When you get a minor burn (from a blow dryer, curling iron, straightening iron, the stove etc) you want to relieve the pain and blistering as soon as possible and keep the wound from getting worse or getting infected. While many of us keep Neosporin or other burn aids available in the home, what do you do when you get a burn and you don’t have anything to put on it? You need to look no further than your kitchen cupboards, and you’d be surprised what really works to ease the pain and blistering of a nasty burn while protecting it from infection at the same time!
The first thing you should do when receiving a minor burn is to immediately cool the burn site. Those blisters that you get from a burn are actually the water in your skin cells boiling and then bursting due to the heat, so you need to temper down the burn site ASAP. Do this by immediately running the burn site under cold water or applying an ice pack to cool the burn down and get the skin temperature back to normal. Cool water is less invasive on the site than an ice pack for a blistering burn as the pressure from an ice pack or ice cubes can burst and/or irritate the burning skin. Don’t use a washcloth as even a clean cloth can carry bacteria and the surface is abrasive to the burn site.
After the burn site has been tempered down, you’ll need to apply a burn aide to help the site heal and stay protected against bacteria. Oddly enough, honey is a great rescue. For centuries honey has been a cure-all, from aiding in colds to helping the body build its immunity against illness. Honey is also a natural anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory, which means it will not only help to ease the pain of the burn, but will protect it against harmful bacteria. Place a moderate amount of honey on the burn site and cover with a band aid to prevent debris getting into the site and to keep the honey from smearing and getting sticky on everything. (honey is also great for a sunburn as well if Aloe Vera is not available).
Another great burn remedy is Aloe Vera (the purer the better) Aloe Vera gel or the goo straight from you Aloe plant works great in relieving the pain and drawing out the heat, along with protecting against harmful bacteria. Keeping a cool jar of Aloe Vera in your fridge for burns and sunburns makes it that much more effective in relieving that stinging burning pain.
A few other unknowns in relieving burn pain are mustard and egg-whites in a pinch for a burn. You will still need to apply an antibacterial aid, but these two common items will work excellently in relieving the immediate pain of 1st and 2nd degree burns.
What you SHOULD NOT do to a burn is apply heat to it or an oily substance, such as Vaseline or baby oil. Oils and regular lotions will actually trap heat into the burn, causing even more pain and the blistering to increase. Hot water will obviously make the situation more agonizing.
When you get a burn, keeping the cool down, getting an anti-inflammatory on it, and treating it with an anti-bacterial aid will get you well on your way to healing, and it’s surprising the common household items you have that will do just the trick.
