Oops! I burnt my leg
And I have to keep the wound exposed in order to heal well. All because I wanted an extra cup of tea.
Dear readers,
I am writing this post for you while lying half-naked on my bed with a burnt thigh. By burnt, I mean that some of the skin has peeled off, and the rest of the affected area has developed welts. The picture is worth a thousand words.
How it Happened
So the story behind this injury is more a testament to the effectiveness of the flask we use at home to keep and serve hot water than it is an accident. It's an old flask. A gift from the 10th Anniversary of Macmillan Nigeria Publishers. But trust me and my scalded leg, whatever you put in that flask will remain the same temperature for hours!
Anyway, as I was making my second cup of morning tea...
Hours after my first and not regular Lipton, but a healthy mint green tea
...to begin my morning on the right note, my hand slipped, and...
Not that I have anything against Lipton, but just in case my doctors check out this post, Let it be known that I was staying healthy.
the flask fell and dumped its (still scalding hot) contents unto my leg. I shouted and jumped up from my seat, trying to recover from the heat and figure out what to do!
First Aid Treatment
The first thing I did was rush to the fan, which was on at the time and get it blowing on my leg. But rather quickly it became apparent that this wasn’t helping enough. So since I was already drenched from the waist down, I jumped into the shower and started running cold water over my leg.
That is when the damage started to show. The skin started to peel even though the pain was reducing and after running the water on it for a few more moments, I decided that I probably needed to get a cold compress or something else. So I started heading to my parent's room... and... as fate would have it... my mom was also heading to mine.
So we met in the corridor and she immediately knew that it was a serious something (from the look of the wound). She sat me down in her room while she Googled the correct first-aid treatment. As it turned out my running cold water on it was actually the correct treatment but I needed to sustain it for about 20 minutes. So under the hose, I went again. This time for a measured 20 minutes.
Conclusion
After this, I had a shower, got dressed, and my Dad took me to a nearby Hospital to have the wound properly assessed and treated. I won't bore you with the full details of my hospital visit but basically, the doctor prescribed some medication to swallow and an ointment to be applied to the wound and asked us to come back the next day. He also insisted that I keep the wound exposed to fresh air so that it can heal quickly and properly.
We went back the next day in more appropriate clothing and with the ointment prescribed, and the nurses applied it for me. That day was today, and my further instructions are to apply the ointment 3 times daily, take my antibiotics and zinc twice a day, and keep the wound exposed to the max.
So that's my story ladies and gentlemen. Please wish me a full recovery with no terrible scars. I will keep you posted.