Foods to avoid after a burn injury?

12/15/2021

Foods to avoid after a burn injury?

Severe burns often leave deep scars, causing aesthetic loss, affecting the psychology of the patient. In the process of treating burns, in addition to using drugs as prescribed by the doctor, adhering to the right nutrition regimen also helps a lot for the wound healing process. So what foods should be avoided if burned?

1. How are nutrition needs determined?

This post is intended to inform people with burn injury and their families about nutrition during hospitalization and after they return home. Burn injury dramatically increases your nutrition needs. The larger the burn size, the more nutrients you need to heal. A diet high in calories and protein:

  • supports the immune system to decrease risk of infection;

  • helps wounds heal faster;

  • maintains muscle mass; and

  • minimizes weight loss to support rehabilitation.

A dietitian and the medical team decide how much nutrition (e.g., calories and protein) you need. They set your nutrition needs based on your weight, height, age, and burn size. Vitamins and minerals are also important for healing and preventing infection.

  • Vitamin C, zinc, and copper help burns heal.

  • Vitamin E, vitamin C, and selenium are antioxidants. They help to reduce the body’s stress response after an injury.

  • Vitamin C, vitamin D, and zinc help to prevent and treat infections.

If you eat a healthy, well-balanced diet, you may not need extra vitamins. Ask your doctor if you have concerns about your nutrition needs.

Foods rich in vitamin C help burn wounds heal faster


2. Foods to avoid after a burn injury?

When you have a burn injury, you should limit the following foods to help the wound heal quickly and not leave a scar:

  • Eggs: When the burn is preparing for new skin, this is the time to regenerate new skin, if we eat a lot of eggs, it will make the wound heal longer and form white scars.

  • Beef: Many studies have shown that, if you eat beef at the time when the burn begins to close, it will cause the wound to increase melanin pigment, causing the darkening to form a dark scar. Therefore, you need to limit eating beef and foods made from beef.

  • Water spinach: Water spinach helps to increase collagen fibers to help the damaged skin fill up quickly, but it will form a keloid scar that is unsightly.

  • Chicken: This food will make the wound itchy, easy to fester and swell.

  • Seafood: foods such as fish, shrimp, crab, squid can make the wound red, swollen, and itchy, so don't eat seafood if you have a burn.


3. Burn wound care by Multidex gel

Multidex is a product containing Maltodextrin and 1% ascorbic acid used in wound care. This is a product from the US that has been trusted by doctors for more than 40 years. Multidex is the solution for patients with burns, ulcers, or open wounds, Multidex helps to heal wounds, reduce pain and save a lot for patients with outstanding advantages such as:

  • Promotes growth of vascular granulation tissue, natural wound healing

  • Has a topical nourishing effect

  • Has hydrophilic properties, quickly dries the secretions in the ulcer

  • Non-toxic, not absorbed into the body

  • Odor control and purulent removal

Multidex- the optimal solution for burn wound care

Multidex has 2 dosage forms: Multidex powder and Multidex Gel.

So how to use these 2 types?

Step 1: Remove the necrotic tissue depending on the condition of the ulcer or as directed by the doctor

Step 2: Wash the ulcer with physiological saline 0.9%

Step 3: After rinsing, apply Multidex

For shallow ulcers: apply a layer about 0.6 cm thick over the entire ulcer

With deep ulcers: Fill the ulcer to the level of the skin, taking care to let the medicine penetrate all corners of the ulcer.

Step 4: Use non-stick gauze such as MultiPad, Sofsort, Covaderm Plus or Polyderm Bo