Burns with emollients – The BMJ

Advise patients to continue using emollients but to be aware of burn risks, avoid naked flames, and stop smoking

Emollients are not flammable themselves but, when impregnated into fabric, can act as an accelerant

People most at risk are those with reduced ability to react quickly when emollient impregnated fabric is exposed to naked flames

A 72 year old man with poor mobility, Parkinsons disease, and dementia attends the emergency department with upper body burns. He is a smoker and his carer applies emollients to most of his body daily as long term maintenance treatment for eczema. The attending clinician established that the patients burns were sustained when his cigarette came into contact with the right arm of his pyjamas, which quickly caught fire.

Emollients are an important treatment and generally safe; they are not flammable in themselves, in their container, or on the skin. However, awareness of fire riskfrom fabric that has become impregnated with emollient residueis low.123

Emollient can transfer from skin onto clothing, furniture, and bedding, which accumulates over timeeven with regular washing, some residue remains. A naked flame is needed for ignition. The residue acts as an accelerant, increasing the speed of ignition and intensity of a fire, reducing the time available to extinguish it.

Emollients are moisturising treatments used for dry skin conditions such as atopic eczema and psoriasis. Formulations include lotions, creams, gels, ointments, and sprays; and broadly are petroleum (paraffin) or non-petroleum based.

They are applied directly to the skin, typically

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Burns with emollients - The BMJ