Treating traumatic burns or blisters of the skin

A therapeutic method of treating blisters of the skin for a human or animal, said method comprising,

• providing a flexible moisture-containing adhesive patch having an adhesive layer with an exposed pressure-sensitive surface for bonding to the skin,
• maintaining the osmotic pressure of the adhesive at a level above the osmotic pressure of the blister, and
• providing instructions for applying the moisture-containing adhesive patch to the skin over the blister so that the pressure-sensitive surface forms a bond with the skin to hold the patch in place on the skin and to hydrate at least an upper layer of the skin to form a hydrophilic bridge with the skin which allows fluid transport between the blister and the patch across the hydrophilic bridge so that interstitial fluid in and around the blister is then transported through the stratum corneum by osmotic pressure into the hydrogel adhesive layer to thereby improve or entirely relieve one or more of the symptoms of the blister.

A therapeutic method of treating pain associated with first and second degree burns for a human or animal, said method comprising,

• providing a moisture-containing flexible patch having a hydrophilic hydrogel layer with an exposed surface for contact with the burned skin,
• maintaining the osmotic pressure of the hydrogel layer at a level above the osmotic pressure of the underlying skin tissue, and
• providing instructions for applying the moisture-containing hydrophilic hydrogel layer of the patch to the skin over the burn so that the hydrophilic surface hydrates at least an upper layer of the patient's skin to form a hydrophilic bridge with the patient's skin which allows fluid transport between the burn and the patch across the hydrophilic bridge so that fluid in the burn is then transported through the stratum corneum by osmotic pressure into the hydrogel layer to thereby improve or entirely relieve one or more of the symptoms produced by the burn.