How to Treat a Cooking Burn

By Emily Weller on January 4, 2011

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Run cool water over a burn for 10 minutes.

You're preparing dinner for the family when you accidentally grab a hot pot without a potholder, or boiling water splashes onto your hand while you're draining the pot of pasta. A cooking burn will most likely be either a firs-t or second-degree burn where only the first or second layers of skin are injured. You can treat small burns like these at home, but see a doctor if the burn is over 2 inches in size or is on your face.

Step 1

Hold the burned area under cool running water for 10 minutes or until the pain subsides. You can also fill a bowl with cool water and submerge the burned area into the water for 10 minutes. The cool water helps reduce the swelling as it dissipates the heat from the burned area.

Step 2

Gently pat the burn dry with a clean cloth and apply a layer of aloe vera or antibacterial cream.

Step 3

Cover the burned area with a strip of gauze to protect it and to keep any resulting blisters from popping.

Step 4

Change the gauze daily for a second degree burn and reapply the cream. Wash your hands before changing the bandage or applying the cream.

Step 5

Take acetaminophen, aspirin or ibuprofen if the burn continues to cause pain.

About the Author

Based in Pennsylvania, Emily Weller has been writing professionally since 2007, when she started writing theater reviews for offoffonline.com and Theater Talk's New Theatre Corps Blog. Her writing covers a wide range of topics including theater, vegetarianism, travel and news. Weller has a Master of Fine Arts in dramaturgy and theater criticism from CUNY/Brooklyn College.

Ingredients

Bowl

Aloe vera cream or antibiotic cream

Sterile gauze

Pain reliever such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen

References

Family Doctor: First Aid: Burns

Mayo Clinic: Burns: First Aid

Tips

Make sure your tetanus shot is current, because a burn can lead to tetanus if it gets infected, according to Family Doctor. A first-degree burn should heal within a week while a second-degree burn may take up to three weeks to heal. The burn will itch as