URGENT: Burn treatment advice needed!

I am actually losing my mind with worry here.

So, back on Wednesday, I ended up with this nasty burn, and I went straight to the doctor to get it looked at. They cleaned it out, slathered some burn cream on it, and told me I’d need to come back every single day for dressing changes. Since it was heading into the weekend, they just prescribed me the cream so I could handle it myself at home. Well, I went to apply it this morning—and you know me, I always read the fine print—only to find out that the instructions explicitly say you shouldn't use it while breastfeeding because it can pass through the milk and cause serious harm to the baby!!!😲😲 😲

The cream is called Dermazin.
They were applying it to a patch of skin about two inches wide, usually right around lunchtime. But the day before yesterday, I had it applied in the afternoon. My nursing schedule is all over the place; during the day, he just latches for a bit and then pulls away, but at night, he really digs in and nurses for quite a while...

I am freaking out. I was thinking about driving over to the pediatrician's office—I don't even know if they'll see me without an appointment, or if I'm just being completely paranoid and overreacting?! Should I just give them a call instead?

God, what if I’ve already done something to hurt my little one!!!???

Honestly, just go see the pediatrician. It’s not about whether it’s overkill or not...
Just go ask them instead of worrying about it.....
I really hope this passes quickly and everything turns out fine. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amanda Nelson86 said:I am honestly going to lose my mind from worrying.

On Wednesday, I suffered a pretty severe burn and went to see my doctor—they cleaned it up, applied some burn cream, and told me I needed to come back every day for dressing changes. Since yesterday was the weekend, they just prescribed a cream so I could manage it at home. This morning, I went to apply it—because I always make sure to read the instructions first—only to find a warning stating that the cream shouldn't be used while breastfeeding because it can pass into the milk and cause serious harm!!!😲 😲 😲

The cream is called Dermazin.
It was applied to a small patch of skin, about 2 inches by 2 inches, usually around noon—though the last application was just the afternoon before yesterday. During the day, I breastfeed somewhat frequently but briefly; he latches, pulls a little, and then he's done... but at night, he nurses quite heavily.

I am absolutely frantic with worry. I was thinking about heading over to the pediatrician's office—I'm not sure, though—would they even see me, or is that being totally excessive?! Should I give them a call instead?

Oh my goodness, what if I actually caused him harm?!???

I highly doubt you've caused any harm since it’s such a tiny area of skin—plus, the duration of application was likely too short for the medication levels in your bloodstream, or your milk, to reach a point where it could be dangerous.

Usually, those explicit warnings against using certain medications apply to the final trimester of pregnancy or when nursing infants under two months old. Your little one is older than that, isn't he?

Look at it this way: if the baby had been the one burned, wouldn't they likely use that same cream on him?

At this point, you really need to weigh whether it's better to pause nursing or stop treating the burn. Perhaps calling the pediatrician to ask is your best move?

wanderingcobra76 said:I honestly suspect you didn't actually cause him any harm here. It’s all about the surface area, isn't it? You were working with such a tiny patch of skin that you probably weren't even applying the medication long enough to get the concentration in his bloodstream—or his milk—up to a level where it could actually trigger any kind of adverse reaction. It just doesn't add up.

Look, there’s an explicit warning against using this medication during the last trimester of pregnancy and while breastfeeding infants under two months old. Your kid is older than that, isn't he?

Look at it this way: if some kid actually ended up getting burned, they’d probably just reach for that same damn cream to slather on the injury, and we all know exactly how much of a disaster that would be.

Honestly, you really need to weigh your options here: is it better to just stop breastfeeding altogether, or should you focus on treating that burn? It might be worth just having an actual conversation with them—maybe call them up and ask what they think.

Yeah, the kid is fifteen months old now.
I was looking through the instructions just now, and honestly, I couldn't find anything anywhere that says there's a two-month limit.
I really hope you're right about this, because honestly, I’m still sitting here on the fence, torn between just heading down to the hospital or trying to call them first. My biggest fear is that if I pick up the phone, they'll just try to brush me off or give me the runaround just to get me off the line, you know? And even if I suck it up and actually show up at the ER, I have no clue how they're going to react once I'm standing there in front of them. It's such a stressful loop to be stuck in.

Here’s what I would do: give your pediatrician a call and let them know you've got this cream on hand and ask for their take on it. Or, since it's the weekend, just ring up any local CVS or Walgreens—they really ought to be able to tell you if it's safe to use while breastfeeding. Honestly, try not to stress too much. About 99% of medications come with a warning saying "don't use while nursing," but usually, that's just a legal disclaimer so they can cover themselves in case of side effects. Most of the time, it isn't actually a huge deal. Just call a pharmacy right now while they're still open so you can get an answer and finally relax...
Good luck.

I honestly don't even know what to think anymore. When she first started applying that stuff—which was strictly because of breastfeeding, by the way—I found myself second-guessing every single thing I was allowed to do or not do. It’s like I’m constantly questioning my own judgment. It didn't even cross my mind that this could be an issue, and now here we are...
I'm going to give the pharmacy a call, and then maybe follow up with the pediatrician too...

Thanks.

Amanda Nelson86 said:I honestly don't know what I was thinking. Since I've been breastfeeding, I feel like I have to double-check every single thing I use—constantly questioning what's safe and what isn't. It just didn't cross my mind at the time, and now here we are.
I'm going to call the pharmacy, and maybe the pediatrician too...

thanks.

Let me know what they say... good luck!!

The instructions are written in a way that makes everything seem perfectly fine and totally doable...
Come on, let me know what they actually told you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ hopefully this blows over quickly 🙂

Alright, I’ve spent the last little while hitting up local pharmacies and calling both my pediatrician and the pediatric department over at the hospital.

The pharmacist told me that the amount of medication likely to pass through breast milk is minimal, so it shouldn't cause any harm, but they still advised me not to overdo it with the application.

When I talked to the nurse on duty at the pediatrician's office, she basically said the exact same thing, though she didn't actually bother asking the doctor first,😕....so I'm just sitting here hoping she's actually right.

I also gave the hospital's pediatric unit a call, and I ended up venting to them immediately because I honestly had no clue who else to turn to besides them... they were acting pretty weird, probably just annoyed that I was calling them, and then the nurse actually snapped at me, asking how on earth something could even pass into breast milk???😕 I pointed out that the instructions clearly state it can enter the milk, but she couldn't be bothered to check with a doctor; she just came back and told me it was fine to apply it, without even bothering to ask how old my baby is or how bad the burn actually is...👎

I am seriously praying there won't be any side effects, but I'm still feeling pretty anxious about it. It also really baffled me why the nurse didn't even ask if I was nursing, considering she knows I have a little one... I mean, seriously... she should have asked so she knew what she was telling me to rub on my skin.

In hindsight, I really should have just told her straight up that I'm breastfeeding, but whatever. 😠

Ugh, I always end up making things so much harder on myself; I really am a piece of work sometimes.
I just hope it doesn't mess with my diet. 😢 😢😢

They haven't got a clue, they never do...

Isn't there some kind of alternative to that cream?

Brenda Barrett58 said:they never have a clue what they're doing either...

Isn't there some kind of alternative to that cream?

I honestly don't know if there's an alternative—I didn't even think to ask about that. My main concern is just this whole mess with the milk.

Look, I'm done applying stuff to it; I'm over that part, it'll heal on its own eventually. It’s just that the sheer thought of how much junk went into that milk and ended up getting into my system is driving me absolutely crazy.

Amanda Nelson86 said:I honestly don't even know if there's a substitute available—I didn't think to ask—but this whole situation with the milk is just driving me crazy.

I'm done messing around with ointments and creams; honestly, I don't care anymore, it'll heal on its own. My only real concern is the sheer amount of junk that’s already been flushed down the drain and how much of it has actually reached him.

Look, you’re applying such a tiny amount of cream over such a small area that there's zero chance it could actually cause any damage, especially given how little time has passed. Honestly, stop stressing about it.

I’m inclined to agree with you here—the surface area seems far too small, and honestly, you haven't been at this for very long. Your little one is getting big, and since they aren't strictly on a milk diet anymore, things are different... it’s not like you're just nursing exclusively. So, in my estimation, there shouldn't be any lasting consequences. But look, worrying is just part of the territory, isn't it? It's perfectly normal to feel this way. Everything is going to turn out fine!🙂

I honestly don't think you need to be quite this worried—though I completely get why you are, since we're talking about a baby here, and every mother tends to worry—but look at it this way:

The manufacturer is legally required to list absolutely every possible side effect in the drug instructions, no matter how incredibly rare they might be.

Sulfadiazine is actually administered orally to young children when indicated—which results in much higher concentrations in the bloodstream—provided it's under strict medical supervision, of course.

Similarly, Dermazin cream would be used on a small child to treat burns.

The area you applied it to was quite small, wasn't it? Plus, the application time was brief; it's highly unlikely that such a minimal concentration of the active ingredient in the blood (which, by the way, begins processing in the liver almost immediately) could cause any harm to a nursing infant. Those types of serious side effects are primarily linked to the accumulation of the substance in the body—meaning they occur during prolonged use.

The only potential issue that comes to mind is a hypersensitivity reaction—essentially an allergy—but if that were the case, you would have noticed the reaction already.

Regarding medication labels in general:
Since it is impossible to conduct actual clinical trials regarding a drug's impact on a fetus or a nursing infant, manufacturers protect themselves legally by stating that certain preparations should not be used during pregnancy or breastfeeding.
The exception, of course, is for medications that are so widely used that so many pregnant and nursing women have taken them that retrospective analyses have concluded they aren't harmful.

In my opinion, the best course of action is to stop applying it, call the burn unit, and ask if there is a substitute cream available that is compatible with breastfeeding.

Thanks, everyone🙂

I feel a lot better now🙂

Greta, thanks so much for taking the time to explain everything so thoroughly 👍

The instructions I read didn't say anything about which age group it's safe for, and even the pharmacist at the CVS couldn't find any info on it either...
But if you're saying it's fine for kids starting at 15 months old, then honestly, there really isn't any reason to freak out.
I don't know, I doubt the burn unit is going to recommend some specific ointment without actually seeing the wound, and frankly, I have zero desire to sit in an ER waiting room, by the way. I actually went down to the urgent care to ask about my little guy, and the nurse kept trying to steer me toward the OB-GYN department instead.🙄

Whatever, I'm not doing anything. Obviously, I'm not just going to slather this stuff on myself; I'll just wait until Monday and head to my pediatrician to get a prescription for something else. We'll be fine until then.
Thanks again!

Sorry, ladies🙂>

I always tend to spiral a bit too fast whenever it involves my kids, and then once I finally catch my breath and realize I'm overreacting, I see there really wasn't any reason to freak out in the first place🙄 but honestly, I know next time is going to be the exact same thing...🤷 It’s not like I try to turn a little stomach bug into some massive catastrophe, but I just can't help it—my mind immediately jumps straight to salmonella outbreaks and every other worst-case scenario imaginable...👎

Take a look at this regarding the child's age requirementshttp://www.almp.hr/upl/lijekovi/PIL/...-06-02-113.pdf

To be perfectly honest—and I mean this with all due respect—I highly doubt an OB-GYN would offer you any more insight than anyone else could.
The most qualified expert for these specific technicalities would actually be a clinical pharmacologist—so, if this continues to weigh heavily on your mind, perhaps try reaching out to one?

wanderingcobra76 said:Take a look at this regarding the age requirements for kids

Honestly, I doubt you’re going to get any more useful info from an OB-GYN than you would from anyone else there.
If this is really eating at you, the smartest move is to track down a clinical pharmacologist—they actually know their stuff, unlike most general practitioners.

Ah, okay, these instructions are actually way more detailed than the little pamphlet they shoved in the box. Thanks for that.

Amanda Nelson86 said:I honestly don't know if there are any replacements; I didn't even bother asking. My main concern is just this whole thing with the milk.

I’m done putting anything on it—I’m over the fuss. It’ll heal eventually. I'm just worried about how much of that stuff soaked through the milk and reached the burn.

Don't be dramatic. The surface area of your skin is actually quite small. Whatever happened is in the past.
What does the burn look like? Is it weeping heavily?
Head to a pharmacy, grab some Vaseline gauze, apply it to the wound, and then wrap it up. You could even swing by an urgent care clinic run by the CIA to have them do it professionally. Think of the gauze as a substitute for silver sulfadiazine, though it won't have that same local antibacterial effect. If the edges of the wound start looking inflamed, you'll likely need oral antibiotics.

Personally, I think you can still use the silver sulfadiazine.

I got seriously burned last year—hands, stomach, leg, the whole works. I was using Neosporin while breastfeeding my little one, who was only about 14 months old at the time.
Since Neosporin is an antibiotic cream, I figured at least a tiny bit was getting into my milk. I made sure to tell the ER doctor I was nursing, and even though she still prescribed the cream, she gave me an oral antibiotic called Keflex that’s safe for breastfeeding.
Unfortunately, I had a massive allergic reaction to it and ended up stuck in the hospital for three days.