Home Remedies for Burns: 11 Surprising Treatments That Work

These home remedies for burns—from Pamela Hops, MD—use household items as treatments that can provide quick relief

Use aloe vera instead of ice

Ice can restrict blood flow to the skin, and further damage tissue, says Pamela Hops, MD, author of Kitchen Cabinet Cures and integrative family physician at Flatiron Family Medical in New York City. Here’s how to treat a burn instead: Immediately place the burned area under cool running water, which helps the injury from spreading, and keep it there for at least 20 minutes if possible. What else works? Aloe, probably the most well-known home remedy for burns, will stop pain and inflammation, reduce swelling, and stimulate skin growth and repair. But if you don’t have any on hand, treating a burn with any of these other options should offer relief. Check out this A-Z guide of home remedies that are proven to work.

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Mint toothpaste

Here’s how to treat a burn if you accidentally touch something hot without a potholder, or get splattered by something that’s boiling: Keep a tube of white, minty toothpaste in the kitchen as a home remedy to relieve a minor burn. First, run the scalded area under cool water, then gently pat it dry with a paper towel and cover with a layer of the toothpaste, says Dr. Hops.

Vanilla

For minor burns, Dr. Hops says to reach for vanilla extract. Use a cotton swab to gently dab vanilla onto the burned skin. The evaporation of the alcohol in vanilla extract will cool the burn, alleviating pain. Make sure you avoid these home remedies that will only make it worse.

Tea bags

Black tea contains tannic acid, which draws heat from burns to help make them less painful. Here’s how to treat a burn with it: Place two or three cool, wet black tea bags on the burn, using gauze to hold the bags in place.

Vinegar

White vinegar contains acetic acid, a component of aspirin that can help relieve the pain, itching, and inflammation of a burn. It is also an antiseptic and astringent, so it will help keep your burn from becoming infected, according to Dr. Hops. Vinegar also draws heat from the burn, helping to dull pain naturally. Soak paper towels in diluted vinegar to create a soothing compress or use cotton swabs to gently dab the burn with vinegar.

Honey

A famous sore throat remedy, honey is a natural antibiotic, which helps to prevent your burn from becoming infected. It has a natural pH balance that is inhospitable to bacteria, so once applied topically, it can also kill any existing bacteria or infection lingering on the skin. Honey will also cool the burn, relieve pain, and help the skin to heal. You’ve probably forgotten about these old-time home remedies that we really need to bring back.

Milk

The fat and protein content in milk soothes burns and promotes healing, Dr. Hops explains in Kitchen Cabinet Cures. Soak the burn in milk for 15 minutes for quick relief. Full-fat, whole-milk yogurt can also help cool and hydrate your parched skin.

Oats

With its skin-soothing properties to reduce inflammation, oats might be the most useful solution for how to treat a burn that is healing and you’re tempted to scratch it. Add a cup of oats to bath water and soak for 20 minutes to soothe a large burn. For smaller irritations, add some oats to a small bowl of water and soak the affected area. Air dry your skin so a thin layer of oats remains, further reducing itching. For added relief, toss some baking soda into the bathwater. Bicarbonate of soda helps soothe skin inflammation.

Coconut oil

Coconut oil is an excellent source of skin-healing vitamin E, and it also contains fatty acids that are anti-fungal and anti-bacterial, which help keep your burn from becoming infected. If a scald has left a nasty mark on your skin, one home remedy for burns is adding lemon juice to the coconut oil before massaging it into the mark. The acidic properties of lemon juice will help lighten the scar while the coconut oil helps it heal, says Dr. Hops. These 50 natural remedies really work.

Lavender oil

A French chemist discovered the healing power of lavender oil in the early 1900s. When he severely burned his hand in a lab accident and plunged it into a vat of lavender essential oil, the oil eased the pain and his burn healed quickly. Here’s how Dr. Hops recommends treating a burn with it in a more controlled way: Mix 1 teaspoon of pure lavender essential oil into about 2 ounces of water in a misting bottle. Shake and mist burned skin lightly as often as needed.

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Vitamins C and E

You associate vitamin C with colds, but did you know it can play a role in everything from healing UTIs to soothing skin? Vitamin C promotes wound healing and the production of collagen, the base material for new skin. Vitamin E is an antioxidant that helps repair and protect your skin. To speed the healing, one home remedy for burns is to eat foods rich in vitamins C and E or take 2,000 milligrams of vitamin C and 1,000 IU of vitamin E for a week or so after your burn. You can even break open a vitamin E capsule and apply it directly on the burn to help it heal and prevent scarring. Also, check out these trusted home remedies for dry skin.