No, please don’t put ice on your burns

Is it true that you can use ice to treat minor burns?

The science

Before modern-day medicine, home remedies for burns called for products often found in the kitchen, including butter or oil, egg whites and ice.

Ice is still considered a common burn remedy as it seems to accomplish two important tasks: remove heat and stop the progression of the burn, and soothe the skin. But ice can make burns worse, experts said.

“Ice can cause a frost injury,” said Peter Grossman, medical director of the Grossman Burn Centers. Direct contact with ice can cause further damage, and it can make the skin numb and less able to feel what may be happening, he explained.

Jeremy Goverman, a burn surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital and Shriners Children’s in Boston, said that aside from ice, which could “cause that second-degree burn to worsen and become a third-degree burn,” other home remedies such as butter are not clean and could promote infection.

The proper treatment depends on the burn.

Among adults, the majority of burns seen at U.S. burn centers are thermal. These are most often caused by fires or flames (42%), scalding liquids or steam (32%) and direct contact with heat (11%), but corrosive chemicals and electricity account for about 4% and 3% respectively, according to data from the American Burn Association.

First-degree and minor second-degree thermal burns may be treated at home, but more severe burns should be treated at health care centers, experts said. Here’s how they said you can determine the severity of the burn:

• First-degree burns such as sunburns, which damage only the outer layer of your skin known as the epidermis, may appear pink (or red) and dry, and often cause pain and some minor swelling.

• Second-degree burns, which damage the underlying layer of your skin called the dermis, may cause painful blisters. When these blisters break, the skin underneath may appear moist. Any second-degree burn that causes a blister larger than about one to two inches, or is on the hands or feet — functional areas that need to heal quickly — or genitals should be assessed by a health care professional, as should any burn that appears infected, Goverman said.

• Third-degree burns may show up as white or blackened skin, and fourth-degree burns can burn through fat and muscle down to the bone. These may be severe thermal burns, or chemical or electrical burns.

What else you should know

Use proper techniques to care for minor burns at home, experts said.

• Cool the burn. Immediately after a thermal burn, hold the skin under cool water for several minutes to eliminate heat, thereby decreasing the progression of the burn and preventing excessive inflammation, Grossman said. For areas of the body that cannot be easily held under a faucet, such as the face, use a cool compress or washcloth, he said. Also, while there are varying views on ice packs, Grossman said he likes the gel ones in moderation since there is a buffer between the ice and the skin.

• Keep the wound clean. It is important to reduce bacteria on the skin to decrease the risk of infection, Grossman said. Washing the wound with soap and water will help accomplish this, he said.

• Keep the wound moist — not dry. For first-degree burns — meaning there are no open wounds — apply a moisturizer that is natural, soothing and readily available, such as aloe vera, to the freshly washed skin. For second-degree burns, which typically result in blisters, use an over-the-counter antibiotic ointment to help prevent infection. Then cover it with a clean bandage, Grossman said.

The bottom line

Ice is not recommended to treat burns, as it can cause frost injuries. Instead, immediately place the burn under cool water, allow to dry, apply a moisturizer or antibiotic ointment, and cover it with a clean bandage, experts said.