Cool a burn properly, and avoid the familiar remedies that do harm.
Twenty minutes of water — and nothing on top
Burns and frostbite: what works
For a burn, cool running water works. Remove the source and, as soon as you can, hold the burned area under the water for about twenty minutes. Guidelines strongly recommend cooling, though the evidence is weak; twenty minutes in the first three hours clearly lowers the risk of a skin graft.
Before it swells, take off rings, bracelets, and watches. Cover the burn with a clean, non-fluffy cloth. Don't pop blisters. Butter, sour cream, toothpaste, and alcohol aren't recommended: grease and paste hold in the heat, and damaged skin gets infected more easily. Don't put ice directly on a burn.
Example: Boiling water splashes onto a hand. You take off the ring, cool the hand under running water for twenty minutes, cover it with clean gauze, and call 911 — a hand can't wait. Neither can a large area, the face, the groin, or any noticeable burn on a child. A child gets too cold easily: watch them and don't overdo the cooling.
Frostbite: the same logic in reverse — warm gently. Get them out of the cold, remove wet and tight clothing, rewarm in water at 37–39 °C (99–102 °F) until the tissue softens, let it air-dry, and see a doctor. Never rub at any stage: rubbing worsens the damage, and snow also keeps it cold. Don't rewarm if the area may freeze again on the way. Skip alcohol “to warm up”: it widens skin vessels and blunts shivering, so you lose heat faster.
Lesson notes
Burns and frostbite: what works
For a burn, cool running water works. Remove the source and, as soon as you can, hold the burned area under the water for about twenty minutes. Guidelines strongly recommend cooling, though the evidence is weak; twenty minutes in the first three hours clearly lowers the risk of a skin graft.
Before it swells, take off rings, bracelets, and watches. Cover the burn with a clean, non-fluffy cloth. Don't pop blisters. Butter, sour cream, toothpaste, and alcohol aren't recommended: grease and paste hold in the heat, and damaged skin gets infected more easily. Don't put ice directly on a burn.
Example: Boiling water splashes onto a hand. You take off the ring, cool the hand under running water for twenty minutes, cover it with clean gauze, and call 911 — a hand can't wait. Neither can a large area, the face, the groin, or any noticeable burn on a child. A child gets too cold easily: watch them and don't overdo the cooling.
Frostbite: the same logic in reverse — warm gently. Get them out of the cold, remove wet and tight clothing, rewarm in water at 37–39 °C (99–102 °F) until the tissue softens, let it air-dry, and see a doctor. Never rub at any stage: rubbing worsens the damage, and snow also keeps it cold. Don't rewarm if the area may freeze again on the way. Skip alcohol “to warm up”: it widens skin vessels and blunts shivering, so you lose heat faster.