7 ms·

I have seen the use of boiled tea water used as antiseptic for burn victims in rural India. The results were great for the one patient I saw getting treated. Ne

I have seen the use of boiled tea water used as antiseptic for burn victims in rural India. The results were great for the one patient I saw getting treated. Necessity is truly the mother of invention.

paganel 9y ago
Honey also works pretty well if applied immediately on the skin and if the burns are not that serious to begin with. My ex-wife managed to pour burning edible oil on her hand while she was cooking some fries, but no scar remained because we applied honey on the affected skin almost immediately.
- ceejayoz 9y ago
  Having had oil burns heal without honey I'd want to see some peer-reviewed studies on its efficacy as a burn treatment first.
  - aesh2Xa1 9y ago
    Yeah, this seems like woo. At best I would hazard to guess that the honey provides an antibiotic effect and is perhaps a slightly acidic pH causing high cell turnover.
    - paganel 9y ago
      The antibiotic effect all by itself would be nothing to scoff at. I mentioned it as a reply to a previous comment, but I don't personally think that the human skin is made to re-generate all by itself after pouring more than half of a pan of burning oil on the arm section.
    - karmajunkie 9y ago
      Honey has an antimicrobial effect that's been known for thousands of years. This isn't the article I went looking for about it, but interesting all the same: http://www.academia.edu/2189571/Pdf_6_The_antibacterial_activity_of_honey_and_its_role_in_treating_diseases http://www.academia.edu/2189571/Pdf_6_The_antibacterial_acti...
  - DanBC 9y ago
    Honey dressings were being used in some English NHS hospital settings. This from 2008 isn't great, but it's not calling it woo: http://www.nhs.uk/news/2008/10October/Pages/Honeyandburns.aspx http://www.nhs.uk/news/2008/10October/Pages/Honeyandburns.as... This from 2016 is a bit better: http://www.cochrane.org/CD005083/WOUNDS_honey-as-a-topical-treatment-for-acute-and-chronic-wounds http://www.cochrane.org/CD005083/WOUNDS_honey-as-a-topical-t... > There is high quality evidence that honey heals partial thickness burns around 4 to 5 days more quickly than conventional dressings. There is moderate quality evidence that honey is more effective than antiseptic followed by gauze for healing wounds infected after surgical operations. I think "partial thickness" is called "second degree" in the US. That's different from just pouring it on a new burn, and I definitely don't think people should do that.
  - paganel 9y ago
    The best and quickest link that I could find was this: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4158441/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4158441/ > Having had oil burns heal without honey I'd say you need to have Terminator-like skin in order to (relatively) quickly heal your skin (with no scars) after pouring more than half of pan of burning oil on your arm.
    - DanBC 9y ago
      That would be a very serious burn, and in that situation it's important (to avoid death or loss of limb) to get the person to the nearest emergency department, and then to the nearest burns unit.
- vacri 9y ago
  Burns need to be kept cool and moist. Applying anything thick and cool (within reason - lotions for example) to the burn will help. Cool the burn under cold running water if possible ('take the heat out'), then put something on it to keep it moist. Anything serious requires a trip to the ER of course. Even if you forget to put sunscreen on and get sunburned, putting sunscreen on afterwards can help keep the skin moist and improve the outcome.
  - DanBC 9y ago
    Your advice is dangerous and wrong. >> cool the burn with cool or lukewarm running water for 20 minutes – don't use ice, iced water, or any creams or greasy substances such as butter http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Burns-and-scalds/Pages/Introduction.aspx http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Burns-and-scalds/Pages/Introduc... > You should go to a hospital A&E department for: > all chemical and electrical burns > large or deep burns – any burn bigger than your hand > burns that cause white or charred skin – any size > burns on the face, hands, arms, feet, legs or genitals that cause blisters
    - vacri 9y ago
      I was unaware that ice came out of a cold running water tap. That doesn't happen here down under. You can definitely use creams like sunscreens or similar. True, I did overstate a bit - you don't want to use something like butter that will turn to oil and keep in the heat.
      - DanBC 9y ago
        You should not use cold water. You should not apply creams, lotions, or sunscreens. https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/burn-and-scald-treatments https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/burn-and-scald-treatments > don’t use any ointments or creams on a burn. They seal heat in and cause more damage.
        vacri 9y ago
        Fair enough. I guess I was thinking of shallow burns like sunburn rather than serious ones with destroyed skin. After all, two sentences after the one you've just quoted is If the burn does not have any blisters or broken skin, such as sunburn, a simple moisturiser such as sorbolene is the best treatment - sorbolene is a cream :)
- pvaldes 9y ago
  Honey should extract water from the area. Is sugar. Could avoid blisters formation?
ptero 9y ago
Brewed black tea (very strong, cold, the stuff you dilute with water to get black tea you drink) was used where I grew up in Russia on eyes after mild trauma. I'm not sure if there are any formal studies on but it didn't hurt.

paganel 9y ago

Honey also works pretty well if applied immediately on the skin and if the burns are not that serious to begin with. My ex-wife managed to pour burning edible oil on her hand while she was cooking some fries, but no scar remained because we applied honey on the affected skin almost immediately.

ceejayoz 9y ago
Having had oil burns heal without honey I'd want to see some peer-reviewed studies on its efficacy as a burn treatment first.
- aesh2Xa1 9y ago
  Yeah, this seems like woo. At best I would hazard to guess that the honey provides an antibiotic effect and is perhaps a slightly acidic pH causing high cell turnover.
  - paganel 9y ago
    The antibiotic effect all by itself would be nothing to scoff at. I mentioned it as a reply to a previous comment, but I don't personally think that the human skin is made to re-generate all by itself after pouring more than half of a pan of burning oil on the arm section.
  - karmajunkie 9y ago
    Honey has an antimicrobial effect that's been known for thousands of years. This isn't the article I went looking for about it, but interesting all the same: http://www.academia.edu/2189571/Pdf_6_The_antibacterial_activity_of_honey_and_its_role_in_treating_diseases http://www.academia.edu/2189571/Pdf_6_The_antibacterial_acti...
- DanBC 9y ago
  Honey dressings were being used in some English NHS hospital settings. This from 2008 isn't great, but it's not calling it woo: http://www.nhs.uk/news/2008/10October/Pages/Honeyandburns.aspx http://www.nhs.uk/news/2008/10October/Pages/Honeyandburns.as... This from 2016 is a bit better: http://www.cochrane.org/CD005083/WOUNDS_honey-as-a-topical-treatment-for-acute-and-chronic-wounds http://www.cochrane.org/CD005083/WOUNDS_honey-as-a-topical-t... > There is high quality evidence that honey heals partial thickness burns around 4 to 5 days more quickly than conventional dressings. There is moderate quality evidence that honey is more effective than antiseptic followed by gauze for healing wounds infected after surgical operations. I think "partial thickness" is called "second degree" in the US. That's different from just pouring it on a new burn, and I definitely don't think people should do that.
- paganel 9y ago
  The best and quickest link that I could find was this: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4158441/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4158441/ > Having had oil burns heal without honey I'd say you need to have Terminator-like skin in order to (relatively) quickly heal your skin (with no scars) after pouring more than half of pan of burning oil on your arm.
  - DanBC 9y ago
    That would be a very serious burn, and in that situation it's important (to avoid death or loss of limb) to get the person to the nearest emergency department, and then to the nearest burns unit.
vacri 9y ago
Burns need to be kept cool and moist. Applying anything thick and cool (within reason - lotions for example) to the burn will help. Cool the burn under cold running water if possible ('take the heat out'), then put something on it to keep it moist. Anything serious requires a trip to the ER of course. Even if you forget to put sunscreen on and get sunburned, putting sunscreen on afterwards can help keep the skin moist and improve the outcome.
- DanBC 9y ago
  Your advice is dangerous and wrong. >> cool the burn with cool or lukewarm running water for 20 minutes – don't use ice, iced water, or any creams or greasy substances such as butter http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Burns-and-scalds/Pages/Introduction.aspx http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Burns-and-scalds/Pages/Introduc... > You should go to a hospital A&E department for: > all chemical and electrical burns > large or deep burns – any burn bigger than your hand > burns that cause white or charred skin – any size > burns on the face, hands, arms, feet, legs or genitals that cause blisters
  - vacri 9y ago
    I was unaware that ice came out of a cold running water tap. That doesn't happen here down under. You can definitely use creams like sunscreens or similar. True, I did overstate a bit - you don't want to use something like butter that will turn to oil and keep in the heat.
    - DanBC 9y ago
      You should not use cold water. You should not apply creams, lotions, or sunscreens. https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/burn-and-scald-treatments https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/burn-and-scald-treatments > don’t use any ointments or creams on a burn. They seal heat in and cause more damage.
      - vacri 9y ago
        Fair enough. I guess I was thinking of shallow burns like sunburn rather than serious ones with destroyed skin. After all, two sentences after the one you've just quoted is If the burn does not have any blisters or broken skin, such as sunburn, a simple moisturiser such as sorbolene is the best treatment - sorbolene is a cream :)
pvaldes 9y ago
Honey should extract water from the area. Is sugar. Could avoid blisters formation?

ptero 9y ago

Brewed black tea (very strong, cold, the stuff you dilute with water to get black tea you drink) was used where I grew up in Russia on eyes after mild trauma. I'm not sure if there are any formal studies on but it didn't hurt.