Weekend Mishap = Me as a burn victim (w/ Pics)

[LERecords]

Well.. over the weekend (sat night) I was up in VT visiting a friend and i light up a bonfire that my buddy poured about 2 gal of low octane GASOLINE.. Took a Fireball explosion to the face... I don't feel like explaining the whole setup but here are the important parts:

1. not drunk
2. there was a cove in the pile of brush that i was in front of that built up the vapors. Not the greatest place to be standing..
3. i was about a 1 foot away when I lighted it with a bic lighter
4. these are all 1st degree burns, so very lucky and will survive
5. Right arm took the brunt of the fire ball, face took the next part, left hand light the fire so it just kinda got alot too..

Not for the squeamish, and I'm not looking for sympathy.. This was all the result of STUPIDITY.. I have light hundreds of bonfires and never had a problem, but this was that one time.. If i deter one of you from making the same mistake, then awesome.. otherwise here are the pictures from 2 days after it happened..

Right Arm

Left Hand (cant get my pinkie strait due to blisters, which doc said not to pop them)

Face (notice the "cool" looking outline around my eye where I squinted really hard)

Remember: IF YOUR GOING TO PLAY WITH FIRE, DO IT IN A SAFE MANNER.. don't be a jack-a$$ like me and think you'll be just fine

 

[teeter]

Oh man... sorry to hear/see that. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Fred]

Yowzer!

From now on, I'm going to use Kerosene instead.

 

[GTPAddict]

Damn, man, that sucks. Never been burnt by fire like that, but I had my arm covered in 230* water and steam when a radiator blew. Not the same I know, but I do feel your your pain. Hope you heal up quick.

 

[marke14]

Holy sh!t dude, that looks intensely awful. I hope your recovery goes well.

 

[Erci]

Wow that's awful. Hope you heal fully and quickly.

 

[chaskell27]

Oh man I'm cringing just sitting here!! That looks awful. I hope you heal up quick and I can only imagine how painful that is and is going to be. I know it doesn't matter at this point but many of those burns, especially on the hand, look like more than a first degree burn. at least a second degree from what I've learned.

Best of luck to you in the recovery man!

 

[spock]

Thanks for being so brave and share with us your mistake as you call it.

I really wish you a speedy and successful recovery :thumbup:

 

[DefyInertia]

2 gallons! oh man, I feel for you. When I was 9 years old I had a similar incident..but it involved cans of spraypaint exploding in a fire. My shins got the worst of it...my face was mostly fine...just lost all my eyelashes etc. You must love the smell when taking a shower, yeah? I'll never forget the smell of the dead skin, cream, and burnt hair that followed me for the next few days or so.

Glad it was not worse! Must have ruined your night though.

Cheers

 

[LERecords]

ugh.. yea the smell is horrible.. just a reminder of what happened.. as for pain.. im no wussy, but taking a shower initially is bad.. then good... then when you turn off the water... otherwise its not to bad as long as i don't move around too much... the face feels more like its covered in superglue.. not fun, but getting better.. the thing that the worse is probably the fact that my lips are pealing and its hard to drink because they don't have the greatest of feeling yet but its all coming back slowly... otherwise like i said its not really that bad for pain.. im not even on any meds other than this cream you put on burns...

the doc said it was all 1st and i believe him as im no doctor or nurse.. im just trying to re-wrap it like twice a day and clean it every time.. im supposed to let it sit out like after a shower for at least 1 hour, and them more as time progresses.. Also eating very healthy with lots of fruits and vegetables.. i want to get better damn it so i can finish up the ridding season!!!

 

[Drinky]

hows the scarring at 1st degree burns? will you have burn scars across the face the rest of your life? or will it heal slowly???
sucks man, good luck recovering.

 

[LERecords]

the doc said something like 2 months and ill be fine, meaning that it will go back to my old ugly mug.. i dont really care if it took 6 months for it to all go away, as long as most of it goes away.. ill keep it updated as time goes on, but i guess with 1st deg burns, you have minimul chance for scaring as long as you take care of it...

 

[ELIZABETH]

Man, that made me cringe, too! Glad to hear you are taking good care of the burns. (Infection is a main concern with burns.) Looks very painful. I hope you heal up quickly.

 

[Wh0M3]

Sorry to hear the story, I play with fire all the time and end up with a few singed hairs at times, nothing like what you have. Heal up Quick, I wish you the best!

 

[Dave.TX]

Ouch! Get well soon, brother.

 

[skooter65]

Damn man! I hope you heal up soon. I must say, you have made me rethink my typical bon-fire starting methods.

 

[FIZZER6]

Wow man! That is insane! I have always used matches to light gasoline soaked bon fires for this very reason...you can throw a match!

This summer a buddy of mine almost had the same thing happen, we used about 1 gallon of OLD gasoline to soak a bon fire pile and old gasoline is hard to light but once it lights it is borderline explosive! it singed his leg hair off but he did not get skin burns since he used a match and was 3' from the pile.

Heal up!

 

[rsw81]

the doc said something like 2 months and ill be fine, meaning that it will go back to my old ugly mug.. i dont really care if it took 6 months for it to all go away, as long as most of it goes away.. ill keep it updated as time goes on, but i guess with 1st deg burns, you have minimul chance for scaring as long as you take care of it...

Yeah, you're lucky they are only 1st degree burns. You're doctor has made good recommendations to you. The skin will heal slowly as long as you take good care of it and avoid popping any blisters. Remember, you skin is the biggest defense you have against infection, and popping those blisters will only allow infection to enter your system, cause inflammation, which then leads to scarring.

 

[CanadianFZ6]

I am laughing... I shouldn't be, but I am..... Who would have thunk that gasoline to help start a fire would be a problem...:BLAA:

Seriously though... Heal fast....

 

[wolfe1down]

You are exceptionally lucky that you "got away" with only 1st degree burns. It could have been a lot worse, especially had you inhaled in surprise when the fireball ignited. You would then have burned your airways and possibly into your lungs as well!

Don't pop the blisters (as has already been mentioned), keep all the burns clean and dry, and don't do anything 'dirty' until you are scabbed over completely. The arm and face don't look too bad (I'm sure they hurt like hell), but the hand has a chance of developing serious infection if some of those big blisters open up...

Good luck healing, and hopefully you can get a helmet and gloves on soon!