bad but she did want to keep her hand closed. After she fell asleep I took a peek and it had a black blister. The doctor said I treated it just like he would of. She is fourteen now and has no scaring no sign of it ever happened.

[Kricket]

I burned my fingers and bought hydrocolloidal bandages, they seal it all up and I highly recommend them

[BentleyJax-River]

Thank you for another informative video. Looking forward to the next one! 😊

[dagzdaveed]

I got a 2nd degree burn on my left thigh 'cause I accidentally slip at the stairs while carrying a heater!
So very painful that i couldn't sleep well, couldn't take a bath well, hoo!!! now it's gonna be its 1st week still no recovery seen
-It's literally painful!!!

[laurenrosario]

During a dressing change, the top layer of skin came off... now it hurts a billion times worse and is open. I didnt put ointment on but put a nonstick patch (like gauze) and held it in place with a self adhesive wrap. What can I do for the swelling and pain as it's gotten worse now?

[sabamukhtar]

In case of electrical burns.. when the entry point is foot and exit point is head or vise versa. Which causes more damage the head exit or foot exit?

[Eddygeek]

Great, i got a nasty burn on 2 fingers from a clothes iron. It's not big at all but damn it's been so painful for the last 4 hours. I just drained it using a sterile needle (one used for getting blood glucose level) as the blister was swelling alot and causing more pain than getting the burn then washed it thoroughly with anti bacterial hand wash and warm water. then put antispectic on it and i think i'm now gonna using a loose layer of cling film and loose bandage to try and ease the pain. After watching this i'll keep an eye out for redness and swelling and contact the GP if anything like that happens