Sunflower oil in the treatment of hot tar burns

Hot tar burns compose a unique class of thermal injury, because removal of this highly sticky compound may be very difficult without inflicting additional tissue damage. Early removal of tar facilitates assessment of the burn and improves patient comfort. Although the use of many substances for the painless removal of tar has been described, we used sunflower oil effectively in the treatment of four tar burn patients. This first report describes the practical and successful use of sunflower oil which was easily obtained from the hospital kitchen.