Nearly Instant Karma was Cooking for the weather 19

Alexis

I work in a deli department and used to work in the bakery too. My 3 worst injuries were in the bakery. Once, I backed out of the oven and bumped my elbow on the inside handle. 380 degrees. I had a quarter size burn that was nasty. I thought it was an instant blister, but I realized later that was just the initial skin loss. The blister came a little later. That was my worst burn. I get lots of little ones, but not so bad.

My worst 2 cuts were slicing french bread for garlic bread. The knives were dull and slipped. I got my index finger the first time. Sliced it pretty good, even the nail. The idea of stitches was worse than the cut, so I put lots of bandages on, and just changed them when it soaked through. No major damage, though the nerves were messed up for awhile. It took a few months for the sensations to make sense when I touched things. That was about 8 or 9 years ago, and I have a nice scar (dent) in my finger print. The following year, I did the same thing to my middle finger, but not as badly. I can barely see that scar, but only because I know where to look.

A couple months ago, I smashed my middle finger. It took over a month to mostly heal. It still has a slight lump, and itches and hurts on occasion. I probably should have gone to the doctor for that one, but by the time i realized it was worse than I thought, the cut was healed, and it was just lumpy and sore.

One note for the burns, there is a great product called Burn Jel that is excellent for burns and may be used right away. It is not an ointment, so it doesn't hold heat in. It actually has a cooling agent to help it cool down. It comes in little packets in our first aid kit at work. They always run out, so I bought my own online.

" Made specifically to relieve the pain of minor burns, this topical cooling gel contains Lidocaine. Burn Jel cools the burn, soothes the skin & eases pain upon application. Draws the heat out of the wound and begins dissipating it on contact. "

It is available online with many stores. I believe Amazon.com has it now. I bought a 4 oz squeeze bottle that is still over half full a year later (it's good for 5 years). I have used it for myself at work many times, and also for my coworkers. They know I carry it in my backpack, so they tell me when they get burned. Once, my sister dropped a hot iron and she tried to grab it by relfex. She used it for 3 days on a bad burn on her palm.

I also bought a 6 pack of little packets. They are intended for one use each, but I save them and finish them off. It's nice because I can carry one in my camera bag. Because it has lidocaine, it's good for stings of small cuts, and would also work with a rug/cement burn. And I have found it useful for headaches in a pinch. My headaches are helped with a cold pack, so I can use the burn jel for 10-15 minutes of relief because of the cooling agent. Helps when I am waiting for the tylenol to kick in.

I would highly recommend keeping this product in your kitchen for instant burn relief.