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General health

My silly husband ....

21 replies

Ghosty · 18/09/2004 07:39

My darling DH hates to do nothing ... he always has to do something ... can't sit still for a minute (therefore he is great round the house because if he is bored all the ironing gets done )
The problem is is that he doesn't think things through and although mostly everything he does he does well, he doesn't prepare properly for projects he is doing ... for example he will not wear old clothes for painting jobs and then will get white emulsion on his best fleece ... that sort of thing.
Anyway, today we decided that he needed to clean the outside of one side of our house as we are about to put it on the market and it was a bit green from a long wet NZ winter (occupational hazard of living in this country - damp!!!). He did a great job and the house is now sparkling white again. BUT ... he used a special mildew stuff that is mainly bleach ... DID HE USE RUBBER GLOVES??? No!!! He started off with gardening gloves and it soaked through so he discarded them and finished the job with bare hands!
So ... now his fingertips are red raw ... very very tender and painful ... and he can't do anything at all!
I am really cross with him for being so silly ....
Has anyone got any ideas on how to help him ... I know he is a lost cause re. the DIY but what is the best thing to put on his fingers to make them less sore?
Oh, and has he damaged himself permanently??

Sorry for long post ...
G xxx

OP posts:

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Papillon · 18/09/2004 07:53

Oh dearie me!!

apart from something to keep infection at bay - manuka oil (which would probably sting like blazers anyway) or aloe to soothe... just something to heal from within... arnica

SoupDragon · 18/09/2004 08:00

Do you think he's learnt a lesson here, Ghosty? I remember your tales of his DIY effors before.

Twiglett · 18/09/2004 08:42

message withdrawn

JJ · 18/09/2004 08:50

Um, I do know that he didn't damage himself permanently. I forget what to put on it to make it feel better.

Ghosty · 18/09/2004 08:55

Thanks for the replies ...
Well, when I say raw, the skin isn't broken but it is angry red and almost pulsating ... he is walking around with his hands out and fingers splayed ... couldn't bath the children and had to give up dressing DD as he couldn't do her nappy or the poppers on her babygro.
We tried a cooling gel that we got from a friend who works for the ambulance service ... it is great for scalds and burns (worked a treat when I scalded myself on some steam from the kettle the other week) but it just made the pain worse.
I have got some arnica and another natural anti inflammatory so I will give him some of that.
Grrrrr ... now I have to cook dinner and he always cooks on a Saturday night ....

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Ghosty · 18/09/2004 08:57

Oh JJ ... spill the beans ... how do you know?? Did you do something similar??

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JJ · 18/09/2004 08:57

Something like Vaseline to protect the skin might help. He's chemically burned off the skin there. He used TP or something like that, right?

Ghosty · 18/09/2004 09:04

He used something called '30 Seconds' which is mainly pure bleach that is sold at inflated prices as a mildew remover. The daft thing is is that my DH gets it cheap as he sells the active ingredient in it ... so he is supposed to know about chemicals ... He works for a chemical distribution firm FFS!!!
By the way ... JJ ... you didn't answer my question !

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toddlerbob · 18/09/2004 09:32

Ouch, sounds painful. I would ring the after hours as it sounds as if he has chemical burns. The gardening gloves would have intensified it wouldn't they?

Ouch again.

twogorgeousboys · 18/09/2004 09:59

Oh your poor dh.

Can you get him to a hospital? It honestly sounds like they should be looked at in A&E and dressed properly.

JanH · 18/09/2004 10:08

I was going to suggest dressings too, Ghosty, and A & E would know what is safe to put on the skin under the dressings - he obviously needs something.

Those mildew removers are toxic, I use one in the shower sometimes and have to put something over my nose and mouth!

Ghosty · 18/09/2004 10:39

Hmmm ...
Well, I have told DH what you have all said and he said you are all over reacting! Silly man, he is clearly in pain. I just watched him eat his dinner and he was holding the knife and fork in such a way that his fingertips were not touching anything.
He just made a silly face when I suggested a trip to A & E ....
Don't know what else to suggest to him really! He has got vaseline on them at the moment ...

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JJ · 18/09/2004 10:40

Ghosty, I did it to myself once, but above my arms where the gloves ended. Ask him if the special ingredient is trisodium phosphate. Here is a bit on chemical burns. (no fluoride in TSP, so don't panic)

Have to admit that I was in grad school studying chemistry at the time, also....

Ghosty · 18/09/2004 10:50

JJ ... you wally!
The active ingredient is Sodium Hypochloride ... no TSP ....

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whizzz · 18/09/2004 18:52

Keep washing them to dilute the effects - alkali stuff such as bleach can keep doing damage even though you think its washed off. I would get some medical assessment if they don;t get any better though - they may be able to neutralise the burns better.

JanH · 18/09/2004 19:05

Is any of this any help?

Twiglett · 18/09/2004 20:52

message withdrawn

Ghosty · 18/09/2004 21:07

Well, he isn't that great to be honest. He got up at 1.45 this morning as the pain woke him up and he couldn't get back to sleep as he couldn't get comfortable. He ended up dozing on the sofa with his hands above his head watching Sky Sports (any excuse hey? )
I have told him he has to go to the doctor this morning ... and I think he will. Luckily our doctor is open on Sundays (big medical centre.).
We have so much to do with the house in the next couple of weeks as we are selling it so we can't afford for him to be incapacitated like this.
I am still cross with him ... but he is looking very sheepish and feels a bit silly ...

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Ghosty · 19/09/2004 02:38

I know this is terribly boring now but I thought I would post the latest update. DH went to the docs and was told that he did the right thing of rinsing his hands for 24 hours before going to the doctor. They dressed his forefinger, middle finger and ring finger on each hand and sent him home with some surgical gloves so that he could protect his fingers. He has to go back tomorrow for them to be redressed.
I have stopped being cross now and can't stop laughing at his hands ... he has big hands you see and now he has these big white sausages and he looks like a prime prat
He isn't happy with me as I keep cracking up when I talk to him.

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suedonim · 19/09/2004 15:31

Your poor dh but lol, Ghosty. Seeing as he's already wearing rubber gloves, I guess he can now do the washing up, tee hee!

pixiefish · 19/09/2004 15:36

Haven't read rest of this so sorry if someone else has said this but LAVENDER OIL is fantastic on burns- don't know about chemical burns though. A friend of mine runs a restaurant and they always have bottles of it in the kitchen for when the staff burn themselves. Get some on it straight away and send him to see GP in the am as it's chemical. Hope he's better soon

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