A case series of second-degree burn patients managed with Patoladi vikeshika, an Ayurvedic contact layer dressing

Management of burn injury is a challenging task as it can lead to considerable amount of agony and disability to the victims. An estimated annual burn incidence in India is 6–7 million. Depending on the degree of burn or the thickness of skin involved, the healing period will vary from 1 to 3 weeks. The aims of dressing in burn injury are to decrease the agony from pain in the wound, to protect or isolate the burn wound from the irritation caused by the dress worn and external environment, and to the hasten the healing of the wound. There are several established advanced dressings in use which hold the qualities of ideal contact layer dressing. Patoladi vikeshika is an attempt to bring in such contact layer dressings in Ayurveda. Patoladi vikeshika was prepared by impregnating Patoladi sikta taila, which was prepared as per Taila paka vidhi, over 10 cm × 10 cm sterile gauzes. These impregnated gauzes were packed and sterilized. The prepared Vikeshika was applied as a contact layer dressing over second-degree burn wounds of 3 patients, after cleaning with normal saline once in every 48 h. Within 4-5 dressings, wounds healed completely without any complications like infection. Patoladi vikeshika seems to have the qualities of an ideal contact layer dressing and therapeutically it has shown good results in the above cases.