I burned myself with a soldering iron

Thread Starter

Bad Plum

Joined Jun 22, 2015
4
Today I was using my soldering iron and I moved my left hand and touched it by accident when I was desoldering. (I know it was stupid) It hurt for a while and I had my burnt thumb under cold water for 5 minutes. The burn made my skin turn white and I put on a band-aid. 30 minutes later I noticed it didn't hurt anymore and the white skin became a white blister. Should I do anything else to treat it? It currently feels a little numb but nothing to bad. I also applied solar Cain (again, I don't know why I thought that would do anything xD) I never burned myself before with a soldering iron and it would be nice toknow if I should do anything else. Thanks!
 

Wendy

Joined Mar 24, 2008
23,415
He had a post in both, I picked this to stay.

It does seem to be one of the early learning experiences a lot of us go through with this hobby/profession.
 
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Lestraveled

Joined May 19, 2014
1,946
1989, working on a prototype after hours, scope probe in one hand, soldering iron (pin) in the other, almost empty Lowenbrau next to the scope. So focused on the issue that when I moved the probe to the other hand, instead of putting the soldering iron into the holder I moved it to the other hand and.......................yup, you guessed it......................... the hot part in between the ring and index finger of my left hand. H**** M******* F******* did that hurt. Took a couple of weeks to heal.

I suggest Blistex or an antibiotic ointment like neosporin.
 

ErnieM

Joined Apr 24, 2011
8,377
Basically you have a boo-boo that will heal itself.

Should the area get warm to the touch and remain red, or the red start to spread then go see a doctor. That's cellulitis (an infection under the skin) and can get pretty serious, but I only mention it so you should know about it.

I never knew about it until I was sitting in a doctor's office asking "should this be getting warm and red like this?" "This" was my elbow which banged into a propane touch as I was exiting underneath my kitchen counter after completing a minor repair job.

Had I gone to the doc at first symptom it would have been a bottle of antibiotics. By waiting a few days to see if it would get better landed me in the hospital for 4 days with a 104 fever.

http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/tc/cellulitis-topic-overview
 

Thread Starter

Bad Plum

Joined Jun 22, 2015
4
Haha Ya, I didn't know what forum to place the thread. :p Thanks LesTraveled and Wendy. I'll be sure to get Blistex to help out the little burn.
 

#12

Joined Nov 30, 2010
18,224
As in palid or dessicated (i.e. pyrolysed)?
Dessicated.
I recommend Nupercainal Ointment. It will numb the area half an inch deep and last 4 or 5 hours per application. Just don't tell anybody Nupercainal Ointment is supposed to be for hemorrhoids. :eek:

ps, it works well for sunburn, too. Cut it ten to one with Vaseline Petroleum Jelly and apply generously. :p
 

dl324

Joined Mar 30, 2015
16,839
You live and learn. I burned myself with a soldering iron about 35 years ago and haven't had a mishap since. Probably just jinxed myself:rolleyes:...
 

Allenph

Joined May 27, 2015
76
When I was very young I used to make REALLY simple "robots" out of switches, batteries and motors. I was under the impression that one generously applied solder to the iron, and applied it to the wires or leads you wished to connect. (Don't do this. :)) Long story short, one day I had a large glob of solder on the iron, and moved it towards the wires I intended to connect and it dripped onto the center of my hand.

As to avoid getting in trouble, I spent the next twenty minutes trying to remedy the situation myself by using tweezers to remove the ball of led which had embedded itself into the subcutaneous fascia of my hand. Now I know this was an exceedingly bad burn (I've done some research and it's actually amazing that molten lead was able to burn as deep as it did.) because I remember not feeling it when I was digging around in the wound for the solder glob.

I have a moderately noticeable scar there, and limited sensation in that spot.

Aside from the horror stories, even with burns as severe as small third degree burns like the one I got, the main issue is infection. Your skin is VERY good at healing itself, but it can't perform the function of isolating you from the bacterial world we live in if you've completely destroyed a section of it.

In most cases you actually DO NOT want to apply ointments to burns. Neosporin and other petroleum jelly products can actually inhibit your body's burn healing process, and actually increase the risk of infection.

For small burns like yours you should avoid popping any blisters, and clean thoroughly multiple times per day with soap and water. If you feel like it, you can also slap a bandage on there even though it's better to just keep small wounds clean and avoid "suffocating" the wound. However, if the burn is somewhere that comes in contact with foreign objects, or sustains large amounts of friction you want to use a bandage or some moleskin changed and cleaned at least daily. Most bacteria that would cause you a severe infection are, to my knowledge, anaerobic ( they don't consume oxygen) so putting a bandage on does not create a bacteria-proof barrier. Rather, it traps and breeds anaerobic bacteria.

In reality, I rarely treat light burns like soldering iron burns. You'll be fine.
 

BReeves

Joined Nov 24, 2012
410
I always thought getting minor burns came with the territory. Can't count the number of times I've burnt myself, usually happens when getting in too big a hurry and holding something in place with my fingers while I solder it.

Still remember when I was a kid working on a radio with a friend, he slipped and laid a hot soldering iron on the back of my hand. Was a pretty bad burn to tender skin. His mom grabbed me and immediately put some hand soap on the burn. Have no idea what kind of soap it was but the burn quit hurting and healed really fast.
 
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