My burn is healing strangely

[Spidermom3]

I have a 2 week old scald/burn on my belly, thighs and groin that is healing well but oddly. I spilled a 24 oz mug of very hot tea on my prone self, I fell asleep with it resting on my belly and woke screaming from the pain. Went to the ER, first and second degree burns with partial penetration, refused to be admitted, treating it at home with weekly wound checks at the Burn Unit and visits with plastic surgeons.  All told, if you put the pieces together, the burn is the size of a large dinner plate. The Burn unit is impressed with my self-reliance and healing and we are all pleased with one another. Now this morning when I took off my dressings to take my daily cool shower and apply new bandages I saw the oddest thing, all around the open burn areas my semi cooked skin looks like leopard or giraffe spots! Now I let the skin soften in the shower then thoroughly scrub everywhere so I know there's no dead tissue lingering around to cause trouble. I use the xeroform gauze thoroughly impregnated with bacitracin zinc ointment and gauze for dressings, I remove the bandages with olive oil to reduce damage to the surrounding skin from the constant dressing changes. So what the heck is happening?? I found this Saturday morning and it has bothered me all day till I couldn't stand it anymore, so here I am. I will ask my primary the next time I see her but that's a week away, my skin looks weird now. I am a 52 year old female diabetic, Irish/Apache with cappuccino colored skin and it looks like my melanin has concentrated itself into blotches that fit together but are distinct but where the background color is angry red. Is this permanent? Is this why they have me seeing a plastic surgeon? These scars are going to be bad enough but with this new pattern discoloration I don't know what to think. Help?!

[Spidermom3]

Thank you for your reply. Now I have a place to start or at least a description of what's happening that I can use to do some research before I return to the Burn Unit on Monday.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
This looks like hyperpigmentation after the burns. One medicine which has been advised by many dermatologists for scar diminishing is contractubex gel/cream. You can seek your dermatologist/surgeon’s opinion before using this cream. Otherwise you can go in for glycolic peals, laser treatments and pressure dressings. Severe scarrings may need skin grafting by a plastic surgeon.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your dermatologist. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.