Is it true that burns can be cured with oil, urine or honey?

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Traditional medicine offers various options for emergency care and therapy for thermal burns - for example, use oil, honey and even urine. We decided to check if these three methods are effective.

Use uric lotions to treat burns Recommend Both units of the Russian Emergencies Ministry and bloggers on the platform "Zen". Experience of this treatment actively divided Service users questions And answers, there is a description of this method and on entertainment Portals And forums. No less popular method - use vegetable oil And dairy products. Often on the Internet you can Meet And advice Treat burns with honey.

Burns divided on chemical, radiation, electric and thermal. Also sometimes Select Burns from friction and cold burns. In this analysis, we will only talk about thermal. It is customary to divide them into four degree - depending on the severity of the lesion:

I degree: the epidermis is affected (upper layer skin), the surface has blushed and hurts;

II degree: the epidermis and partially dermis (middle layer) are affected, the skin is bright red and swollen, blisters appeared;

III degree: the two upper layers of the skin are completely affected, the deepest layer can be affected - subcutaneous tissue, the burn looks black, yellow or white, often there is no pain, since the nerve endings are also damaged;

IV degree: the deepest and most heavy burn that can cover not only all layers of the skin, but also muscles, ligaments and bones. This type of burn is potentially life -threatening.

No self -medication methods will be effective for burns III and especially IV degree, in this case necessary Seek medical help immediately. However, American burn association And WHO It is recommended to consult a doctor with any burns, regardless of their size and severity.

Oil

WHO Recommends do not use oil as first aid for burns, the same opinion adheres to And the American burn association. This Related With the fact that it can delay heat (and in the case of a burn it is important, on the contrary, to cool damaged skin), as well as contain bacteria, which in this case fall into the wound. Oil can only be Warm up situation.

As for the use of oil to care for the wound, here it can bear fruit. In 2014, researchers from the Sushzky University of Medical Sciences (Iran) conducted experiment: 60 rats were inflicted on the III degree, then they were divided into five groups and the wounds were treated with sea buckthorn oil, olive oil, and a mixture of these oils, a mixture of these oils, Sulfadiazin silver (SSD), widely used for the treatment of burns, and saline (in the control group). Within 28 days, scientists observed the healing of burns. Rats were restored the fastest, whose wounds were treated with sea buckthorn and olive oils or their mixture. This is due to the fact that sea buckthorn oil possesses antibacterial and antioxidant properties And Promotes restoration of skin tissues (due to the content of unsaturated fatty acids in it-omega-6 and omega-7). Olive oil, in turn, Contains Polyphenols (compounds with antibacterial and anti -inflammatory properties). Therefore, both separately, and together these oils were effective to accelerate the healing of burns.

In Turkey, they carried out experiment, during which argan oil was introduced into burn wounds on rats of rats. It turned out that it is really effective: compared with the control group of the wounds of rats that received injections with such oil, healed faster. However, such treatment began 24 hours after receiving a burn, and the oil was introduced subcutaneously, and not just applied to a fresh wound.

Chinese biologists Used crocodile oil (yes, it really Get it From the adipose tissues of these reptiles) in a similar experiment, but they applied the drug directly to the wound and began such treatment quickly, and not after a while. The use of crocodile oil accelerated and the treatment of burns of the II degree.

At the same time, it is worth talking about essential oils separately. Researchers from the University of Charles Wrestled (Australia) Studied Among other methods, the use of lavender essential oil for the treatment of wounds, in particular burns. They treated wounds on the backs of rats with different substances, and then compared the healing process with the control group (the burns included in the animals were not treated). Lavender oil did not show any significant effect.

Did not show the effectiveness and essential oil of tea tree - to such conclusion Scientists of the University of Queensland (Australia) came. They compared the healing of deep burns in pigs, which made dressings impregnated with this oil with a control group. It turned out that this oil did not contribute to either healing or disinfecting the wounds.

Thus, the creamy, sunflower or olive oils that are common in everyday life are not only ineffective, but also harmful to first aid for burns, and leading medical organizations do not recommend using these substances in this situation. Nevertheless, some oils (for example, olive and sea buckthorn) can be used to accelerate the healing of burns, but only when the skin has already cooled down. There are studies confirming that other much less popular oils (for example, argan and crocodile) can really accelerate healing, while essential oils (for example, lavender and tea tree) have not demonstrated any efficiency. In any case, if you are not sure of the action of a specific type of oil, it is better not to use it so as not to aggravate the injury. More unambiguous conclusions can be drawn when a larger number of quality studies will be conducted in authoritative medical organizations.

Half truth

Urine

We were not able to detect a single authoritative study that would confirm that the processing of a burn of urine has any effectiveness as first aid or therapy. In the recommendations, not a single authoritative medical organization has advice to use for burns-even I degree, when the integrity of the skin is not broken-something similar.

Exists opinionthat the urine is sterile, which means that it can be washed with burns or other wounds. However, this statement is erroneous. In the bladder (and hence in the urine) Contained A large number of bacteria, even in a healthy person, not to mention those who have various urinary tract infections. If you apply urine to an open wound or fresh burn, there is a risk of infection, so it is not only ineffective, but also dangerous.

Besides, temperature fresh urine is usually equal to body temperature, that is, 36.6–37 ° C, while The surface of the skin A few degrees are cooler. As we have already found out, the place of burn needs to be cooled, and not at all warm, so pouring a more warm liquid on burned skin is not a better idea.

Urine by 95% consists of From the water, among other components - urea, inorganic salts, creatinine. There is a study confirming that urea Maybe To contribute to the faster healing of wounds and burns, however, we are talking about the urea that was synthesized from nitrogen, hydrogen and carbon dioxide in the sterile conditions of the laboratory, and not about the human urine containing, as we have already found out, a lot of bacteria. In addition, these conclusions were published in the scientific article of 1936, and we could not find more modern authoritative studies that would confirm them.

Urea is wide Used in renovation cosmetics as a moisturizing agent, but its Consult Do not apply to irritated skin or open wounds. Apparently, this recommendation is true for burns of the II degree and higher.

Not true

Honey

Honey has antibacterial, antioxidant And anti -inflammatory properties due to the contained in it flavonoids (Substances of plant origin, which, when consumed with food, have an antioxidant effect, reduce blood coagulation, improve metabolic processes in our body, etc.). Mayo clinic, one of the largest medical research centers in the USA, calls Effective healing of burns among the proven properties of honey. Indeed, there are some scientific research, which confirm its effectiveness in the treatment of open wounds, in particular burns.

In 2010, in the Hospital's burn center at the Pakistan artillery plant, it was held study With the participation of 150 patients with small burden. Some sections of their wounds were treated with honey, others - silver sulfadiazine (SSD). As a result, burns treated with honey healed on average in 21 days against 24 days in the treatment of SSD.

In 2020, a group of scientists from the University of Bushera (Iran) spent experiment On rabbits. They were buried, then animals were divided into four groups and in each of them they treated wounds with milk, honey, a honey-milk mixture or silver sulfadiazine. Four weeks later, doctors measured the size of the burns. The best results in the healing were shown a mixture of milk with honey, in second place was honey, in third - milk, and only in the fourth - sulfadiazin. According to scientists, such high efficiency of the honey-milk mixture was due to a combination of antibacterial and healing properties of honey with useful macroelements (primarily calcium) contained in milk, which provide cells in the affected area. In addition, milk supports the process Proliferation (that is, the formation of new cells), which is very important for tissue regeneration. The transition from the inflammatory phase to the proliferative - this is a key stage In the process of healing wounds, therefore, the anti -inflammatory properties of honey also contributed to the speedy restoration of experimental.

Scientists from the University of Malaya (Malaysia) Spent A systematic review of such studies, comparing their results and quality of evidence, and came to the conclusion that honey, apparently, is really effective for the treatment of burns.

Their New Zealand colleagues from the University of Auckland as a result of the review by them ConcludedWhich, apparently, the honey really accelerates the healing of burns, but they noted that it is probably difficult to say because of the heterogeneous nature of research and low quality evidence in most of them. To similar conclusions They came And researchers from the University of Oxford, although they noted that from the point of view of biology, the statement about the possible effectiveness of honey is believable.

A review conducted by scientists from the Institute for Medical Research of New Zealand, showedthat honey is much more effective for the treatment of surface or partial burns compared to other methods (for example, using the same silver sulfadiazin). However, for the introduction of this funds into official medical practice, scientists believe, additional studies are needed. That is, despite the fact that to confirm the clinical efficiency and introduce this method, additional studies are necessary into the protocols of the treatment of burns, there is scientific evidence that honey contributes to accelerated healing of burns. However, in all the studies we have considered, we are talking about the treatment of burns for a long time, and the burns themselves were of small severity (I - II degrees).

Unlike urine, honey in the process of treating burns will definitely not harm. At the moment, there are quite few high -quality studies confirming the clinical efficiency of this tool, however, a number of scientists call it “plausible” and even evaluate it above than in the case of other generally recognized methods of treatment. For a more accurate conclusion, additional scientific research is required.

We were not able to discover any authoritative studies regarding the use of honey as first aid for burns-as, however, to use it for these purposes from the inhabitants.

Most likely, the truth

What do our verdicts mean?

How act With burns? In the case of extensive (more than 8 cm in diameter) or deep (exciting several layers of the skin, that is, III degree and higher), doctors recommend that the medical help immediately seek medical help. Waiting for the arrival of doctors, it is recommended only to close the place of burn with gauze or clean fabric-neither to wash, nor even to smear it with anything. Further treatment should also be prescribed by a doctor.

With lighter burns (I - II degree) Recommended Immediately cool the burned area of ​​the skin under the cool (but not ice) running water. You can not pierce blisters so as not to infect the infection. It will not be superfluous to bandage the burn with a clean non -binding. It is also better to consult a doctor with such burns - he will tell you how to treat the injury.

Corrections of February 20, 2023:
1. A note has been added about the need for additional research on the use of various oils in the treatment of burns.
2. A more specific definition of flavonoids is given.
3. A note has been added about the need for further quality studies of the effectiveness of honey for the treatment of burns conducted by authoritative scientific organizations.
4. Added clarification regarding the use of honey as first aid for burns.
5. Recommendations are removed to process burns of the I - II degree moisturizing lotions.
6. Recommendations have been added to handle burns of the I - II degree to the doctor.

The previous version of the article can Read the link.

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