Cooking Burns and Scars

[chef koo]

at the place i work at it's not a bragging issue. it's just more a topic of conversation. we're really lame. "oooh look at this one i just got". " yah that kinda looks like a happy face".

[gini]

I don't have a picture but I have a story of a burn mishap that took a turn for the worst.  I knew a guy from high school who was a cook at an Italian restaurant.  At the time he was putting something in the oven and on the same hand, he was also holding a knife with the blade pointing towards him...

You know when you acidentally touch something hot, you tend to pull your hand close to you away from the heat source, really fast?  Especially when you are not expecting it to happen?  Well, his forearm touched the side of the hot oven with the knife wielding hand and ended up stabbing himself in the chest when he pulled his hand towards him. The injury wasn't bad but it's something to think about.

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I totally shouldn't be laughing, but that is freaking hysterical. I'm a bad person.

The only really disgusting burn I ever got was from chowder. I was pouring some into a bowl for an order and a waitron busted into the kitchen and came BEHIND THE LINE to yell about something. As she was yelling at the broiler guy she backed into me. And my ladel went all over my hand instead of the bowl. My palm blistered up like a balloon. It was so pretty.

[Rebo]

I recently got my first bad burn from cooking on the line, and, yeah, I do feel a little like it's proof that I'm a cook. I was sauteeing something in very hot oil , had my towel positioned the wrong way, and as I was setting the fish in the oil, the oil splashed up on the knuckle of my index finger. It instantly formed a blister, and it soon looked quite gruesome. I had to wear a bandaid and finger condom for over a week.

I have lots of little strips from brushing against the upper oven rack and spots from hot oil on my forearms. I'm learning to be more careful.

[iii_bake]

Hi,

Pardon me if this has been recommended.

I have kitchen scars here n there..until a friend of mine introduced MEBO cream from China.

The latest severe burn almost did not leave scar and healed extremely fast.

It is from the China Institute for burns...i have tried many things but this, to me, is fantastic. ( it made me worry free on kitchen scar!)

you can check this out.

china institute for burns

It may sound rediculous recommending this difficult to find treatment but if you have anyone who have access to China or Chinese drug store around your area...it is really worth the try.

Anyone familiar with this at all?

iii

[fchrisgrimm]

About a year ago I burnt the bejeezus out of my hand when I grabbed the handle of a pan in the oven (a steak was finishing in there). Cold water fast and straight to the aloe vera gel. Others may be a little less enthusiastic about it, but I find nothing better than aloe vera.

Now if I could just quit cutting my hands! (And yes, I do keep my knives sharp.) Always happens when I'm trying to do too many things at once. (Or when I try to mandoline one to many slices off of a potato.)

[melissafitz]

i just grabbed my all-clad handle, after the pan had been in a 500F oven for an hr or so. i immediately put it under cold water. i'm starting to get some blistering, but think that it will be pretty limited. mainly, it's one of those "slow burn" feelings that is helped tremendously by applying cold water but then, slowly rebuilds in tingling, tightening and -- finally -- burning.

any suggestions for this type of burn?

[roosterchef21]

Best way is to keep it under cold water regularly. Not much else you can do. I did a similar thing the other day. So much pain it brought tears to my eyes and my heart rate got up to 193bpm for 10 minutes. But I kept putting it under cold water and it helped a lot.

[AAQuesada]

Suck it up. pretty much.

Silver sulfadine when I get home.

[lesliec]

Ow!!

The best first treatment is just what you did; get it under cold running water (don't use ice - it'll only give you a cold burn!).

Now, put some plastic kitchen wrap on it. I'm not kidding. Not sure where in the world you are, but it's called GladWrap down here; it might be Saran where you are. Keeping it on will be tricky, since it's presumably the palm of your hand that's affected, but see what you can do.

My wife had an argument with our fireplace a while ago (it won) and the plastic wrap was magic.

[VeraAgnes]

Since I'm a Registered Nurse who loves to cook and sustain a burn on a weekly basis ....first, rinse under cool water immediately...that stops the flesh from cooking....then, I use silvadine cream.....Oh yea...that feels good.

[Tri2Cook]

At work, suck it up. Can't stop when it's busy to go stick the hand or arm in the sink and by the time it's not busy you probably don't even remember it unless it was really bad. You get used to it eventually. Sometimes I find blisters in the morning without even knowing I'd burned myself the night before. At home, I'd probably run cold water on it if it was bad enough to hurt. Other than that, make sure it doesn't get infected and when it heals you have another tatoo for the collection.

[melissafitz]

thanks, all. i've been soaking in cold water -- like i said, it's not horrible -- but it is around the crevices so bending the fingers is a bit of a challenge. i'm mostly annoyed b/c i'm pretty sure it's going to get in the way of my knitting. actually, what a great excuse for not rushing to finish those damned holiday gifts! partially knit socks for all!

btw, what's silvadine?

oh, and i'm breaking out the saran wrap...

thanks again.

[velveeta]

I heard on a PBS show once that soy sauce was helpful for burns. Has anyone found this to be true?

[snowangel]

No help for this burn, but to prevent future burns (I've done the "grab a hot pan out of the oven bare-handed at least once for every year I am old). Wrap some crinkled foil around the handle before you put it in the oven. Instant reminder that yes, you do need a potholder! This has worked for the last two years.

[melissafitz]

thank you, susan! i will absolutely do that.

[boagman]

This obviously wouldn't be applicable for a busy commercial kitchen, but I like to keep an aloe plant growing in my kitchen window. Easy-to-maintain, cheap, adds color, and when you *do* happen to burn yourself, after putting the burn under running water, it's time to snap a part of one of the branches off for the medicinal effects of the aloe! I can see doing this before putting on the cling wrap, but I've never done the cling wrap thing before, so I'll have to think about that!

But yeah: aloe plant. Works for me!

[chezcherie]

even easier than the foil trick (tho that is also a good idea). since i should have an "all clad" brand on my palm from doing the same thing about once a year for years...as SOON as i take the hot pan out of the oven, using side towels or hot pads (cuz i KNOW it's hot when i take it out of the oven...doh!), i leave those side towels or hot pads on the handle, when i set the pan on the counter or stove top...serves as a visual cue to me, and anyone else who might be working around me, that the pan is HOT! (with some of the folks in my kitchen from time to time, i'm not sure even the foil method would be effective---"hmmm. what's that goofy foil thing doing on that handle? OUCH!")

havent burned myself since i started doing this.

[JTravel]

Easier than the aloe plant, a tube of 100% aloe vera gel....available everyplace, sometimes near the sun tan lotion. (Good for sunburns too.)

Use it immediately ! and as often as you can afterwards. I have heard that the hand disinfecting stuff we all slather on is aloe vera and alcohol. Might work in a pinch but I'm guessing it would really sting.

Foil on handle is something I picked up here, and it has no doubt saved me. Same thing with lid handle when doing the pre-heating really hot for the no knead bread. Once you pick it up it's hard to get rid of.

[melissafitz]

chez cherie --

i've been doing that and have completely ruined the interior of some of my kitchen mitts, making them useless -- there's no protective layer btw the mitt and my hand anymore!

have you not had that problem?

[Sentiamo]

There is only one thing to use on a burn...and that is Active Manuka Honey from here in New Zealand. It is even used in hospitals to treat burns/ulcers etc.

It is available in the USA and you will find 100's of research/trial results on the Internet to verify just how fantastic it is.

It tastes awful though...so it does not get near my mouth.

[David A. Goldfarb]

It's been a while, but I did it again tonight. I seared a beef tenderloin roast in a cast iron grill pan and put it in the oven to finish roasting and had everything else coming together à la minute--fries, glazed snow peas, sauce, onion confit to warm up. Took the pan out of the oven with a pot holder, set it on the stovetop, transfered the beef to a carving board to rest, then went to shift the pans around on the stovetop and forgot that the cast iron grill pan was still hot. Ouch!

At least dinner was good!