Field Notes: "We are, in so many ways, extraordinarily frail creatures"
Plus, what not to put on minor burns & a lovely illustration by Charlotte Ager
Hello, dear friends! If you are new here, welcome! Each Wednesday (more or less) I share Field Notes, 3 interesting things I’ve run across lately related to illness and wellness. This week: one from my own mishap in the kitchen, one little nudge, and finally, reflections from a psychiatrist on the most important thing he’s learned in his years of practice.
1} Something surprising: What not to put on minor burns
Last week, I was cooking dinner and moving around pans on the stove. I reached for one of the handles and then immediately yelped — OUCH! I had forgotten that this particular skillet had been in the oven for 30 minutes.
After running my fingers under cold water for many minutes, I thought there might be something to put on the burn (petroleum jelly? butter??) but couldn’t pull that information from the recesses of my brain.
Well, after reading a while, I learned that cold water is the best first-line treatment for minor burns, and actually, do not put any of those things on a minor burn at the outset.
Here’s a rare note of clear journal writing in BMJ about this very confusion, stemming from a 3-year-old boy who was scalded in a hot bath and had Vaseline applied by his mom. When the burn unit staff inquired as to why she did that, his mother pointed to Vaseline label, which included among its uses for “minor burns.”
The authors, experts from the Burns Unit at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London, advised: “Grease should never be applied to a fresh burn where the superficial part of the skin is missing. In addition to being occlusive, it is non-sterile, promotes bacterial proliferation on the surface of the wound, and may lead to infection. We propose that the manufacturers change their labeling system, to clearly state that Vaseline is not to be used as an immediate first aid measure for burns, but can be used as a subsequent dressing for minor burns.”
This distinction is not clear on the Vaseline label I checked online at Target, so I’m letting you know here. Let’s hope none of us need this info any time soon!
2} Something to do today:
Go outside.
I know. It’s simple. Too simple, maybe?
Here’s a lovely illustration from Charlotte Ager, which says (click the image below):
“In a room, your thoughts can get trapped. They ping back and forth, until they are a tangled mess. But when you step outside … those thoughts have space to move and play. They can grow, make new shapes. And eventually, be channelled into something new.”
3} Something to re-read:
In a recent newsletter post — essay — Dr. Martin Greenwald wrote about What Psychiatry Has Taught Me. Yes, he has learned how to treat mental illness, but the other thing he learned is more profound:
The most important thing I’ve learned as a psychiatrist so far is this: that we are, in so many ways, extraordinarily frail creatures. Yes, we are also capable of awe-inspiring strength and resilience, and can achieve heights of true greatness. We can marshal our noble philosophies and faiths to buttress against hardship and for comfort amid failures. But at the end of the day, the hard truth is that there is often precious little one can do when the universe decides to crush you. Loss is real, tragedy is real, unmitigated disaster is real, and no amount of rationalization, or anything else, can prevent it or make it go away. I suppose this is one of those lessons that comes with maturity, and I just happen to have learned it through psychiatric experience.
He continues with the realization:
… Authentic compassion and love are only possible when the reality of loss is acknowledged and felt. It is the possibility of genuine loss that opens the door to genuine gratitude.
Whenever he dwells on this …
“I find myself becoming a bit more patient—more patient with myself and my own weaknesses, more patient with others and theirs, more patient with the whole frustrating process of it all. With that bit of patience I can take more time to tuck my kids in at night, spend more time with the people I love, or just take a moment to tell a friend I’ve been thinking about him, and then to thank my lucky stars for this brief time I’ve been given on Earth.”
Read Dr. Greenwald’s full post here.
Thank you for being here today. Let’s count our lucky stars.
To our journeys,
Brianne
p.s. If you are new, here are a couple of favorite past posts you might like: