Not witnessing a burned victim, but being burned yourself on the back. So obviously I can't describe using visual adjectives and phrases, like "charred" or "blackened". So I need to describe that feeling. Has anyone here ever been burned before? So does anyone know what it feel like to be burned? How do you describe that? I've heard all sorts of things: you don't feel anything afterwards, you feel numb if you're heavily burned...etc
Burned as a child here—right calf. I unwittingly stood by a plumber's blowtorch till my nylon pants caught fire (no lie). While my clothing was eventually 'torn' away (the scene would have gone dark web viral if phones had been about back then (picture pants clasped by man strength elasticated braces ), every time the flaming material was pulled away (by my rescuer) at panic speed, so did it spring itself back on account of Hooke's Law). To the pain thereafter: it was akin to being stung, or being pinched by some strong-arm fella using the fiercest pliers. And that pain remaining so intense that I attempted to run away from it—yet if followed on regardless/relentless wherever I tried to hide. Good thing is—it wasn't severe damage, worst pain (I'm told) is at the outset—nerves survived—it looked the part though blistered and peeled, the edges of the peel actually black. Great wound care from the medi-people looking after me mind. Only evidence later in life was mild pitting and that no hair grew in the spot where the flame had been focused.
So afterwrds are you able to move that burned calf at all? Or does everyone movement cause you pain so you couldn't move? How long did it take to heal? Does the "flesh melt against your clothes" like a lot of people said?
What type of burn are we talking about? How severe and how extensive is it? This will radically change the 'feeling' of the burn. Also, a similar thread has already been posted which you may be interested in perusing. https://www.writingforums.org/threads/burns-treatment-complications-and-disabilities.157716/#post-1662543
As mentioned clothes were whipped away pronto, the wound was on the outside middle of my calf a place where skin doesn't really flex. I was hindered greatly by the dressing though, changed often and routinely to prevent scarring it ran tight from ankle to thigh and peg-legged me for about 6 weeks. It was overkill but I was a boy and they must've wanted to keep me pretty.
You can normally function entirely with burns. It just hurts because you a moving delicate skin. You probably don't want to however unless you're hopped up on oxycodone and/or diamorphine (heroin). Okay, so you probably don't need to go that that extreme, but you get the idea. Moving hurts. There are different types of burns and each feel differently. 1st degree is the lightest and goes to 3rd degree, where the entirety(?) of the skin in the affected area has been burned. Not a medical professional, but I get injuries often (cuts, burns, etc...). You pick up on some of the lingo...
When you said "you can normal function" does it also apply to third degree burn? In the picture it seemed like the person was able to flex their hand despite the giant burn mark in their palm...
Like your back caught on fire. Like a fireball hitting your back. The entirety of your back. From the top of your spine to the bottom. I guess it's a second degree burn? Would that render the victim's capability to move their limbs? Or their head? Or since it's just on their back they can move other parts of their body without any issues? Thanks for the link. I read through that thread but they only talked about the treatment, not the actual feeling of suffering from the burn.
The feeling at the time? Pain and lots of it. A horrible, searing pain that your body is convinced is going to kill you right now and the urge to get away from the source can completely overwhelm everything else, even pushing out thoughts that would save your life, like 'I should probably take off the burning jacket'. It's not easy not to lose your head when you're burning. Sometimes it seems it can get so bad that a person's mind can just go 'right, that's enough of that, I'm off' and you'll see them just walking along or standing there in flames. Afterwards it depends on the severity of the nerve damage and what kind of treatment they received. From third degree burns you would have quite extensive scarring that might slightly impede the mobility of the arms and neck and the area might be largely numb. From second degree burns you'll have some scarring, with the skin being pinker, hairless and too smooth, rather than the more grisly scars you get with third degree and the nerves will probably have recovered unless it was a deep-thickness burn. I've been lucky enough to never get more than very minor burns, but I've known a few guys pick up some gnarly scars from burns, including one guy who didn't notice that the way he was holding the hose was creating a puddle around him until he lost his balance and put his knee in half an inch of boiling water. Our gear will keep radiated heat and even actual fire away from you, but water soaks into the material, turns to steam and gets you that way.
Thanks for the information. So basically you lose your mind when you're been burned. It hurts so much that you can't even think logically...
That depends how good you are with pain. I got burned once before (gasoline burn) and whilst the pain was there, i did not loose my mind and I could still function and think. But then again, I am some that actually enjoys pain (to a certain extent) - i find it strangely amusing and helps my focus.
