Burn reliefG??

[klmno]

I was lifting A pot from a slow cooker and trying to put it in the top shelf of the fridg but it spilled out and burnt my neck. it hurts like koi. I can't go get some wonderful magic treatment so I'm wondering if anyone knows of a home remedy- a real one with things I have in my home. I have butter, lotion, cold water, etc, but I've heard they either don't help or make it worse. Ideas??

 

[HaoZi]

Honey for burns (after cool -not ice- water).

 

[Hound dog]

cold water or an ice pack

absolutely no lotions oils or butter!!!!! Those make it worse. Cold water helps to stop the "burning" action and brings the heat out of the burn to minimize damage. Perhaps tomorrow you can put some antibiotic ointment on it.

OUCH by the way!!!!

 

[HaoZi]

I've also had to use the water from the pickle jar for burns. Never ice a burn, though, it does extra damage to the nerve endings. Noxema is good for non-blistered sunburns, not sure about contact burns (provided the skin isn't broken).

 

[susiestar]

There is a gel sold in the first aid section of Walmart called Burnjel Plus. It works amazingly well and is about $6. As you don't have that, use lidocaine if you have it in a cream or in a patch. It is often sold OTC as LMX6 or as EMLA but you have to ask the pharmacy for it. AT home, try using a cold pack wrapped in a thin towel or a tshirt. If you don't have those blue gel packs in the freezer or an instant use ice pack (sold for about $1, you pop and inner bag and mix the contents and they get really cold and last for about 30-45 min.), use frozen veggies. I have taken to buying the cheapest corn/peas/mix veg blend i can find because they stay cold longer than the instant ones and the blue gel ones and conform easier to Jessie's knees/ankles. We end up pitching or composting them after she has used them many times. Keep them wrapped in a tshirt or towel.

If you don't even have that, wet a washcloth in cold water - better yet wet 2-3 and keep those you are not using in the freezer or fridge.

Butter and lotion are BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD ideas. They may feel better for a bit but they seal in the heat and make the burn worse - more severe and can even spread the burned area (spreading butter on hot food doesn't make it cold, it makes it brown faster - and your skin will react similarly). NOTHING greasy should be put on the burn.

Burnjel Plus has aloe and tea tree oil in addition to lidocaine. It is also wonderful for small cuts (or after a scab has formed), and esp for acne/boils. The tea tree oil is awesome for the infection and the aloe also helps, while the lidocaine makes them not hurt.

For burns you need to put a fairly thick layer of the gel on.

I hope this helps.

 

[susiestar]

Noxema can provide a cooling feeling due to the menthol, but it actually keeps the burn around longer. A good dermatologist told me that the menthol in the noxema provides the cooling feeling but it is deceptive and makes it harder for the skin to heal. Not sure if this is true, but noxema never made me feel better when I had a sunburn for more than just a few minutes.

I hope you feel better soon!

 

[klmno]

ok- i'm starting with cold compresses. i'm not going to walmart tonuight- this hurts and i need a quick relief before going to bed! thank you!

 

[HaoZi]

Noxema was the only thing that helped my sunburns when I was young.

On honey and burns: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/19/health/19real.html

 

[Marguerite]

We keep a bottle of ti-tree oil in the medicine cabinet. You can use it neat, but you can also greatly dilute it in water and apply it that way. I was using it on my radiation burn even though they said, "n oil." They also said, "use Sorbolene," but it made my skin break down more. So - ti-tree oil, diluted in water (it goes milky).

Or, if you have any aloe vera leaf - cut off a piece, cut it open, cut out the clear gel, and apply that, fresh. I use that on sunburn. And on the radiation burn. It was brilliant!

Marg

 

[DammitJanet]

I was going to suggest aloe. I have always kept a bottle of plain aloe or one that had the lidocaine in it around the house. I tried growing the plants but I simply have a brown thumb and anything not plastic dies in my house. Heck most plastic flowers die too...lol.

Dont feel too awful clumsy though. When I was pregnant with Jamie, I did much the same thing. I was cooking pasta and went to drain the water and it dumped all over my hugely pregnant belly...OUCH!

 

[Marguerite]

Aloe vera - it grows wild here. I've given away a lot of plants including planting some down at our church, because visitors come to church, go for a swim at the beach, get sunburnt and need fast first aid.

About ti-tree oil - there is a story about a bloke who was working on a bush still, distilling ti-tree oil. His still blew up in his face, scalding his face with superheated, oil-laden steam. But the same scalding burn that did the damage also infused his face with the oil and he healed without a scar.

Marg

 

[klmno]

This happened around 11:00 PM last night so I had to make do without going outside to get something. I kept a cold wet cloth on it until falling asleep. This morning it is very red, like a sunburn, and blistered. I hope I can stand taking a shower and having warm water run on it.

 

[GoingNorth]

You need to see a doctor with this burn if it is of any size. It is in a bad location. Do NOT let warm water run on it. Take a pass on the shower and clean up what you have to with a washcloth or sponge.

If you get medical attention as you should, ask them for some RX silver salazine ointment. Takes the heat right out, helps prevent infection, AND will help minimize scarring.

Do NOT break or puncture the blisters. They are protecting the damaged tissues beneath that dead skin. A doctor can open them if felt necessary

 

[HaoZi]

I'd be trying to see a doctor about that if it's blistered. Short of that I'd be getting some Neosporin for it.

 

[Mamaof5]

2% or homogonized milk! I think skim would work too but not nearly as well as homogonized. I once accidentally ironed my hand (still have the scar to prove it) when I was 18. Wasn't paying good attention ironing a shirt and stuck the hot surface on my hand just below the thumb hurt like the dickens....

Liquid burns, especially water or soups are the worse. I caught myself with a slowcooker once too (crock pot) I was stirring with a ladel and it slipped out of my hand and slattered the liquids on my shoulder just under the collar bone. OW is all I have to say. Honey is a good one, cool water to stop the process of burning (aka literally cooking your skin) and definitely no butter or fatty based things (even ointments like polyspren don't let the wound breath to heal).

 

[AnnieO]

I'm really late to this thread but... If you go to many big box stores they have sunburn relief spray (aerosol) - it contains lidocaine or benzocaine and is wonderful stuff. I use it on bug bites because calamine has no effect. Also - aloe is the best thing I have found. Wal mart carries generic aloe & tea tree oil ointment, runs about $3 here. Unfortunately I can't remember what it's called!

No butter, no ice, if it's not blistered keep it out of the warm water (for pain reasons!). Don't use Noxema - the menthol feels good at first, but will burn your healing skin... Necessitating more of it... And on and on.

 

[ctmom05]

I have had the most awesome luck with EMLA for anesthetizing skin. What I use is by prescription only, tho.

 

[klmno]

I can't get to a dr very easily these days. I'm going to pick up some of the spray stuff you all suggested this afternoon. The red area is approx. 3" x 7" in an arc shaped, along the base of my neck. The blistering keeps getting worse and at this rate, it will all be one big blister by the time I get off work today. (I'm at home for lunch right now but getting ready to go back.) It hurts, that's one thing I can say.

 

[HaoZi]

Is there a walk-in clinic you could go to? That really sounds like it needs to be looked at. The spray is good, I use it, but I find it wears off pretty fast, and if the blistering is getting worse I think you'd be better off with an antibiotic ointment.

 

[AnnieO]

k, you really really need to go to a clinic if you are blistering. The spray will only mask the pain, and it's entireluy likely it will get infected.

Please... Have it checked... Please.