What would be the medical treatment for someone who is tar and feathered?

Question

I was just wondering what a person would do after they were tar and feathered. What would be the medical treatment, and how would they remove the tar and feathers. Would they want to keep the tar hot to remove it, or would they want to instantly cool it down?

Answer 1

Assuming that we were back in the day of tarring and feathering, I would guess that they would want to get the tar off of their body as quickly as possible, with a minimum of irratation to the burned skin under it.

The best way that I can think of would be to use lard or cooking oil.  Because the tar is an oil-based product, the lard or oil would act as a dissolving agent.  It would be a slow process, but it would work (I've done asphalt work...you can remove tar from your skin using vegitable oil).

After the tar is removed, I suppose you would want to clean off the oil (so the burns didn't get infected), washing it off with slightly soapy water and then rinsing with clean water.  The final step would be to apply some sort of balm to the burn...preferably a natural healing agent, like aloe.

Alas, if you were 'rode out of town on a rail', you would also have a might sore butt as well....not a good day...

Answer 2

With modern surgical technology the way it is, I'm guessing that the first priority would be to cool the tar as quickly as possible to minimize any further thermal damage. I would NOT use any type of oil or oil-like solvent, however, as oil has heat-sealing properties and would actually make the burns worse by sealing the heat into the body.  Using oil would have the same effect as when we baste turkeys on Thanksgiving. My next priority would probably be to stabilize the patient's blood pressure and fluid balance. One of the most deadly consequences of a burn is a loss of fluid volume from the blood circulation, owing to the loss of the skin barrier and the edema that develops in traumatized tissues. After some fluid replacement had been initiated, I would begin thinking about debridement (getting the tar off).

The unfortunate reality is that whatever skin layer is left beneath the tar, we probably don't want to hold onto it anymore. It will have been contaminated by the tar, probably wrecked structurally, and it could harden and cause other problems for the patient later on (google compartment syndrome and/or skin contracture). I'd want to get it all off, skin and tar. Assuming that the person was not entirely tarred and feathered, start doing skin grafts, or use one of the newer skin-immitating allograft materials or graft preps.

Besides getting the tar off, other medical care concerns would include:

a) extreme fear and anxiety that the patient's attackers will return and assault him/her again

b) long-term concerns about post-traumatic stress disorder

c) inhalation of fumes given off by the hot tar leading to damage to the tissues lining hte lungs, mouth, eyes, ears, nose, etc

d) possible carbon monoxide poisoning--this one might be a bit of a stretch but I wouldn't rule it out

e) poor ventilation--if they were tarred and feathered on their chest it may hurt to breath

f) hypovolemic shock--not enough blood/oxygen getting to vital organs when they begin to seep out after losing their skin

g) malnutrition--burn patients have huge metabolic demands

h) kidney failure, esp if they go into shock

i) toxicity from the tar and other chemicals that may have gotten into the general circulation when the skin barrier was destroyed

j) psychosocial--what was going on when they got tarred and feathered, who did it, why, what types of community supports will they need after being discharged. I know this is "fluffy," but it's pointless to fix someone if they're going to be in the way of imminent harm after we send them off

This is pretty choppy but it's what I would be concerned with

Answer 3

When people were still tar and feathered, the treatment would be to sit in a bath of kerosine for several days.  It was the best form of antiseptic at the time.  Now, burn victim treatment (like skin graphing).  

I would cool it.  It would continue to burn tissue as long as it was hot.  Getting the tar off is the least of your worries.