Our household items such as the irons, microwaves, coffeemakers, and stoves can make our life easy but can also cause burns if you are not careful. Every year, almost two million Americans are burned or scalded badly enough that require medical attention. Many of these burns are usually occurred in the home. If the burn is serious enough, you will want the doctor to look at it. If you are not sure whether you have a first- or second- degree burn, it would be better to call your doctor. However, some minor singes and small burns can be easily treated and here are some of the ways that can help you to get treated with these simple methods.



Reduce the pain. If you take an anti-flammatory medication within an hour of getting the burn, you will not only ease the pain but also you might actually prevent the burn from getting worse. Consider taking two 200-milligram tablets or capsules of ibuprofen every six hours for one to two days to reduce the inflammation and swelling and to help decrease the severity of the wound.

Use honey. Raw honey that is available in the natural food stores shows that they have soothing anti-septic properties that help speed healing. These raw honeys are more spectacularly effective against burns than those processed variety that are sold in the supermarket.

Bandage the burn. For small burns, place an adhesive strip over the anti-bacterial ointment. Make sure that the strip is large enough that it does not stick to the traumatized skin. For larger burns, you will require a piece of gauze dressing over the injured area, held down with medical adhesive tape. Make sure that the gauze is loose enough to allow for some swelling and loose movement without compromising blood flow.

Cool the burned area with water. Immerse the burned area in cool water and remain there for 5 to 10 minutes. The cool water stops the burning process and helps ease the pain. Do not try to use the ice to cool the burn. That is too cold and could further injure the already-damaged skin. If you are not able to get near to water, use a glass of milk or cold can of soda which can also use to cool a burn quickly.

Better to be in moist. Try to apply a thin layer of moisturizing lotion onto the burned area after the wound has healed over. This will help to reduce dryness, itching, and scaling and to restore elasticity to the skin. Anything that traps moisture will be effective for the burned area. Consider fragrance-free lotions.

Stay away from the flame. You can have serious consequences if you are wearing a housecoat with dangling sleeves, putting a teakettle on the stove, which can easily catch fire. When you are cooking, it would be advisable not to wear loose-fitting clothing, especially garments with wide, dangling sleeves. Avoid clothes made of cotton, rayon, and acrylic, which ignite easily and burn quickly.

Use aloe vera. Aloe vera gel can speed up the healing process of the affected wound. It is of no difference whether it is fresh from the cleaned and sliced leaf of the plant or out of a tube. Aloe vera gel seals and protects the burn and encourages the healing with minimum scarring.