burnwounds: natural and/or primitive treatment

Hi all,

I'm working in a novel wherein one of the characters gets severely burned by fire while being in the midst of nature. So, since he is far away from the 'civilised' world, he needs to tend to these wounds with natural means, available in the immediate surroundings. My quesntion is thus: which material and techniques can he use?

For clearity about his situation, I describe here what the character has been going through (since the book is not in english, this is not a part of the book, but just a situational scetch) :

He is in a campement with rudimentary wooden shacks. while wondering through nature, he got himself in this place, which is inhabited by a rough gang that lives from robbery of nearby towns. apparently these towns have organised themselves, since suddenly the campement is being attacked, with bullets flying everywhere. The character dives under one of the shacks, where he previously made a hollow wherein he's been keeping dried meat, a knife and so as preparation to escape the place.
He digs himself in. One of the tugs tries to pull him out to use the hiding place for himself, but gets a bullet and dies. The character then takes the rifle the tug had with him, takes it apart, drags the body over him, and covers himself as best as possible with the claylike soil. He uses the barrel of the gun to breath through.
At some point the shack falls apart above him, ripping the barrel out of his mouth, thereby wounding his lips. he is without breath, panicks, searches and finds the barrel again and takes a strong suck of air, only to find that the barrel got filled with hot ashes, burning the inside and outside of his mouth. he stays under for about 12h to make sure that he will not be shot.
He reappears by pushing the coaled, stenching body above him away, and crawls out of the clay. but his clothes have been partly burned in the clay, so they get ripped off his body, opening the 2th degree burnwounds on his skin.
It is close to winter, and he's far away from any town he can show himself without getting shot before questions asked.

So, I guess I should first ask about opinions whether this situation is not to harsh to make his survival plausible? Secondly; what techniques and materials he might use to survive, and 3th; what sort of consequences this ordeal could have, both those that dissapear after time, and those that might be permanent.

I'm aware that It is quite a lot I ask, and that it probably needs some time to 'grow' into his situation, but thorough comments to help me make the situation more realistic are very much apreciated. (might even mention you in a thankword if the book gets published!)

greatings,
Guf.

severely burned is a tough one but for minor burns I use balsam pitch.

Since your a writer check this out its an opportunity to write...http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...-Introductions

Ice or ice water, or possibility cold water help with blistering...might be hard to come by in the wilderness.

For more severe burns, fresh eggwhites. Unlike a lot of burn treatments that are for 1st and 2nd degree only, this is actually safe on 3rd degree burns, so long as the burn isn't too deep, and the immune system isn't compromised.

PS: dear OP, you might want to take a grammar-checker to your work, but I know how it can be for writers sometimes :p

You need to define what "severely" means. Is that 2nd degree over 20% of his body or something else?

I don't see the situation as plausible. You said he took the rifle apart. So he sat there taking a part a gun with bullets flying around his head? Also, he was able to lay in smoldering ashes hot enough to burn his clothing and skin for 12 hours? In a case like that I would expect to see severe 2nd degree burns with a high likelihood of 3rd degree burns. Most ember burns result in an immediate mild 2nd degree burn, so extended periods of exposure will cause at least that much damage.

I would say this is a bit extreme to survive. You have open wounds exposed to not only dirt, but foreign bodily fluids (you don't say where the other guy was shot), for an extended amount of time without dressing or cleansing. I agree with Rick though, you need to be more specific as to the extent of his burns. The wounds first need to be cleaned and dressed.

Thanks for civilising me :yes:. I've just introduced myself.

Thanks for the eggwhites, that's useable for sure.

... and to your PS; I've learned myself English and my novel will be written in Flemish -- which is similar to Dutch, but than again, it isn't.

Well Rick, I want the situation to be severe enough to be dramatic, but stil plaussible to survive. I will adjust the ordeal the character is going trhough entirely on this plaussibility.

Hi JP Greco, thanks for your extensive answer. You are being of great help. It definitely would help me further, if you would spend some more of your time on this.

First of all, thanks for pointing out that the taking apart of the rifle needs some more clarification. The way I imagin it, is that he takes it apart while laying under the shack. I'll adjust the text so this fact becomes clear.

What I deduce from your answer is that it would help a lot if his burns where limited to 2nd degree, no?
Would you think, that this could be the case if he stays under for only a couple of hours instead of the 12 it is now? And if the smoldering ashes would for the larger part fall on top of the dead man above him, and on the clay/soil he has covered himself with?

I must admit that I did not think for a second about the bodily fluids of the dead man on top of him. Would you say that it is enough if there where a river in the imediate viscinity? (And would the cleanliness of its water be approved if it would be fast-running?) and if he uses the water, should he boil it before rinsing his wounds? Or are there other possibilties apart from water to clean the wounds?.
In your opinion, what would be the "cleanest" place the man could have been shot to death?

And if all these points are met: how does he need to dress his wounds?
And after how manyy time will he be able to travel minor distinces?

I'm aware that I ask a lot, but please, this is of great help.
Also other forum members, your contributions are highly appreciated. Thanks.

It also matters where his burns are. If the extremities are involved then either walking or doing much of anything with your hands is going to be severely limited. If it's on the trunck then it may prevent him from moving at all. Remember that burns will crack when stretched so movement is restricted. Also, remember that the skin is the largest organ in the body and a severe burn not only sets your character up for infection but also dehydration because burn wounds weep. I think I would opt for another injury if your character must be injured for the story. A burn is a pretty nasty injury where medical assistance is available. It's your novel. You don't have to lock yourself into something that requires you to agonize over.

He would need to find enough clean water to wash away the ash and dirt, then he could apply honey to his burns since it is antibacterial in nature!

I think you need to research more on the medical side. Read medical journals and stories about severe burn victims. Research the temperatures and exposures that cause varying burns. I'm not a doctor, and I'm only trained in basic first aid. 2nd degree burn has a HUGE range. Any burn that blisters is second degree. That blistering can be wide spread or smaller than a pimple. Sunburn is often 2nd degree, as are burns that completely remove the ability to walk without excruciating pain or the ability to use your hands without severe pain.

We had someone else ask about a story they were writing and IMO, was spending way too much time on a trivial aspect of their story. Whats the point of them being burned. Is it the focus or just a trial. That dictates more of the story than anything we could tell you about treating an injury. If you don't know which one it is going to be, then you need to go back to your story planning. Do you have personal experience suffering through injury you can draw on. Adrenaline is a hell of a rush and the shock that usually sets in after could kill you. If you don't know what shock is, research that as well.

Lets look at Game of Thrones (haven't read the novel). A character just received an severe injury that will redefine him as a character, or at least I expect it to. Others have been injured and treated without much comment because it doesn't matter. Not that the treatment of the first character mentioned matters much, just the concept.

What is your target demographic for your novel? Do they have the basic knowledge to treat injuries? Then you don't have to explain it to them in detail cause they will impose their own knowledge into the story, to a degree at least. I never bother wondering how someone stopped bleeding, since I usually assume cauterization and don't ask much beyond that since its that essential to the character or the story.

If it is essential to the character can you create the emotional state a severely injured/disfigured or the fear of death that they will be in for an extended period of time in your writing?



Personally, I wouldn't bother with the whole using the rifle to breath or burying himself. Both of those are superfluous actions IMO. Most people would keep the gun, even if it wasn't loaded. He's under a shack, under a body, and trying to bury himself. Well, that doesn't really work. You can't drag a body onto yourself after you've buried yourself. Where did the ash come from if he was under the shack? Not likely that a large amount would end up under there. If the shack was burning, he wouldn't survive underneath and he would have to get out immediately. I could accept him hiding under the shack and hiding the entrance with a body or him hiding under a body and pretending to be dead (actually a somewhat common concept). Then you just have to decide on how and what injury occurs. Did him and the other guy fall into a small fire pit during their struggle? Did the shack catch fire and he was burned while escaping? Define the situation and the injury's importance to the story and then you can decide if burns are reasonable or if something else should be considered. You haven't given us enough real information to formulate a complete opinion on the situation.

Danger Will Robinson! For many early years of my misspent youth, my dear Mother would put butter on my minor burns. Now I understand that is a wrong thing to do. Is it possible that my Mother and her Mother were wrong?

You don't want to put butter on burns, correct. You also don't want to put ice or ice water on burns. Cool water is best. Honey is often used and is good for burns AFTER the skin is cooled and the burning has stopped.

Thanks Rick, I'm starting to see that the burning is a bit extreme to make survival probable. Guess I've got to change the storyline. You've been of good help.

Definitely useable Wildthang. Thanks to the answers from the others I've learned that my character's ordeal has to be far less dramatic. But the honey will be part of his treatment!

Something to keep in mind, Burns are very susceptible to Infection, second and third degree because of the blistering and the depth of the burn. Burns in the mouth would need to be rinsed often with something that would help kill the bacteria in a persons mouth. There are several good references online from sources such as Mayo clinic for one, that talks about burns and treatments, Having a second or third degree burn in the wild with no real means to keep clean and treated could mean a sever infection.

JPGreco, you ever tried to write a novel yourself? You definitly have the right mindset for creating a tight story-line!
Thanks for making me realise that the situation isn't realistic. I'll bend the story to a less severe alternative. I also appreciate your comment for the necessity of further research. especially the connection between adrenaline and shock seems promising to me.
Thanks a lot!

Thanks for the correction and refinement of the honey-threatment.

Thanks for the tip. I'll check it out. The burned mouth (lips!) become a feature of this character and is interwoven throughout the book so it would be great if I could keep it. Thanks to the answers from you and the others I'll rewrite the story so the burnwounds on his body will be way less dramatic. Thanks!

Just a note: I retract what I said about egg-whites. I'm reading some sources saying its a placebo, or only treats the initial pain but increases long-term risk of infection. I do stand behind the use of honey though.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by GreatUsername

Just a note: I retract what I said about egg-whites. I'm reading some sources saying its a placebo, or only treats the initial pain but increases long-term risk of infection. I do stand behind the use of honey though.

---

Good catch, I didnt see that mentioned!!

The honey is a great idea but I doubt I would approach a beehive especially after being burned but a balsam fir is approachable LOL.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by gufghur

JPGreco, you ever tried to write a novel yourself? You definitly have the right mindset for creating a tight story-line!
Thanks for making me realise that the situation isn't realistic. I'll bend the story to a less severe alternative. I also appreciate your comment for the necessity of further research. especially the connection between adrenaline and shock seems promising to me.
Thanks a lot!

---

And please don't misinterpret my "go research elsewhere" as we/I don't want to help. As you can see here, one suggestion was already retracted. Research in as many areas from as many reputable sources is invaluable to a writer. Reading other works especially.

As for myself I dabble, writing here and there, but its not something that intrigues me. I use it more as a release when my mind is burdened. I've written a couple of random chapters, poorly, of what would be a novel if I ever were to create one, but they were used more just to release. I play with haiku's sometimes. Really though, I don't read enough to be a writer, nor is it something I'm super into. I'm not the most creative person, more logical (whichever sided brain that is), but mechanics and concepts fall under the mechanical/logical side, not the creative, so advice and help is my strong points, not being the source of the creativity. Also, I don't let anyone read anything I do write cause all of it is used more as a personal journal.

Oh, just for the record, you can peel raw potatoes, and mash them into a poltice for burns as well. It is not as antibacterial as honey, but it is definately good for burns! It has to be wrapped with clean cloths to keep it on!

Small sassafrass leaves stuffed in a sock and smashed with a hammer until slimy, apply as a poultice overnight. I grew up using it for infections and have seen it take out infections when doctors said amputation was the only solution.

aloe vera is good too, not sure where it grows wild though.

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