Possible burn remedy to share

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ The Iguana Forum ] [ FAQ ]

Posted by Diana on April 11, 2001 at 00:59:16:

Hi All,
I just thought I'd pass on a little anecdotal story and home-remedy which works amazingly well for burns...(both in humans and in reptiles)

Bobbit got a burn on his hand from climbing onto the metal housing of his ceramic heat emiter (150 watt) when we very first got him. (I *did* have the actual heating element covered with hardware cloth which was screwed to the metal dish part so he nor Habib could touch it, but he still somehow climbed up onto the metal dish part which houses the unit and he got burned anyway. We have done away with the unit now, don't worry. It's gone. I felt so bad that it happened.)

Anyway, his hand looked blue for a day or so, and then it opened up and was more like a pinkish sore, so I took him to the vet and she said that the burn was quite deep and that it would take anywhere from 4 to 6 months to heal. She also said he might not ever get his scales back on that area. She said to expect very slow healing because he's cold blooded, and then she put him on antibiotics and told me to clean it daily and keep silvadene cream (silver sulfadiazine) on it.

I brought him home and began his treatment, just like the vet had said to do. I followed her perscription for about two weeks, and it started to look a tiny bit better, but it really wasn't progressing very much at all. It just seemed to stay raw and red.

It was then that I remembered back to my childhood when at age 8, I was severely burned across most of my face in a cooking accident. The doctors said that the burn across my face was so bad that I would positively have to have plastic surgery once I was 18 to rid my face of the horrible scars that would enividably follow. Then my mom heard about the healing power of the Aloe Vera plant and began cutting off leaves from the plant and actually taping them to my face each night before bed. To our amazement, my face healed very quickly and I never had to have plastic surgery. I don't have one trace of a scar, either.

I began applying this same treatment to Bobbit's hand twice a day--along WITH what the vet said to do. PLEASE NOTE: I am NOT saying don't go to the vet, or to ignore what your vet tells you to do if your iguana gets thermal burns, but only telling you what has worked very well in addition to what the vet proscribes.

How did it turn out? Well, I am happy to say that Bobbit's hand healed in four-and-a-half *weeks*--not months. It looks great! I cannot believe how well it has healed!

I just cut a small portion of the aloe vera leaf off each day, smeared some of the clear gel onto his burn, and occasionally, left a gooey chunk of plant material right on the burn until it dried right onto the wound. He didn't seem to mind a bit. I did it right after washing the sore with the blue Nolvasan liquid the vet gave me, and after his bath so his skin was moist and receptive to the aloe vera. It worked so well. I am very pleased.

I just thought I'd pass along this home remedy since it has done wonders for his hand and could possibly benefit other burned iguanas. Hope it can help someone out there...Please just remember to see your vet first, and to do what he/she tells you to do in addition to using the natural healing properties of the aloe vera plant.

Happily Healed Head Bobs From Bobbit (and Diana)

Follow Ups:

and ... iZ's mom 04/11/01 (0)
Thanks for the reminder ..... Mr. D 04/11/01 (1)
- To Mr. D Diana 04/11/01 (0)

Post a Followup

Name:
E-Mail:

Subject:

Comments:
: Hi All, : I just thought I'd pass on a little anecdotal story and home-remedy which works amazingly well for burns...(both in humans and in reptiles) : Bobbit got a burn on his hand from climbing onto the metal housing of his ceramic heat emiter (150 watt) when we very first got him. (I *did* have the actual heating element covered with hardware cloth which was screwed to the metal dish part so he nor Habib could touch it, but he still somehow climbed up onto the metal dish part which houses the unit and he got burned anyway. We have done away with the unit now, don't worry. It's gone. I felt so bad that it happened.) : Anyway, his hand looked blue for a day or so, and then it opened up and was more like a pinkish sore, so I took him to the vet and she said that the burn was quite deep and that it would take anywhere from 4 to 6 months to heal. She also said he might not ever get his scales back on that area. She said to expect very slow healing because he's cold blooded, and then she put him on antibiotics and told me to clean it daily and keep silvadene cream (silver sulfadiazine) on it. : I brought him home and began his treatment, just like the vet had said to do. I followed her perscription for about two weeks, and it started to look a tiny bit better, but it really wasn't progressing very much at all. It just seemed to stay raw and red. : It was then that I remembered back to my childhood when at age 8, I was severely burned across most of my face in a cooking accident. The doctors said that the burn across my face was so bad that I would positively have to have plastic surgery once I was 18 to rid my face of the horrible scars that would enividably follow. Then my mom heard about the healing power of the Aloe Vera plant and began cutting off leaves from the plant and actually taping them to my face each night before bed. To our amazement, my face healed very quickly and I never had to have plastic surgery. I don't have one trace of a scar, either. : I began applying this same treatment to Bobbit's hand twice a day--along WITH what the vet said to do. PLEASE NOTE: I am NOT saying don't go to the vet, or to ignore what your vet tells you to do if your iguana gets thermal burns, but only telling you what has worked very well in addition to what the vet proscribes. : How did it turn out? Well, I am happy to say that Bobbit's hand healed in four-and-a-half *weeks*--not months. It looks great! I cannot believe how well it has healed! : I just cut a small portion of the aloe vera leaf off each day, smeared some of the clear gel onto his burn, and occasionally, left a gooey chunk of plant material right on the burn until it dried right onto the wound. He didn't seem to mind a bit. I did it right after washing the sore with the blue Nolvasan liquid the vet gave me, and after his bath so his skin was moist and receptive to the aloe vera. It worked so well. I am very pleased. : I just thought I'd pass along this home remedy since it has done wonders for his hand and could possibly benefit other burned iguanas. Hope it can help someone out there...Please just remember to see your vet first, and to do what he/she tells you to do in addition to using the natural healing properties of the aloe vera plant. : Happily Healed Head Bobs From Bobbit (and Diana)

Optional Link URL:
Link Title:
Optional Image URL:

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ The Iguana Forum ] [ FAQ ]