Wednesday, December 12, 2007

I Learned Something New Today

Did you know that if you get Drano on your hands, it burns? But you won't notice the burn for a few hours because alkaline burns sink in deep before they burn you. So once you do notice the burn, there's not a whole lot you can do about it. If you know you've touched Drano, you should rinse it off well with water and then rinse it in vinegar to neutralize it. You should rinse it for several minutes.

Around noon yesterday, Abby washed her hands in my sink that I'd just poured Drano into. Then around 8:00 last night, she started complaining of this sore spot on her hand. 8 HOURS LATER! I called poison control like the bottle told me to, and they said there's not a whole lot I could do for it besides watch it in case it gets worse. Alkaline burns can keep getting worse for several hours because they penetrate deep and kill tissue. It doesn't look like much now, but last night it was weepy and raw and even looked a little bruised and gray. And it sure caused a ruckus around here. Even little burns hurt a lot, especially to a 6 year old.




The first picture above is about 20 hours after she first got Drano on her hand. The second picture is about 30 hours after, and it's gotten significantly worse. At least it's not hurting her anymore unless you touch it, but it kind of freaks me out!

10 comments:

Celia Fae said...

But I'm not laughing.

Poor kid. Guess I'll have to stop bathing mine in Drano.

Sheryl said...

I think you or Carol warned me about the Mr Clean magic erasers...they can leave burns on your skin also. I don't remember if you use them or not, but I knew a girl whose kids used them to get marker off himself, and several hours later he has horrible burns all over his arms.
I hope Abby's doing better!

mamasuisse said...

How old was the kid? It says right on the package "DO NOT USE ON SKIN"!

mamasuisse said...

Abby is doing much better. After all of the screaming and carrying on the night before, she woke up this morning and answered that same question, "What burn? Oh yeah."

Monkey said...

Sheryl and Dave, to answer your question, I'm guessing it was either a little kid who doesn't know hot to read, or a teenager who thinks he/she is tough enough to last through it, either way is sad and pitiful.

Paige said...

I think it doesn't hurt anymore because all the nerves are dead. Poor thing. Next time make your husband snake it!

Heather said...

Poor little thing. I never would have known that.

Burns are the worst.

Marisa said...

I am so glad you posted this. That is so good to know!

Courtney said...

Yikes! Poor girl. And, yes, thank you for posting this. So informative. That's crazy about the Magic Eraser burning. Its never crossed my mind, and I use it without gloves. Not on myself, mind you. But now I'm going to start noticing if I'm getting a reaction.

Liz said...

Poor Abby! Burns are horrible - they're right up there with stubbed toes and paper cuts.