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Natalie (San Francisco, Ca) on 10/31/2011
5 out of 5 stars

I'm stunned. I am actually recovering from surgery so the last thing I needed in the world was a nasty steam burn on my thumb. I'm exhausted from the pain of the surgery as is, and just sat down and cried when I realized I had burned myself. I was opening up a frozen meal and am usually so careful about doing this quickly and getting my fingers out of there fast, but this one got by me (horrible timing). It was stuck a bit, and I wasn't able to pull away fast enough. The steam was mindnumbing and only hit my tender skin for maybe a second or so, and yet it was excruciating. The only peace I had was running it under cold water (you can only do this for so long).

I tried my trusted Aloe Vera Gel and it would not calm things down. I tried baking Soda and water and still no relief. I had this calming gel for surgery that is made by Avene, and that didn't even work. I was getting panicked because I had a long night ahead of me and it was hard to sleep as it is with the pain I am enduring from my surgery. I googled and found this site and read as much as I could before having to run my thumb under water every 5 minutes or so.

I thought you guys were literally insane when I read about using aluminum foil. It even sounds scary to be honest. I am sure there is some scientific explanation somewhere, but it actually worked! I still cannot believe it! I became so desperate that I tore off a piece of foil and wrapped it around my throbbing thumb and waited. The pain was crazy for about 10 minutes, and then I began to realize I was actually watching television and no longer focused on the burn! After an hour, the pain was actually gone!!!!!!

Wow!!

I don't even care how it works at this point. I'm soooo grateful to you guys! Thank you!!!

Replied By Homesteader (Leesburg, Va, Usa) on 11/13/2011

Tried to move a logsplitter we'd been running and put my hand full on the (very hot) muffler - nasty 2nd degree burn to my whole palm and thumb. I had ice on the burn for about 3 hours and as long as the ice was on, it was tolerable. I only tried the aluminum foil idea because so many people had yea'd it.

It took about 24 minutes to calm the pain but it worked. I found the aluminum had to be in direct contact with the burn, not just wrapped around my hand. Here I am, typing with both hands. Unbelievable.

Replied By Bcirelli (Frisco, Texas, Usa) on 11/25/2011

OH. MY. GOODNESS! I burned my left hand yesterday (2 fingers and part of the hand) on my searing pan right after I took it out of the oven, while broiling some turkey for Thanksgiving. It was nasty. Bad. Painful. This happened at around 6pm, and I went straight for the "running water and egg whites" trick, cause it always worked for me - and I'm the Queen of the kitchen burn! :/

It wasn't enough though, so as always, I wrapped some ice in a hand towel, and wrapped that around my fingers. Las time I seriously burned myself in the oven, having my arm wrapped in ice for 2 hours helped immensely... But not this time. I spent the last SEVEN and a half HOURS with my hand in a plastic bag with water and a couple ice cubes to keep it cool, and as soon as I took my hand out of the bag, I'd cry in pain. Cry, as in an "I can't freaking stand it" kind of pain. I had read this tip here hours earlier, but I have to admit I didn't have the courage to drop the ice bag. I kept thinking I didn't want to wait 20, 30 minutes in severe pain like some said here, and told my husband the ice bag was doing better. Of course, I didn't think would take me over 7 hours to get anywhere. And then I said "what the heck, it's been too long anyways". So, at precisely 1:17am today, I wrapped my fingers loosely in a gauze thing after applying a thin layer of antibiotic ointment with pain relief (just in case the huge blisters would burst), and gave the foil stuff a try. It hurt SO bad in the beginning! I kept a cold water bag under my hand just to help ease the burning a bit, and in exactly 30 minutes, I realized it was barely hurting anymore. Now it's 2:30am and I am shocked - and happy! - to announce that the pain is GONE. Plooft! Over! What - did I burn myself?

And I did NOT want to try it - so if anyone is reading this for the first time, please don't wait 7 hours like I did. This stuff is magical. I was about to leave for the ER after trying everything you can think of. But this is awesome! THANKS A LOT!!!

Replied By Davidmagone (Livingston, Montana, Usa) on 11/25/2011

Thanks to all of you who have posted on this topic!

Last night, I pulled a Turkey out of the oven and inadvertently grabbed the hot handle of the pan as I was preparing to put it back in. It sounded like I had branded myself, sizzling sounds and all. When I pulled my hand away, I could see the skin around my palm beginning to contract and what looked to be some pretty fierce blisters beginning to form.

I put my hand under cold water for a few minutes and applied burn cream afterward, but my hand felt as though I had injected a hefty dose of cayenne into my palm. I've had great luck on this site before, so I hopped on to my laptop to see if there any alternatives to what I had already done. I ran across the 64 yeas for aluminum foil and hesitantly decided to give it a go.

When I first put wrapped the foil around my thumb and palm, it amped up the pain pretty substantially. Others had written about this though, so I stuck it out. Gradually, the pain started to lessen until after around 45 minutes I was able to take the foil off for two to three minutes before a lesser degree of pain began to return. I kept it on for the next two hours and when I took it off again, I was able to leave the foil off for the rest of the night with a very moderate degree of pain, and no blistering whatsoever.

Just before I went to bed, I soaked my hand in egg-whites and let them dry on the skin. When I woke up this morning, my hand was in really great shape. There are no blisters at all, and I can fully squeeze and extend my hand. All in all, it looks as though I burned my hand about a week ago as opposed to last night.

Amazing.

Replied By Ginny (Podunk, Idaho) on 11/25/2011

Next time you burn or cut yourself, apply turmeric mixed with a few drops of coconut oil to make a thick paste. Apply this morning and night and cover with a band aid. Usually by day 4 the wound is pretty much healed. Keep applying for a few more days, this helps to prevent scarring. Coconut oil is one of the best cures for burns. Ever wonder why they put it in suntan lotion?

Replied By Jenni (Colorado Springs, Co) on 11/17/2012

I grabed a 400 degree cookie sheet and burned my fingers. I was in some seious pain. I don't belive it, but I'm sitting here with three fingers taped up in foil, looking like an idiot, with ZERO PAIN!

I tried cold water - great but not practical. I tried alcohol on cotton and that worked great too, but I was running out of alcohol. After about an hour I decicded to try the tin foil. Its an hour later and while it's difficult to type, I am pain free!

I'm going to wear them overnight and see if I have the same luck as one of the other posters had and be able to type again. I work on a pc, so I am keeping my fingers crossed, or should I say "taped"?

Replied By Zb (Los Angeles, Ca) on 01/02/2013

I grabbed a cast iron pot that wasn't completly covered by a potholder and burned the insides of my index and middle fingers where large white blisters popped up immediately along with a lot of pain. After dipping them in cool water for ~30 minutes, I gave the foil wrap a try and after ~45 minutes in the foil, the pain had subsided to a manageable level. Not sure why or how this works, but it definitely made a big difference for me!

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