Burn

Burned my hand today. Not seriously, mild first degree burn, one large, superficial blister that popped almost immediately. Went to New Seasons on Cedar Hills Boulevard to join my friends for our regular Thursday lunch. Went to the coffee bar for a cup of tea. Asked the young woman working there for a large cup for tea. She fills a cup with hot water and double cups it because it is really hot. When she hands it to me it sloshes over the edge and splashes the back of my hand. Yowzer! Set it down. Did not yell. My hand cools down almost immediately. Get a tea bag, put it in the cup, put a lid on, take my sandwich and tea to the check stand, set them down and ask for the restroom. Go soak my hand in cold water. Hard to get enough water in the sink to cover my hand. Water is really cold though which is good. Spend a couple of minutes doing this, then join my friends at their table.

At this point I do not know what to do. Should I go to the emergency room? Go back to work? Call my doctor and see if he can see me this afternoon? I knew enough to put cold water on it, but after that I am not really sure what to do.

Don runs off and buys a bottle of Aloe Vera concentrate and brings it back. I decide I better talk to a manager, maybe they have some first aid stuff. I go look for a manager. Can't find one so I stop at a different (coffee?) bar at the front of the store and ask for one. Nice lady there makes a call, and gets me some ice in a zip lock bag and a towel. A couple of managers show up, one takes my name and number, the other gets some gel and bandages. We sit down at a table and the woman manager applies the gel and bandages my hand. Tells me about the time she burned her foot with oil while wearing nylons. Gives me confidence that she knows what she is doing. The gel contains lanocaine, so it offers some relief. Ask the other manager type to check on their tea procedure. I spend the rest of the lunch hour listening to my friends and alternately applying the bag of ice to the back of my hand and the underside of my wrist. When I leave I notice people drinking tea out of large glass mugs with handles. Go home, call into work, take some Tylenol, eat lunch and take a short nap.

I take my truck to pick up my

Friday, eight days later.

I don't what I was picking up, looks like Google lost some of my original posting. Oh well.

I had a hard time going back to the coffee bar today where I burned my hand last week.

Turns out it is not a first degree burn, it is a second degree burn and it is really ugly. It does not really hurt, and it has not impeded my ability to do anything. For instance I can still type, well, as well as I ever could. It is a nuisance. I have to be careful not to bang it into anything, and I have to bandage it every day. I left it open one day to air out and it dried out so much it started to hurt. So now I take the bandage off after I shower (it really does not like hot water), let it air out for half an hour or so, and then bandage it again. The bandage stays on for the whole day until I take it off again the next morning. So the bandage serves three purposes: it keeps the wound from drying out too much, it protects it from incidental contact, and it conceals it from view. It is really ugly. The blister turned into dead skin and sloughed off the day after the it happened, which left a raw spot about the size of a quarter. The whole back of my hand, an area about three inches in diameter has turned dark red and is now starting to peel, like a sunburn.

I tried using the Aloe Vera that Don bought for me, but you cannot use it on an open wound, and I have not been worried about the rest of it. And it is a thin liquid. I kind of doubt swabbing the injured area once a day will have much effect. But I may start using it this weekend. Turns out you can drink the stuff. I tried a shot last Sunday and it gave me indigestion. Maybe if I started with a sip and worked up I would tolerate it better. Lot of hassle, and it does not taste like chocolate cake.

Last weekend I was pretty wiped out. I think the burn kind of knocked me down for a couple of days. I have been thinking about compensation, but I am not sure how much to ask for, it any. I do not want to go to a lawyer, or even an arbitration hearing. I would like to think that if I asked for a reasonable amount, New Seasons would gladly pay up. But just what would be a reasonable amount?

On the other hand, I have been getting a lot of mileage out of this. Everyone I talk to wants to know what happened, and about half the time I am repaid with a story about how they were burned once upon a time. So far it has been mostly legs and feet. Some very unpleasant to hear about, but totally invisible. No indication in their appearance or manner that they suffered from such an accident. Other than the ones who are crazy of course, and that may not have anything to do with the burn.

Most mornings I leave the house with my hand unbandaged, letting it air out. When I get wherever I am going, I ask whoever is there to give me a hand wrapping the tape around it. Everyone I have asked has helped, some slightly reluctantly, others without any qualms.