277245 Sun Mar 27 22:00:29 -0800 2005 19 31 Home Cooking 0 1464504 Other than being more careful, as my mother wisely reminded me... What are the best treatments for burns that all you home cook have come across? I usually just slap some Neosporin on minor burns, but I figure it's time to start taking a little better care of my skin. I don't heal like I used to, and the last thing I need is a bunch of little scars on my arms. All suggestions appreciated, from fresh aloe to best over-the-counter brands! Sun Mar 27 22:00:29 -0800 2005 0 nooodles 1 1464506 Shea Butter Sun Mar 27 23:05:58 -0800 2005 1464504 0 Shea Butter 2 1464510 Shea Butter is for sun burn and to lessen scars after injuries. It is not for putting on real burns until they have healed. Sun Mar 27 23:51:51 -0800 2005 1464506 0 The Rogue 3 1464511 Correct, I should have stated...I was over thinking...To be used as anti scarring afterwards Sun Mar 27 23:54:56 -0800 2005 1464510 0 Shea Butter 4 1464512 I assumed poster was talkng about scarring..... Sun Mar 27 23:56:54 -0800 2005 1464511 0 Shea Butter 1 1464509 You should never put any oils or greases on a burn. If it is a severe burn (bad blistering or open wound) then use an antibiotical burn cream and a burn dressing and see a MD. If it is a mild burn (deep red, mild swelling, nonexistent or very light blisters) first ice down. ten minutes on with a ice compress wrapped in a towel and ten minutes off. repeat for 40 minutes. Then apply aloe vera, repeatedly. cover with a clean gauze. take aspirin or ibuprofen to reduce swelling and decrease pain. Do not rupture any blisters, they protect the wound. Drink lots of fluids but not caffeine or alcohol. Lie down with feet elevated to prevent shock if necessary. Sun Mar 27 23:48:11 -0800 2005 1464504 0 The Rogue 2 1464589 After the icing down period, I use a product made especially for burns that is available over the counter in the drugstore. One brand is Spenco 2nd skin moist burn pads. There are probably others as well. It is a cool-feeling thin sterile gel pad that you put on the burn before wrapping in gauze. The coolness helps with the pain; it keeps in moisture and does not stick to the wound. Mon Mar 28 14:05:54 -0800 2005 1464509 0 bacchante 1 1464518 Most of my burns are minor, so I don't pay them much attention after the initial screaming and cussing... But I do seem to get burned a lot, inspiring endless concern and / or laughter from my girlfriend. I grab hot dishes straight out of the oven, poke my fingers into boiling stews, etcetera. Does anyone have any thoughts about minimizing kitchen burns in the first place? And why have I never burned myself whilst deep-frying? Mon Mar 28 03:18:26 -0800 2005 1464504 0 Noah 2 1464526 Sounds to me like you need a pair of silicone kitchen gloves especially seeing how you like to put your hands into "boiling stews" :)!! I hear that they work great although they are cumbersome. Mon Mar 28 08:36:57 -0800 2005 1464518 0 4chowpups 2 1464563 Sounds like a case for retraining the cook. :^} Mon Mar 28 12:02:34 -0800 2005 1464518 0 GG Mora 1 1464520 Vitamin E oil is great for preventing scars. They sell little bottles of it in most drug stores, or you can buy the gel capsules and poke a pin hole in it. Mon Mar 28 04:01:45 -0800 2005 1464504 0 coll 2 1464546 I use this method for knife cuts after cleaning the wound with alcohol. Seems to cut the healing time in half. Mon Mar 28 11:15:41 -0800 2005 1464520 0 PolarBear 3 1464806 Some teenage boys I used to work with in a kitchen actually tested this - gave themselves two small cuts, then put Vitamin E oil on one and not the other, and, yes, the Vitamin E oil-ed cut healed days before the other. We always kept it in the kitchen. Tue Mar 29 17:03:01 -0800 2005 1464546 0 curiousbaker 1 1464528 Plain old Colgate toothpaste is good for relieving the pain from a minor burn. Of course ice water will do the same thing, but toothpaste sticks to your skin and you can keep working. Mon Mar 28 09:01:37 -0800 2005 1464504 0 ClarifiedButler 2 1464641 I thought we were the only ones who did this for minor burns! Any paste-form toothpaste (non-gel) will do, not just Colgate. Plunge fresh burns in very cold water for at least a couple of minutes and then apply a thin layer of toothpaste. Wash it off only after it dries. Once I had a large burn and missed covering some areas with the toothpaste. Afterwards when I washed it off, the parts that got covered had faded from red while the missed parts got the brown burned look. Mon Mar 28 21:26:36 -0800 2005 1464528 0 jennyantepenultimate 3 1464678 I was always taught to use toothpaste too, but then I read somewhere that putting butter or toothpaste on a burn is like insulating it between the butter/toothpaste and your body. Tue Mar 29 01:38:24 -0800 2005 1464641 0 Zaheen 4 1464885 Well, icing down the burn immediately dissipates the heat, or should in theory if you do it long enough, so trapping the heat in shouldn't be a problem. For me, the toothpaste helps to alleviate the pain and doesn't pose the same removal problem as oily butter does. Wed Mar 30 04:38:32 -0800 2005 1464678 0 jennyantepenultimate 1 1464530 I agree with other posters who have mentioned that if your burn blisters or you think it's severe, seek medical treatment. HOWEVER, for that pesky burns we all suffer, the absolute best treatment that I've found is to apply ice for about 15 minutes. After that, wet a bandage (or a wascloth, depending on the size of the burn) with cold water and then sprinkle on a liberal amount of baking soda. Apply that to the burn and then wrap with something that will help keep the moisture in (plastic wrap, although a bandaid will work for small burns). I'm not exactly sure what the baking powder does, but the moisture helps alleviate the pain and usually with this treatment, the burn really doesn't hurt by the next day. My brother once spilled hot tea on his chest and my mother wrapped his chest in a wet towel with baking soda, wrapped him in saran, and he was fine the next day. I swear by it! Mon Mar 28 09:51:43 -0800 2005 1464504 0 Weiszguy 1 1464532 I keep an aloe plant near the stove. I've found that if I douse a minor burn with the aloe within SECONDS of it happening it's like it never even happened. After a minute or so there is no swelling, no redness no pain... It doesn't seem to be as effective if you don't treat the burn right away. Mon Mar 28 09:54:00 -0800 2005 1464504 0 Shmingrid 1 1464607 Royal jelly, made by bees and generally available in health food stores. I used to work in a restaurant kitchen and we always has a small jar in the fridge. The RJ takes the pain away and allows you to keep cooking near the heat without any associated pain, as I recall. Check it out. Mon Mar 28 15:13:59 -0800 2005 1464504 0 x