Burnt arm- advice.

[JuicyDrop]

Cooking a roast dinner and have burnt my arm on the oven- went to take the cauliflower cheese out and nearly dropped it. Reflexes took over and in trying to catch the said cauliflower I’ve hit my arm on the top of the oven and I’m now left with this burn.
There was no pain at all initially but an hour later it is now really stinging. Done the running under cold water etc but pain no better an hour later- in fact it’s worse.
A quick Google has told me that the NHS advise that any burn with white skin should be seen in a&e but I’m not sure if that’s a little overkill as it’s a relatively small burn.
What should I do? We do have a minor injuries unit in town but they often just send you to a&e anyway which is half an hour away for us.

I’d go and get a hydrocolloid dressing from the pharmacy tomorrow. Ask their advise too

I’d be inclined to take some pain killers, back under cold water for 10 mins and monitor it.
Dont be tempted to put any creams on it, and keep clothes etc from rubbing on it.
Don’t pop any blisters that may form as you can introduce infection.
If it gets worse, then minor injuries or GP as it may need a dressing on it.

Can you see an OOH pharmacist or GP? Is it blistering?

I had a similar sized one from a motorbike exhaust which blistered. It needed to be checked by a nurse, hydrocolloid cover and back again a few days later for a final check.

The pain shows you haven't destroyed the nerve endings, which is positive. It does look quite bad, though.

I would put a dressing on it - lint free bandage, rather than a plaster, because you don't want anything sticking to it.

But I think you should get it looked at. Whether I'd go tonight might, in all honesty, depend on how easy it is to get to A&E. It's probably okay now, it's tomorrow and the days after it will need more protection.

It may well blister - it’s starting to look like it might but no actual blister yet. I will monitor it over the next few hours and see how it goes.
I’m happy to go OOH provision if needed but I’ve got a four year old at home with me and don’t drive which causes some issues.

I did the exact same thing a couple of weeks ago. Initially ran it under cold water then over the next few days I applied Savlon several times a day until it completely scabbed over. It's left a scar but it's now completely healed over. In my opinion I don't think you need to go to A and E
( but I'm no medic).

No, I was of the same opinion to be honest. We spent 6 hours in a&e on Friday night with my step son so would rather avoid that again if possible.
I’ll go to the chemist tomorrow and see if they can suggest anything.

Ouch! I burnt my arm once and the nurse at the hospital told me to wrap it in cling film. Apparently the lack of oxygen makes it a lot less painful and it worked. I think it looks painful but okay otherwise.

I've burnt myself like that a few times, it never occurred to me to go A&E. Just cold water for 10-15 minutes and monitor at home.

You need to run it under cool of lukewarm water for far longer than you think 20mins is recommended. It does look pretty sore but I don’t think it needs any immediate medical intervention.
dont put any creams on it just now as they trap in any residual heat.
cover it with a loose, non stick dressing and see how you feel in the morning. If it does blister/burst/becomes an open wound let your local pharmacist have a look at it.
to stop scarring, keep it from drying out, hydrocoloid dressing might help
something like ibuprofen alternated with paracetamol might help a bit with the stinging

Yeah just keep an eye on it. Mine stung for about 2 days then it was only really painful if I touched it. Just watch out for it smelling bad, oozing or spreading redness. Mine had some redness just slightly around the outside of it for a few days but think that was probably normal for a heat injury.

I’ve done the same. Aloe Vera gel then a layer of cling film to keep it moist. Then an ice pack or bag of frozen peas on top if needed. And take an ibuprofen to take the edge off.

then it will better by tomorrow

I did the same thing last week. I've been applying Aloe Vera gel regularly and it's healing well.

Thank you for everyone’s advice.

it’s still quite sore this morning when touched but not blistered or anything. It looks less angry as well today.
I need to head to the chemist today anyway to pick up a prescription so I’ll see if I can get some stuff to help but it certainly feels better today already.

DH burnt his arm quite badly on the bbq a couple of years ago, reaching round the side of it, it a moment of stupidity. It was a similar size and on the more delicate underside of his forearm. We used hydrocolloid dressings, and some honey impregnated gauze and it healed really well. If I recall, he popped to the minor injuries unit just to check on it a couple of days in, as we were a bit worried about it and they were quite happy.