Home Remedies for Burns
How to Treat Burns
The best home remedies for burns. Treating second degree burns can be done at home with remedial care for burns. These are the best treatments you can do if you have a burn injury.
Burns are one of the most common small injuries out there. Everyone has had a burn or two in their lives. When you burn yourself, there’s no need to run to the pharmacy for an expensive burn remedy, nor is there a reason to suffer without relief. Most first and second degree burns can be treated at home with a few simple ingredients for home remedies for burns.
Credit: Tito
First and foremost, it’s very important to know how to classify your burn so you know when you need to seek professional help. As most people know, burns are classified in terms of degrees, first being relatively harmless and third being very serious. A first degree burn, which will appear red but involve no blistering, is typically not something to worry about.
Care for Second Degree Burns
Treatment for a first degree burn is all about relieving pain because there is little risk of infection. A second degree burn involves blistered or oozing skin. These kinds of burns are usually not serious as long as they are confined to a small area. They hurt a lot, but they also need to be protected from infection. If an infection occurs, you need medical attention.
The final kind of burn is a third degree burn. These are extremely dangerous. If you get a third degree burn, it may not even hurt because the nerve endings die. Your skin may turn white, or it may appear charred. These kinds of burns require immediate medical attention and should never be treated from home. This also applied to any burn caused by electricity or chemicals. If you even get a third degree burn, or if you have a chemical or electrical burn, go to the hospital immediately. Home remedies for burns will not be enough in these situations.
Home Remedy for Burns
For less serious burns, what you do in the first few minutes after the injury can make a huge difference in how long it’s going to take to recover. Your skin continues to burn even after you’ve removed it from the heat source, so immediately run it under cool water. You should never run a burn under water near freezing or put ice on it because cold temperatures can cause as much cell death as hot ones. Stick to comfortably cool water to soothe and numb the burn.
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After the water treatment, you need to put something on your burn to cool it and keep it from getting infected. Aloe vera is a classic for this purpose. If you’re using your own plant, pick an outer leaf and remove the skin. Then, rub the gel inside directly onto the burn. You can repeat as needed.
If you don’t have an aloe plant growing at home, the store-bought gel is an acceptable substitute. Aloe vera reduces burn damage, prevents infection, and promotes skin growth, as well as providing a “cooling” sensation on contact. It’s everything a burn needs, and everything you need to live with that burn!
Treating Skin Burns
Lavender is another great burn remedy. Lavender is a renowned anti-inflammatory and pain reducer. Essential oils should be diluted when used on your skin: mix a small amount of lavender oil with the aloe vera for an even better soothing solution on your burn. Other herbs and oils that can be used as home remedies for burns include chamomile, comfrey, angelica, safflower, and calendula. These are all great natural remedies for quick healing.
If you don’t have your own personal stock of herbs and oils at home, there are a couple of other things you can do. Applying toothpaste (the white paste, not the gel) is a great burn soother, as is a paste of baking soda and water. Soaking a burn in milk is another great remedy because you keep it cold in the house (soothing), and the fat content of the milk helps your skin heal. However, these are not remedies for a burn with broken skin.
One last thing: no matter what you’ve heard, butter is not a good burn remedy. Butter and margarine, as well as other oils, retain heat and will not help your burn. Additionally, bacteria love to congregate in things like butter: you’re probably going to give yourself an infection. Stick to the home remedies for burns listed above and your burn will be gone in no time!
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