You can be as careful as humanly possible, take precautions; but the day will come when you’re faced with a worse than usual burn just trying to make something to eat. Mine came during a salmon incident involving my stove. I had literally never burned myself like this before, so had never needed to know What to Put on a Burn; however, now I had lost my burn free virginity and was in desperate need of some major relief!
It hurt! Not initially though. Let me tell ya, when you get splashed with oil or burned by it, you instantly know. There’s no confusion. In the battle of the stovetop you soldier on, yet you are fully aware that you are in need of medic… or at least some ointment and a bandage.
However, my mind completely raced to everything I knew to help myself. First thing you always need to do is “cool” the burn. I started thinking, “Oh snap did grandma say ice or cold water??” Not wanting to have to deal with an unsightly looking burn I made an executive decision and bolted for a sink, any sink.
Flipping on the water to cool I let the cold rushing water flow all over my newly burned hand. The hot oil now slides off my hand as well as thumb and index finger. I can honestly say it felt GOOD. The cold water feels amazing when it comes to achieving immediate relief as well as soothing. Therefore, if you ever find yourself in a cooking burn situation be sure to remember to cool the burn with cold running water.
In hindsight I should of let the water keep running over my hand for much longer. But not knowing how long one should let a new burn “chill;” after about 5 minutes I flipped the water off and went about thinking about my next healing move.
However, before I get to that, after doing a little research I learned that you should really let the cool water run over your burn for double the time I did. Why? Does it really make that much of a difference?
Well, yes, apparently it does. Several experts, researchers and even the Red Cross drill home the importance of letting cold water do its thing. For instance, the Red Cross says one should always Cool the burn under cold running water for at least ten minutes. This healing method is important because cooling the burn will help reduce pain, swelling and the risk of scarring. Moreover, the faster and longer a burn is cooled with cold running water, the less the impact of the injury.
Additionally, several recent studies have shown that even if treatment is delayed for between 1 to 3 hours, running the burn under cool running water is still beneficial; improving not only wound re-epithelialisation but also decreasing the amount of scar tissue.
A decrease in any type of scarring sounds like a total Beauty and Skincare win. Therefore, do yourself a favor, do a good job at cooling off the burn by using cold water over burns. The longer you can stand it, the better.
What to Put on a Burn -I Survived the Kitchen and So Can You
Alright now, let’s move on with the rest of the story. After turning off the water I started to inspect my hand. And this is the exact moment I started feeling the pain. I thought about sticking my hand back under the water (smart), but dumb me didn’t Lol. Instead I continued on with my thorough inspection and was happy to see that so far all skin was intact.
Of course, with burns things worsen with time. Skin can come off or things scab over in order to heal. However, in this moment in time I was happy to see that my hand skin seemed to be winning the battle. So much oil had splashed onto my hand I was sure things were going to look really bad; so that’s why I was so surprised to look down and see a much different story unfolding.
Nevertheless, I decided not to get too proud and continue on with my personal first aid. I gently cleaned the area, avoiding any products that might contain irritating ingredients. Being a slight DIY Queen I had exactly what I needed on hand.
After inspecting and cleaning I started to think about what I could apply to my hand. Immediately I thought Vaseline. As a kid the Vaseline label is one you almost know by heart. My mind even now flashes to the uses part of the back label, “it helps with burns.”
So that’s really all the push I needed to grab my Vaseline jar. I slathered on Vaseline all over my hand. It’s greasy and messy but after seeing how my hand healed up, it works!
Now if Vaseline grosses you out, you can choose to apply an ointment for burns instead. You can also apply aloe vera if you have some. I remember reading somewhere that some ointments can cause infections… uhm, yikes! However, that’s why I settled on Vaseline.
Why choose Vaseline? Well, the petroleum in Vaseline, helps seal your skin with a water-protective barrier. This protection helps your skin heal and retain moisture.
As one can see, Vaseline is a great aid in helping to heal a burn, especially minor ones. So apply a nice thin layer, don’t be shy. Your healing skin will thank you for the generosity.
Summing It All It Up- How to Do Proper Burn Care From Little (Unexpected) Kitchen Mishaps
So what did I learn from this whole experience? First of all, all those things your parentals and grand parentals said to you when you were a kid do in fact come crashing back Lol. You remember EVERYTHING. Adrenaline will have you recall things from when you were three. So be glad they all freely shared their knowledge, because their advice literally saves your hide HaHa.
Plus I now know exactly what to do if another burn crisis pops up, so that can maintain my Beautiful Skin Lol:
- Cool the Burn with Cold Running Water
- Run Water Over the Burn for at Least 10 Minutes
- Inspect the Burn Damage
- Gently Clean the Area of the Burn
- Apply Vaseline or an Ointment
- Bandage Things Up as Needed
That’s it, that’s all you have to do. Or what I should say is, that’s what helped me. Every situation is different and will call for different types of treatments. However, it’s always good to know of some things you can do in the moment to help yourself or someone else.
Hope you find my riveting story helpful Lol and useful. And to all of us kitchen warriors out there, I tip my spatula to you as we cook on to fight another day!
**Want Even More Fashion as well as Celebrity Style Sighting News, Insights as well as Trends? Download Our New Shiny App! Click HERE**
Thoughts on What to Put on a Burn -I Survived the Kitchen and So Can You? Well let’s connect then! Join the discussion and talk all things fashion as well as celebrity style sighting related with us by dropping a comment like its hot down low. Or also hit us up on our Facebook, Instagram (1966mag), Tumblr, Pinterest or tweet us @1966magazine.