The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Aimee (Stockton, Il 61085) on 05/21/2011
★★★★★
My Daughter burnt her thumb at a bonfire we tried the alchol and ice did not work did the foil and load and behold getting better. Now we are beleivers.
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Debbie (Burlington, Ontario) on 07/08/2011
★★★★★
Huge Thanks for all the comments, aluminum foil worked wonders for me on my burn, I was pouring hot water for tea from a kettle and accidentally hit my hand instead of the cup. I tried everything, soaking it in cold water, the alcohol swab, even aloe vera, but the pain just wouldn't seem to go away. So I tried the aluminum foil, thankfully read enough of these replies to stick with the pain for a good 10-15 minutes and then it started to ease up. Definately remembering this trick for next time, it has helped me alot! Thought I may have had to go to the hospital for a bit as well!
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Mrs. Fixit (Murray, Kentucky) on 04/29/2012
★★★★★
So yesterday I was changing the spark plugs on my car and decided hey while I'm at it I'll go ahead and change the oil in my riding mower too. Well, I let it run for a few minutes to warm the oil up and failed to let everything cool down. The owner's manual says to unplug the spark plug before draining the oil.... So, I went for the spark plug wire and wasn't thinking that the big shiney tube next to it was the exhaust. Long story short, I burned the crap outta my palm near my thumb, my middle finger and my ring finger... OUCH! I immediately ran inside to run cold water on it. Of course, every time I took it out from under the water I wanted to scream it hurt so bad. I grabbed some frozen corn and headed to the computer where I found this site. I saw the Aluminum Foil thing and couldn't imagine how something so crazy would work, but I decided to give it a try since I have no insurance and didn't want to go to the ER. I wrapped the foil around each finger individually and then around the palm of my hand. I had read that it may continue to burn for a little while, so I waited... Within 10-15 min the burning had gone from a 9. 5 to a 2. No more pain! I kept it on for about 4 hours, which was when I couldn't feel any pain at all, and then removed it. Still no pain. I decided that putting some anti-biotic cream on it wouldn't hurt, so I did so. It is now the next evening and I have to say I am completely amazed!!! I do have some small blistering, but it isn't even tender to the touch. I was able to change my cam sensor on my car today!!! I burnt my right hand, which of course I am right handed, and was still able to use a wrench and sockets with no problems!
Thank you so very much Earth Clinic and to all of the people who commented with their results!!
IT REALLY DOES WORK!!!!! :)
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Dragonfly (Northville, Mi) on 02/05/2011
★★★★★
I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't tried it myself! Having a blonde moment I grabbed a cast iron grate after boiling hot water! Blisters were there immediately! I kept my hand in cold water for a few hours until I found this sight and thought what would it hurt to try! AMAZING!!! Like people said it took about ten min of pushing through the pain and then it was gone! I even went to the mall with the foil on my hand:)! I took it off a few hours later and my hand hasnt' hurt since... Most of the blisters are gone too, but the worst one I had!! I would def do and tell people about this again!
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Noel (Ft Worth, Tx) on 05/16/2011
★★★★★
My girlfriend scorched her hand really bad from a pan which had come out of the oven. She ran cold water and used aloe vera gel, while cooling it with a covered ice wrap. It was fine, until she removed the ice wrap, as pain returned with a fury. I read the foil idea, and thought wow, this is crazy, but what the hell. She used it with great success and has had very little blistering. Great idea!!!!
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Carjacks (Mcdonough, Ga) on 06/03/2011
★★★★★
I burnt my fingers by accidently grabbing a hot flat iron. The pain was extreme. I applied ice as well as antibiotic ointment to relieve the pain. I couldn't remove the ice for more than a few seconds w/o intense pain.
Finally I found this website and decided to try the foil. It hurt really badly for about 5-7 minutes. The pain would come in waves and it felt like my hand was cooking. After that, the pain began to subside. The blistering stopped and there was very little pain. It does work.
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Caroline (Charlotte, Nc) on 08/02/2011
★★★★★
amazing! Burned my finger on my straitening iron and my first instinct was to put ice in it so I used I wet rag with ice and every 5 min. I had to get new ice for about 4 or 5 hours. Then I googled other remidies and found this site. I figured that there was no harm in trying it so I wrapped so arnolds around my finger and it worked! In about half an hour my finger was fine and whenever it started hurting again I just put on more foil till it felt better :)
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Michelle (Charlotte, Nc) on 08/28/2011
★★★★★
STEAM BURN REMEDY THAT REALLY WORKS! I received a steam burn on the top of the four fingers of my right hand when opening a roasting pan. The steam came out so fast. The pain was unbearable! I had some relief only when I had my hand in a bowl of ice water. If I took it out, the pain got even worse then when the incident happened. I felt like my hand was on a rotisarrie just cooking away. For 3 hours I could not do anything but keep it in ice, then my husband looked up this tip on the internet and wrapped each of my fingers in tin foil and within MINUTES the pain was gone! Truly amazing. I am still trying to figure out why it works, but it does!
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Debbie (Mesa, Az) on 09/07/2011
★★★★★
I had removed the film from a cooked microwave meal & experienced a steam burn to my finger. The pain was so intense it brought tears to my eyes. After soaking finger in ice cold water for 90 minutes, I read on this site about aluminum foil. As a nurse I was skeptical, as I had never heard of this. I have had it on my finger for 25 minutes & the pain is so much better. Thank you for this tip! Incredible!
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Lauren (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania/united States Of America) on 10/22/2011
★★★★★
As weird as it sounds, aluminum foil works. I was REALLY skeptical at first but it took away all the pain. If you have a minor burn, just give it a try. In my opinion its better than sticking mustard, egg whites and potato slices on a burn- haha people are just asking for an infection, honestly.
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Lydia (Dublin, Leinster, Ireland) on 03/04/2012
Decided to be a fool and grab a roasting hot light bulb earlier. I was soaking my hand in a glass of ice water for 3 hours which made it bearable but the pain kept rushing back whenever I removed it. Hopped on google to see if there was anything else to make it possible for me to sleep and found this. My flatmates may think I'm physco but the tinfoil (what we call AL foil here) has made the pain go away which is all that matters. We'll see whos crazy next time they burn themselves!
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Gerard (Belfast, Ireland) on 05/19/2012
★★★★★
I burnt my whole hand fingers n all taking a pan out of the oven, never felt pain like it. Tried freezing water for nearly 3-4hrs only took pain away for couple of minutes, tried cold packs same effect as cold water, then I went onto this web site and thought I'd give this tin foil thing ago as I would try anything to get rid of pain and I'll tell ya what unbelievable now don't get me wrong pain was still here for about half hour, but now it has almost completely gone, still can't believe it.
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Roberta (West Chester, Oh) on 12/15/2010
★★★★★
Same story as everyone else here. Touched a dish in oven at 425! Couldn't take may thumb out from under the running water for more than a couple of seconds without a lot of pain. Put the Al foil on. At first, no relief, hurt a bit worse. And, then at about 15 min. Total relief. I did try and take the foil off about an hour later and it began to hurt again. So, I put it back on. Immediate relief. So, I slept with it on. THANK YOU SO MUCH for the advice!! It works!
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Ailime (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) on 03/23/2012
★★★★★
Emilia Tokes - from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. I poured 100degrees Celcius boiling water on my whole left hand last night by accident, when I wanted to pour it in my tea pot. The pain was so unbearable I wanted to scream and die. I had 3 fractures, among which one open and it didn't burn this bad. I spent a good 4 hours dipping my hand in cold water, but as soon as I took it out - it would sting and burn like crazy. I googled -- I tried the rubbing alcohol, lasted a good 30 seconds ? I tried the white of eggs but, it was not practical for me, as it was 11pm and I really wanted to go to sleep. I found this this site, I read a lot of the foil paper and I said - I have nothing to lose. I wrapped my hand in foil paper. The first 30 seconds were unbearable! The first minute was painful. Near the end of the first 5 minutes though, I already noticed a diminition of pain! I wrapped my hand in a light scarf, I attached the base near my wrist with a hair crunchie and went to bed.
I woke up this morning, my hand was cured!! No kidding. I have pictures of my hand totally red from the burning and totally white fresh out of the foil paper. It's a miracle solution! And you can sleep with it, if you happen to burn yourself in the afternoon, or evening like me.
I HIGHLY recommend the foil paper. I cannot believe that I can actually type with both 2 hands a night after I burned my left hand and I am speaking of the whole palm being burned, between the fingers and on top of the thumb, the middle and the ring fingers, as the boiling water ran through the fingers!
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Shannon M. (Long Beach, California) on 04/09/2012
★★★★★
I was an unbeliever. Now I am a believer. My oven mitten slipped, and I pushed in the oven rack with my bare thumb. 2 hours with an ice pack, and it still hurt when I removed the ice pack. I did not want to try the aluminum foil because it sounds so... Unbelievable. At first the pain intensified for 2-4 minutes, and then it subsided totally. WOW! I only kept the foil on for an hour. The pain did not return. Thanks!
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Claire (Memphis, Tn) on 12/01/2010
I stuck my finger right in a glob of hot glue and it hurt so badly I could only take it out of a cup of cool water for seconds without excruciating pain. Looks like an easy second degree burn with a big blister forming. Googled for help and found this great site. I cannot believe this aluminum foil wrapped around my finger has helped so much. Thank you Nova Scotia. The internet is so great
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Tb (Morristown, Tennessee) on 05/01/2011
★★★★★
Burned two of my fingertips by directly touching a hot baking element in the oven. The burn was deep and bright white; yellow mustard (a remedy that's always helped before) seemed to do nothing. Kept my hand in cold water for six hours, but every time I took it out it would hurt like crazy. Thought aluminum foil sounded like a silly idea, but finally got desperate enough to try it. 20 minutes later the pain was gone! It's 3 days later and the burn is *just* starting to blister but is still completely painless. (I'm baffled, really.)
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Christina (Elk Grove, Ca) on 07/05/2011
★★★★★
Starting today, we added " TIN FOIL " to our FIRST AID KIT---------------MY DAUGHTER BURNED HER THUMB AND POINTER FINGER GRABBING A SPARKLER (4TH OF JULY) HER FINGERS TURNED RED, WHITE, AND SWELLED.. SHE WAS IN SO much pain. we put water, ice, tried mustard, the pain was so intense.. She put them back in the water. we came upon this home remedy site... We tried the foil..... IT WORKED WITHIN SECONDS OF WRAPPING THE FOIL AROUND THEM. THANK YOU.
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Trishy (Minneapolis, Mn) on 10/03/2010
★★★★★
I have to say, I am shocked. Tonight my stupid self grabbed a glass cake pan that was around 350 degrees! I burnt myself pretty badly on my palm and fingers. I immediately ran cool tap water over the burn and then but an icepack with a washcloth around it on my hand. I ran to the internet in search of the best remedy. After I saw this page, I thought "why not? I have foil in the kitchen! " I will say, at first, it burned even worse when I initially but the foil on (luckily I saw that someone else had the same thing happen, so I stuck with it). However after several minutes, the burning sensation decreased and now, 4 hours later, I have no pain! The blisters are next to nothing, too! I amazed!
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Mountain Girl (Blairsville, Ga) on 10/04/2010
★★★★★
I USED THIS WHEN I BURNED MY HAND & IT WORKS!! I TRY LOTS OF REMEDIES ON EC & STAY AWAY FROM "CONVENTIONAL" MEDICINES AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. I LOVE EC AND RECOMMEND LOTS OF THE REMEDIES TO MY FAMILY & FRIENDS
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Helsbels (Berks, Uk) on 09/24/2010
★★★★★
Aluminum foil worked! I burnt my thumb and fingers when I picked up a hot plate which had just come out of a really hot oven! The pain was intense - I immediately put my hand under a cold running tap and then kept it immersed in a bowl of cool water for the next 1 1/2 hours and each time I took it out after a few seconds the pain was still really bad. After looking on the internet I came across this site so wrapped tin foil around my thumb and my fingers. Initially the pain seemed to get worse and my hand got really hot - so much so that I thought I was going to have to plunge back in cold water - anyway I persevered and after about 10 mins the pain suddenly disappeared completely - I was amazed. I still kept the foil on for an hour or so just to be on the safe side and when I took it off I had no pain whatsoever (just a small blister). What a discovery!!
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Nc Viewer (Central Nc, North Carolina) on 02/10/2012
★☆☆☆☆
Please, Please, don't do this. I don't like to burst your bubble but in the long run you are doing more harm than good. If you want natural remedies this is NOT Natural. If you aren't aware Aluminum causes Alzheimers and a slew of problems. It is in anti perspirant deoderants and in lotions and creams because it stops moisture from leaving the skin, keeping you dry and in lotions it keeps moisture under skin to look vibrant but in the long run that aluminum will float away to your brain and and accumulate and in time look out! There are alternatives to the stuff they supply us with.
DO NOT Cook with aluminum either! It seeps into the food and you eat it and you know where it goes once inside you.......... Your brain and organs.
Stay away from All metals the best you can. Never use non stick pans either... All very bad for you.
This is not just my opinion.. Do The Research. I have.
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Timh (Louisville, Ky, Usa) on 02/11/2012 2048 posts
If burns were a very regular problem for everyone, this post may be of importance, but seems to me the once-in-a-long-while burn victim should not hesitate to use it. As for heavy metal accumulation in the human body, anyone over 30yrs should do a heavy metal detox at least every 5 yrs using any number of methods now common in alternative health sources like here on E.C.
Detox methods are like taking a good shower using all natural soap on the outer body or washing your clothes in borax or Oxyfree®, except it's the inner body being cleaned. Or one could try very hard to never get dirty so as to never need of washing body or clothes.
As for avoiding any accumulation of heavy metals in the human body in the world we all live in nowadays, "good luck, cause you're gonna need it".
I take reasonable measures of avoidance, detox, and move on.
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Crazydogjack (New Castle, Pa, Usa) on 09/17/2010
★★★★★
Last night got a steam burn on my fingers as I took a lid off of a casserole. I just recently read a post about putting aluminum foil on the burn so I tried it. Within 5 minutes the pain was gone. Amazing! Thanks Earth Clinic Contributors!
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Lori (Oakwood, Ohio, Usa) on 08/31/2010
★★★★★
I "googled" for a remedy for a steam burn, it brought me to this site. Read about the foil, decided to try since ice wasn't working much for me. The Aluminum Foil does work!! Would of never believed it if I hadn't of tried it. Will recommend to others. It really works!
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Karen (San Francisco, Ca) on 07/18/2012
★★★★★
The aluminum foil is a true miracle worker. I burned my fingertips from pulling a pan out of a 425 degree oven w/ a hand towel (dumb move). I was instantly burned & could see slight blistering take effect right away. I ran my fingertips under cold water, which works like a charm if you want to stand there for two hours wasting water. Then I resorted to using frozen bags of veggies or whatever type of frozen goods I had in my freezer that would fit my hand comfortably. It did ease my pain, but the second I would let go, the pain comes right back. I was tired of temporary relief, I was desperate to sleep!! Low & behold, I finally went online (took me long enough) & found this wonderful website about using aluminum foil. OMG, I'm in such disbelief how quickly the pain disappeared. My fingertips are happy again! & I was so amazed I had to share my story to how foil became my sandman! I can now sleep in peace. Thanks for reading!
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Donna (Drexel Hill, Pa) on 07/15/2010
★★★★★
Just burned my thumb while making mac and cheese. Remember reading about aluminum foil so I thought I would give it a try. The foil has been on my thumb about 5 minutes and I can honestly say I no longer feel any pain. Wow, this really works! Thanks to everyone at Earth Clinic!
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Amanda G (Monroe, Mi) on 12/27/2011
★★★★★
To be honest I thought all you guys were crazy reading the comments. lol BUT I burned my three fingers very bad I was frying in my deep fryer and pushed it to move it not knowing or forgetting that the outside was going to be hot had ice on it for four hours still was hot and in pain. Then try the aluminum foil and worked within 15 minutes it feels cold not almost like an ice hot feeling. Thank you soo much!
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Karma2010 (Glendale, Az) on 05/02/2010
★★★★★
I burned the inside of my left hand when I grabbed the barrel of a rifle right after it had been shot. I could feel the skin burn, I was out in the desert with friends so I just grabbed a cold soda and held it, i swapped it out for a colder one every 30 mins for 2 hrs. I got home shortly after, grabbed a piece of aloe off my plant that i had and went to work, i used alot of it and it only worked a little for the pain, so logged online to find a pain remedy for a burn, I saw tin foil..My boss had some and about 5 mins after i wrapped my thumb with the foil, the pain went away, i left it on my thumb for about 2 hrs. i took it off when it got all sweaty..barely a mark no pain.my thumb is good to go!, this combo really works....
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Elizabeth (Birmingham, Uk) on 03/19/2011
★★★★☆
Alumininum foil does ease the pain. Im typing with foil on my burt finger now. It is still stinging, but it is not as bad as what it first was. I have been soaking my finger in cold water for about an hour and 30 mins and couldn't take it out without it hurting and burning like mad. Ive had the foil on for about 15 mins. At first it does hurt badly... But if you stick with it, it gets better! Thanks. :)
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Kiwigurl (Wellington, New Zealand) on 08/16/2011
★★★★★
Im doing the same thing right now. I had my burnt finger in cold water and with ice cubes on it for about an hour. Everytime I took out of the water and cubes it started stinging straight away. Ive had the foil on for about 5 mins now and its just starting not to sting as much. Thanks goodness as Im trying to type up an essay :)
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Gloria (Brentwood, Ny) on 12/07/2011
I never knew aluminun foil works on burns, I will try it next time... Two weeks ago I was frying some fish while talking.... Got distracted and I reached for the spatula without realizing it was over the gas fire. The silicon handle was stuck in my hand and left a black residue glued to my hand for a while. I remembered somebody told me when burning put your hand on wheat flour. It stops the pain almost immediately and it doesn't let your skin to bubble. And it did that, minutes later zero pain, no bubbles, no scars. In any case no ice, no cold water, never, ever they just got your burn worst, more painful.
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Tammy (Logan, Utah) on 03/26/2010
★★★★★
I burned my finger taking a pan out of the oven, my finger blistered. I tried cold water, antibiotic ointment, aloe and nothing worked, so I got oline and found this website. I saw the aluminum foil remedy and was a bit skeptical but it worked like a charm!
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Teresa (London, Uk) on 11/09/2011
★★★★★
I burned my hand in a bad way. Tried everything, running water, aloe vera, egg whites. Lastly, I put the foil and it worked, the pain desolved. Amazing, thank you so much.
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Tangomaniac (Central Ca, Ca) on 02/07/2010
★★★★★
Yesterday I had the worst burn of my life! I was glad to find QUICK relief here! I was melting butter in my stainless steel pan/handle and forgot it was hot. Grabbed the handle and immediately I knew this was going to be bad! Ran cold water first and then got something cold in the freezer. My husband looked up the internet (he didn't know about Earthclinic) and said NOT to use ice or creams, just cold water. The pain was intense!! I didn't want to waste water so I still used stuff from the freezer and also laid my hand in a plate of cold water. It was my right hand. I couldn't do much for more than 30 seconds at a time w/out the pain coming back! I then went here and found the foil to be interesting! I tried it and lo and behold the pain went away in about 5 min just like they said! It was trying to blister...I also have a bunch of creams...I used Rescue Remedy. I have an ozonated olive oil and i finally found a sample of aloe vera w/some other vitamins. I put that on and wrapped the foil over that. I found that it trapped in some moisture. I was able to juice later that afternoon using my right hand to push the damper!! The next day its just red and no blisters!! Thanks for the info here! I told others today and they will keep it in mind for further reference! They were thankful!
Aluminum Foil
Posted by James (Taranna, Australia) on 03/05/2010
★★★★★
i burnt my finger on oil from the BBQ, i tried water for 4 hours but the pain came back every 15 seconds, i tired honey it did not work, the pain was still there, onion worked but once the juice dried from it it started to burn again, so i came on here and seen the foil remidia, put it on and after two minutes no pain worked like a wonder
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Katy (Vancouver, Wa Us) on 11/13/2011
★★★★★
So, I had burnt my thumb on an oven rack at about 6 o'clock today. It's now ten, and I was burning since then. I have been reading this site, and thought this aluminum foil thing was a hoax. I just put it on my finger, and it took about 30 seconds to start working. Whoever came up with this idea, I give you props and I love you. (:
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Amber (Hillsboro, Oregon) on 11/15/2011
★★★★★
So I tried everything like mustard, honey, cold water, cold mil, cool water, tea bags, butter I got all that from the internet so I kept searching cause it wouldn't stop stinging and I ran into this and WOW it really does work although it really does burn for like 10-15 min maybe a little longer but then the pain eases up. Wow this is amazing!!! I will definitely be recommending this to family and friends.
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Linda (Kingston, Ontario) on 11/28/2011
★★★★★
IT WORKS.... MY TEEN DAUGHTER PUT HER PALM OF HAND ON HOT PLATE ON FLAT STOVE TOP.... BURNT IT TRIED COLD WATER... ICE PACKS.... ALOE VERA.... OINTMENT.... AND NOTHING WORKED. LOOKED UP IN THE NET.... THOUGHT WHY NOT!!! IT IS, AS OF RIGHT NOW, AS WE SIT IN FOIL, CALMING THE BURN PAIN.... WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT :)
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Gean (Salina, KS) on 07/20/2009
★★★★★
Today I got a second degree burn (immediate blistering) on my finger when I accidentally touched the heating element in my oven. I immediately wrapped it in aluminum foil (no cold water rinse - our water takes forever to get even semi-cold). I kept the foil on for a couple of hours. Then I applied raw honey and a band-aid. There were moments here and there when it hurt a bit during the first couple hours, but hardly at all. After I put the honey on, I don't remember any more pain. Kept the honey on for a couple hours. There is still a blister, but no pain.
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Cole (Cali, Valle Del Cauca, Colombia) on 09/25/2011
Here's a new one. I burned the palm of my hand deeply while cooking. The only thing I had on hand was Manzanillia in an eye wash solution and ice cubes. Pain was gone completly in 5 minutes. Three weeks later no scarring.
I live in Cali, Colombia and I bought some snail oil, which is oil made from snails y dissolving them with mineral salts, coca leaves and other things. While Bar-b-queing one day I burned my wrist lowering the top on the pit. Very bad and deep, about the width of a pencil and 1.5 inches in length. I know never put oil on a burn, but I did and pain was relieved after a few hours. It did not blister and I kept applying the oil until it was better. This was 7 years ago and I have no scar on my fore arm. Heck I can't remember which arm it was on.
Aluminum Foil
Posted by Julia (Brooksville, FL) on 06/13/2009
★★★★★
Yea, for aluminum foil for burns. While I was cooking tonight I got a pretty bad steam burn. After running it under cold water and having ice pack on it for a while, I wasn't getting any relief. I jumped on this site and came across the aluminum foil cure for burns, and by golly gee wilikers, it worked! I had it on for 15 minutes. Just took the aluminum off 5 minutes ago, and I can say absolutely, I feel no pain. Yea!!!!!
Aluminum Foil
Posted by AmynMatt (Warrenton, VA) on 04/19/2009
★★★★★
I burned my whole right hand on a pan I removed from a 400 degree oven. I remembered the aluminum foil cure from reading this site. Put it over my whole hand immediately and left it on for 15 minutes. My hand feels like nothing ever happened! Thanks so much for the tip!