The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Tea Tree Oil
Posted by Dori (Waukesha, Wisconsin) on 01/29/2012
★★★★★
For fast healing and less pain of minor burns, tea tree oil on it as soon as possible is amazing! I would think the oil under the aluminum foil would work well.
DMSO
Posted by Pammy (Malibu, California, United States ) on 07/02/2010
★★★★★
One of the most amazing treatments I have ever used is DMSO for burns. I have had serious burns and minor burns.
Usually I just open the container and slap a big tablespoon of DMSO on the burn. It is best to do it right away. I keep it on for about 1/2 hr. I keep a jar in my kitchen for the possibilities of getting burned at the stove. It takes the pain away immediately and the pain never comes back. You can apply a little each day for awhile, but I have not found that necessary. I wish every one knew about this as burns can be so painful. And the burns heal up nicely.
It is either Canada or Alaska that they use DMSO in ER for burns. Blessings to all. Pammy
Vinegar
Posted by Lindsy (Grand Rapids, Michigan) on 01/13/2009
★★★★★
I burn frequently because I am very fair skinned...redness, itching, blisters, peeling, the whole thing. Often. The best cure is the one my grandma made me do when I was young.
As soon as you notice the burn, get out of the sun and soak up some white vinegar with a cotton ball. Dab it on your burn. No measuring. Put it on straight out of the bottle. Don't wipe. Just dab.
Do this regularly and the burn will go away a lot sooner with little to no peeling. The sooner the better with this cure! Don't wait. Also, the smell subsides after a little while. Don't worry about smelling like a big pickle!
Aloe Vera
Posted by Jenny (Austin, TX) on 07/25/2006
★★★★★
when i was little and got badly sunburned my dad would always mix pure aloe with some vanilla extract, and it always makes the pain stop and keeps me from peeling.
Vinegar
Posted by Alicia (Spanaway, WA) on 03/17/2006
★★★★★
ever since i was little i've always used apple cider vinegar to take the sting out of a bad sunburn. It smells really bad, but it took the sting away almost immediately, and as a child, that was a very important thing. It also kept my skin from peeling..
Milk
Posted by Lydia (LA) on 09/08/2024
The best (tested) things for burns are: moist baking soda or aluminium foil. Learned about this here on EC and use it every time I get a burn while cooking
Ice
Posted by Grannykeeperpdx (Portland, Or) on 02/05/2012
★★★★★
I have used ice and ice water for burns for years, but there are a few tricks. First, you have to leave the burn in contact with ice until it stops hurting, but you want to put it in a tea towel (thin dish towel or rag - not terry cloth). The trick is to leave it in contact with the burned area until it stops burning, about 20 minutes or so. This is for a minor burn. Once it becomes numb, take off the ice. If it starts to burn again, you need more time.
This said, you must know the risks of shock. Dumping a cup of hot tea in your lap and burning your genitals can easily put you into shock. This happened to a friend of mine and they put ice water packs on her (rags soaked in ice water) for quite a long time. I was there to see it. They sent her home with ointment of some kind. Cold stops the tissue from cooking, but you can also freeze the tissue and damage it. So, you have to use common sense. If you leave ice directly on skin for too long, it will freeze it like anything else. Check it often. If you can't take the ice, use ice water or rags soaked in ice water.
Know the symptoms and risks of shock. If you are alone and you are at risk of going into shock, call 911. Do not try to treat yourself. Do your homework, and use common sense.
Alcohol
Posted by Mare (Chicago) on 07/09/2024
★★★★★
I was using lactic acid to minimize some brown spots on my leg and unknowingly overdid it and was left with continuous burning sting for the past 3 days. So I tried apple cider vinegar, which only made it worse, probably because of the acetic acid, vitamin E oil, where there was no discernable difference and finally because of all the suggestions on Earth Clinic I tried some ordinary hand sanitizer w/alcohol. It worked almost instantaneously, so now there's no more sting!
Urine
Posted by jholl (Louisville, KY) on 03/19/2024
Silver is what they use for burns in the hospital. Colloidal silver would work. Silver gel would be even better.
Urine
Posted by Cindy (Illinois, USA) on 03/21/2024 559 posts
Dang! I never even thought of colloidal silver! I have some, but am mostly exploring it with regard to fabric.
Anyway, I didn't do anything with regard to my fingers today but the blister is gone. I thought there might be a spot that would peel off but it seems to have all reintegrated The only place I can still feel it is under my fingernail but I didn't do that second round of DMSO and urine so I'll see what it's like tomorrow and, if I can still feel it, I'll do that second round and see what happens. I can't see anything amiss on my fingernail - it was a white stripe, yesterday - and it doesn't hurt but I can feel it up under the nail. Maybe I'll wrap a little baby castor oil pack around it before I go to bed...see if that might penetrate up under the nail and do its magic.
Urine
Posted by Cindy (Illinois, USA) on 03/21/2024 559 posts
Everything was back to normal this morning. Didn't even notice until now, so there's nothing left to work on...but that's a good thing..if a little disappointing, LOL!
Cornstarch
Posted by Orh (Ten Mile, Tn) on 07/15/2020
William, ORH here, for some reason, I don't buy your line, but I will try it if I get a burn. Lots of gamesmen on EC and I can spot em. D knows I have this power. Many years ago, she thought I was a kook. She has learned better.
====ORH====
Colloidal Silver
Posted by Mama to Many (TN) on 04/08/2020
★★★★★
I burned the tip of my middle finger last night when it went through a potholder hole and touched the oven rack at 375*. I immediately held it under running cool water to remove the heat and make it feel better. Several minutes. Then I applied a drop of lavender essential oil. I topped it off with a dab of colloidal silver gel. This was the best thing I think I have done to help a kitchen burn. I was able to do dishes without any pain last night. Today I can see and feel the charred skin, but I have zero pain and have done nothing else since my initial treatment. Three steps - cool the burn, lavender essential oil, colloidal silver gel. ~Mama to Many~
Toothpaste
Posted by Taylor (Belle Fourche, Sd) on 07/11/2015
★★★★★
I attempted the tin foil remedy for a burn but it didn't seem to work, so I also tried the toothpaste remedy. It is working great so far! . All I had to do is add a layer and run cold water over it, and repeat! I love it!
Ice
Posted by Toni (Columbus, Ohio) on 07/04/2015
★★★★☆
I have burned my three fingers on a stove, and it says mustard, honey, cold water and toothpaste all work to help the burning go down, all that did was make it worse. I suggest an Icepack for that is the only thing helping so far.
Ice
Posted by K (California) on 07/05/2015
I have seen a testimonial for using aluminum foil to treat pain from burns somewhere on earth clinic. Don't remember if it needed to be immediate or if using it a day later would be as effective. Hope it helps you.
Ice
Posted by Sam (Miami) on 07/05/2015
The very best thing I swear by is applying moist baking soda and keeping it moist until pain is subsided. Most of the time you won't even have any trace of a burn afterward or blisters. The trick is to keep the burn covered with baking soda, as it tends to dry off fast and when you water it it washes off. But you can figure it out.
Ice
Posted by Judith (Columbia, Sc) on 03/16/2017
I burned my thumb on a hot potholder while taking a tray out of broiler very painful soaked in water with ice pack then I read not to use ice came across this site so far the pain is lessening I have a blister forming but it was the pain that was so bad .I am glad I found this site before I went to the ER.
Tea Tree Oil
Posted by Joy2dance (Pensacola, FL) on 09/16/2014
★★★★★
We have used tea tree oil several times for burns. Apply immediately for the best effectiveness. It helps with the pain and especially to prevent scarring.
Raw Onions
Posted by Julia (Massachusetts) on 11/03/2013
★★★★★
I sewar by raw onions for burns!!! Just put it directly on the burn it smells but doesnt sting! It also speeds up healing time and prevents scarring!!! An old down south remedy!
Plaintain Tea, Nettles
Posted by Mama To Many (Tennessee, Usa) on 08/23/2013
★★★★★
Yesterday my teenage son was seeding a bunch of jalepeno peppers without gloves (even though he knew he should use gloves! ) After he did that, his fingers were burning up and he was very uncomfortable. He washed his hands well but it didn't help at all. He has a pretty high pain tolerance, so I knew it must have been very painful. He tried a burn salve but it didn't help. I made a strong plantain tea (and cooled it) for him and he soaked his fingers in it. That gave immediate relief. But as soon as he took his fingers out of the tea, the pain returned. He soaked his fingers on and off all afteroon, but that was getting old. He was getting ready to take Tylenol for pain when I thought of Nettles. If you touch the nettle plant, you will sting your fingers. And nettles (in tea or capsules or tincture) is the cure for this pain. So, I figured, since nettles cures skin pain caused by nettles and other plants, perhaps they would help his jalepeno burn. (He had no noticeable redness or blistering or anything. ) He took 4 nettles capsules and 20 minutes his was no longer in pain! Praise the Lord for such strong medicine in such a humble (but apparently not so simple) plant!
I don't know that nettles would help pain from other types of burns, but I would expect it to work well with burns from plants. However, I may just try it to help pain from any type of burn in the future!
By the way, his jalepeno recipe turned out great and he will surely make it again... With gloves on. :)
Have a great day!
~Mama to Many~
Place Burn on Earlobe
Posted by Diana (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada ) on 01/17/2013
★★★★★
This is a quck, foolproof way to instantly stop the burning & pain from a burn that affects a small area... Say you are lighting a candle & some hot wax gets on your hand or you accidentally burn your finger on a hot pot.... IMMEDIATELY place the part of ur skin that is burning on your earlobe. You will start to feel relief instantly & if the pain hasn't subsided completely, proceed to move up the side of your ear or transfer to the other ear. Within a very short period of time, the pain of the burn will BE GONE... Your earlobes may feel pretty warm, but the spot where you were burning will be cool & painfree! This can help prevent the burn from blistering as well. This works by halting the burning from progressing, the earlobe draws the heat out from the spot where it has been burned & your earlobes are the PERFECT temp to cool the burn w/o feeling the need to keep it under ice cold water!!! This works very much the same way tin foil does.... But even better, b/c it doesn't get worse bf it gets better & it works much faster!!! But in order for it to be most effective, you have to apply the burned area to your earlobes ASAP!!! It takes a few times to remember to place the burned area against your earlobe, but b4 u know it, it will become an automatic reflex!
Honey and Flour Paste
Posted by Janis In Nyc (New York, Ny) on 07/26/2012
★★★★★
Cooking a piece of salmon tonight, with a honey mustard topping. As I was removing it from the pan to the table some of the hot honey mustard dripped on my finger, and immediately started to blister. I sat and ate dinner with my finger in a glass of ice water, changing it as soon as the ice melted. This was great until I removed my finger from the water. Then it would immediately start to burn again. I went to the Internet... And read page after page of home remedies until I spotted one that looked interesting. Honey mixed with flour to form a paste.
I mixed it in a small empty pharmacy pill bottle and dipped my finger in it. It burned for about 3-5 minutes more. Then stopped. I wiped off the gritty excess and left the mixture just on the blister. I now have a band-aid covering it, and it no longer burns. As a matter of fact, I'm typing this using the burned digit.
Can't tell you what a relief it is to know I'll be able to sleep tonight without attempting to keep my finger in a glass of ice water.
Plastic Wrap
Posted by Natali (Phoenix, Az ) on 03/02/2012
★★★★★
A lot of people here are suggesting the foil method. However, I don't have any tin foil on hand to try it out. I had been contently soaking my fingers in ice water after being burned by super hot liquid, but came across a post warning of this. The person stated that soaking your burn can increase the pain and likelihood of blistering from the skin swelling with water. Since this made sense to me, I read more posts. It seems the foil works by blocking air from the burn, so I figured plastic, also less daunting than foil, would have the same effect. It did! The waves of pain are further apart and the intensity is diminishing. I recommend this method for those wary of having foil rubbing against such a sensitive injury.
