# Burn \[why doesn't it hurt?\] **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 26, 2016, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-why-doesnt-it-hurt/766934 "2016-09-26T15:21:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2016, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-why-doesnt-it-hurt/766934/41 "2016-09-27T05:48:46Z")
Deleted – Covered by the Pit thread. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2016, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-why-doesnt-it-hurt/766934/42 "2016-09-27T07:33:15Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I wouldn’t take medical advice from someone who can’t deduce the correct gender of a poster named “Allison”. Could be a Brit? They have a lot of male Vivians over there. Who knows about Allison. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2016, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-why-doesnt-it-hurt/766934/43 "2016-09-27T11:27:16Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Who knows about Allison. Under that party dress lies a burnt woman. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2016, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-why-doesnt-it-hurt/766934/44 "2016-09-27T11:54:56Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Under that party dress lies a burnt woman. > [@YogSothoth](#): > > No, it doesn’t make me less wrong, but it makes the statement sincere and not out of purposeful stupidity or malice. Hey, his aim was true. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2016, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-why-doesnt-it-hurt/766934/45 "2016-09-27T14:00:57Z")
I once asked a coroner what is the most painful way to die. He answered “Being burned alive.” He then said that most fire victims die of smoke inhalation, and it’s a good thing. ETA: I once spilled a pot of boiling water on my foot and went to the E/R. I am totally anti-drugs, but I ended up taking three of the dozen pain killers they gave it. Good shit. ---
**Author:** ![Allison27](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@Allison27](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Allison27)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2016, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-why-doesnt-it-hurt/766934/46 "2016-09-27T14:52:21Z")
Thank you everybody for your advice 🙂 Thats why I asked. Ive never been burned like that before so I was a bit confused as to why it didnt hurt at all. Ive taken the necessary steps and got it looked at and taken care of. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2016, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-why-doesnt-it-hurt/766934/47 "2016-09-27T15:29:57Z")
> [@Allison27](#): > > Thank you everybody for your advice 🙂 Thats why I asked. Ive never been burned like that before so I was a bit confused as to why it didnt hurt at all. Ive taken the necessary steps and got it looked at and taken care of. Hope things work out well. In the meantime, you [have a theme song!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV-7D4io1Rs) ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2016, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-why-doesnt-it-hurt/766934/48 "2016-09-27T16:46:28Z")
> [@Allison27](#): > > Thank you everybody for your advice 🙂 Thats why I asked. Ive never been burned like that before so I was a bit confused as to why it didnt hurt at all. Ive taken the necessary steps and got it looked at and taken care of. Good. What did the health professionals say? ---
**Author:** ![mistymage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mistymage/32/459_2.png) [@mistymage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mistymage)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2016, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-why-doesnt-it-hurt/766934/49 "2016-09-27T18:05:15Z")
Huhn, when my husband got a dollar coin sized 3rd degree burn on his arm (welding or torching… too long ago to remember) he came home at 1AM and asked me if he should go to the ER “but it doesn’t hurt”. I bundled up my 4 month old (it was winter in Iowa) and drove him across the river (Miss.) to the regional burn center. By the time they were done with his first cleaning he was glad for the pain killers they gave him before they started. By morning even with pain killers he was in a world of hurt. He went back I think it was once a week for a month. Each time they scrubbed his wound to remove the dead flesh. 23 years later he still has nice scar. A dollar coin sized burn vs a foot long burn? I’m surprised you are coherent enough to join a message board and ask the question. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2016, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-why-doesnt-it-hurt/766934/50 "2016-09-28T02:11:43Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Do you have leprosy? Lepers often cannot feel pain. That’s one reason they look so mutilated, they often simply cannot tell when they’re being injured and take steps to pull away. If that’s the case, aren’t we supposed to burn the rest of him?:eek: ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2016, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-why-doesnt-it-hurt/766934/51 "2016-09-28T03:44:04Z")
Unless I’m missing something, the OP describes a burn that doesn’t hurt but which leaves enough room for ambiguity to denote either a very mild burn, or an extremely severe one. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2016, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-why-doesnt-it-hurt/766934/52 "2016-09-28T04:35:35Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Nope, not clicking on that link. I did. It’s not as bad as I thought it might be. The OP needs to see a doctor. Any wound that’s a foot long needs medical attention. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2016, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-why-doesnt-it-hurt/766934/53 "2016-09-28T04:38:04Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I wouldn’t take medical advice from someone who can’t deduce the correct gender of a poster named “Allison”. “Allison” was originally a male name. It may also be a surname, street name, etc. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2016, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-why-doesnt-it-hurt/766934/54 "2016-09-28T04:42:15Z")
> [@mistymage](#): > > Huhn, when my husband got a dollar coin sized 3rd degree burn on his arm (welding or torching… too long ago to remember) he came home at 1AM and asked me if he should go to the ER “but it doesn’t hurt”. I bundled up my 4 month old (it was winter in Iowa) and drove him across the river (Miss.) to the regional burn center. By the time they were done with his first cleaning he was glad for the pain killers they gave him before they started. By morning even with pain killers he was in a world of hurt. > > He went back I think it was once a week for a month. Each time they scrubbed his wound to remove the dead flesh. 23 years later he still has nice scar. > > A dollar coin sized burn vs a foot long burn? I’m surprised you are coherent enough to join a message board and ask the question. A woman who had two young children said she’d had a 3rd degree burn over a large joint (don’t know which one or how large the burn was) and had to have physical therapy to keep the scar from solidifying and essentially paralyzing that area. She said, “I would rather have 20 babies in a row than go through something like that again.” ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2016, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-why-doesnt-it-hurt/766934/55 "2016-09-28T05:55:37Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I did. It’s not as bad as I thought it might be. > > The OP needs to see a doctor. Any wound that’s a foot long needs medical attention. She has gotten treatment. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2016, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-why-doesnt-it-hurt/766934/56 "2016-09-29T04:26:36Z")
> [@Allison27](#): > > Thank you everybody for your advice 🙂 Thats why I asked. Ive never been burned like that before so I was a bit confused as to why it didnt hurt at all. Ive taken the necessary steps and got it looked at and taken care of. Glad to hear it. Best wishes. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2016, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-why-doesnt-it-hurt/766934/57 "2016-09-29T17:07:40Z")
> [@Allison27](#): > > Thank you everybody for your advice 🙂 Thats why I asked. Ive never been burned like that before so I was a bit confused as to why it didnt hurt at all. Ive taken the necessary steps and got it looked at and taken care of. OK – I probably shouldn’t ask but ----------- details? I’m curious just how bad of a burn it actually was. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2016, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-why-doesnt-it-hurt/766934/58 "2016-09-29T17:10:27Z")
I felt the Bern. And it didn’t hurt me, either. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2016, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-why-doesnt-it-hurt/766934/59 "2016-09-30T19:13:50Z")
> [@harmonicamoon](#): > > I felt the Bern. And it didn’t hurt me, either. Yes, I too have been moved by the Swiss capital. ---
**Author:** ![OleOneEye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f14d63/32.png) [@OleOneEye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OleOneEye)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2016, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-why-doesnt-it-hurt/766934/60 "2016-10-01T00:07:24Z")
We’re not going to get a proper resolution to this story, are we? On an unrelated note, I remember a PSA from my childhood in which a clown told us that arson victims don’t die laughing. (Why oh why did my mind go there when I heard a story about an accidental burn?) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-why-doesnt-it-hurt/766934.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-why-doesnt-it-hurt/766934.md?page=4)