It may sound like a joke, but it is not. Aluminum foil is Earth Clinic's most popular home remedy for burns! Yes, the same foil that is in your kitchen that you use when baking potatoes or covering a lasagna. Keep on reading to find out the hows, whys and the cautions for this amazingly simple remedy.
How Do I Use Aluminum Foil for Burns?
A burn must be cooled before applying the aluminum foil. The body can hold heat for a long time. Cool the burn with cool water. Or if you have aloe juice in the refrigerator, soak the burned area in cold aloe juice - the aloe juice also aids in healing. Cool the burn for 10-20 minutes.
Next, dry the burn with a clean cloth. If the skin is broken, use sterile gauze to clean the burn and apply something with antibacterial properties - triple antibiotic ointment, honey, colloidal silver, etc. Now wrap the burn with aluminum foil, shiny side out. You can apply ice to the outside of the foil for a time if the burn is still hurting you. ...
It may sound like a joke, but it is not. Aluminum foil is Earth Clinic's most popular home remedy for burns! Yes, the same foil that is in your kitchen that you use when baking potatoes or covering a lasagna. Keep on reading to find out the hows, whys and the cautions for this amazingly simple remedy.
How Do I Use Aluminum Foil for Burns?
A burn must be cooled before applying the aluminum foil. The body can hold heat for a long time. Cool the burn with cool water. Or if you have aloe juice in the refrigerator, soak the burned area in cold aloe juice - the aloe juice also aids in healing. Cool the burn for 10-20 minutes.
Next, dry the burn with a clean cloth. If the skin is broken, use sterile gauze to clean the burn and apply something with antibacterial properties - triple antibiotic ointment, honey, colloidal silver, etc. Now wrap the burn with aluminum foil, shiny side out. You can apply ice to the outside of the foil for a time if the burn is still hurting you.
You may need to leave the foil on the burn for several hours. Many of our contributors have used their "aluminum foil bandage" overnight.
How Does Aluminum Foil Work for Burns?
Aluminum is a great conductor. Have you ever had foil covering a casserole in the oven and when you get the casserole out of the oven, realize that you can touch the aluminum foil and it will not be hot? (But always be careful - the steam under the foil and the casserole dish itself will be very hot and can cause burns!) Aluminum foil has very quickly released the heat it had from the oven. The same happens with your burn. The heat from the burn on your body transfers to the foil and the foil transfers the heat to the air.
Have you ever burned yourself and noticed that at first the burn doesn't look too bad, and then later you realize you have a blister? That is because if you have not "removed" the heat from the body at the site of the burn and the damage continues to be done. Aluminum foil does help to "remove" the heat. (But always cool the burn first with cool water.)
Dangers of Using Aluminum Foil for Burns
The biggest danger of using aluminum foil for burns is the possible delay in getting appropriate medical help for a severe burn. Just as you would not use a bandaid for a broken bone, you should not use aluminum foil for serious burns.
If a large amount of your skin is burned, you are at risk for dehydration. If you use aluminum foil for this type of burn you may be delaying important medical intervention.
If you use aluminum foil for a burn in which the skin is broken without addressing the infection risk that comes with broken skin, you are putting yourself at risk for infection.
You are also at risk for people thinking you are very strange. Going out in public with an aluminum foil bandage is going to attract some attention and some questions. But likely the little risk to your reputation is worth it to have relief for your burn!
Have you tried aluminum foil for burns? Please share your story with us. And continue reading the dozens and dozens of testimonies from our contributors who have learned aluminum foil is a fantastic remedy for burns!
