4 Natural Remedies To Avoid When Treating Scalds

There are a lot of bizarre home remedies and tales from grandmas on how to go about treating burns, but not all are true and some have side effect and cause serious damages.

People thought oily substances like butter and powdered substances like flour were helpful but there wasn’t much rigorous research in those days. People would often just apply something to a burn and say ‘oh that feels better’ or ‘that healed nicely’ and therefore assume their method worked. And so they would keep using it.” But it is not all tales you should believe, rather consult your doctor/medical practitioners to be sure there is no side effect to it.

According to Healthline, the following home remedies should be avoided:

Oils:
Oils like coconut oil, olive oil and cooking oil should be avoided when treating third-degree burns. It shouldn’t be the first remedies you apply because it holds in heat and can cause your skin to continue burning.

Butter:
According to Dr Leila Cutte, while it might be a popular remedy, there is no evidence it can heal burns. Putting butter and another grease ointment can be harmful since grease slows the release of heat in your skin, it causes more damaged from the retained heat.

Toothpaste:
Toothpaste does more harm than good to your burns because of the chemical in it, when applied to your skin it can cause irritation and chemical burns. According to Ranella Hirsch, a dermatologist stated that applying toothpaste to the skin can result in long-lasting red or brown patches. Also causes infection.

Ice:
Ice water is too harsh and can further aggravate already damaged skin.

The medical information provided in this article is provided as an information resource only. This information does not create any patient-physician relationship and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.