The Egg White Remedy for Burns

| Modified on Oct 23, 2024
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Egg Whites for Burns

Egg whites are an effective natural treatment for burns. Not only do egg white help with common kitchen burns, they also bring relief to other types of burns including sun burns and rope burns.

How Can I Use Egg Whites for Burns?

The first thing to do for any burn is to cool it down quickly. Hold the burn under running cool water (not ice cold water) for 10 - 15 minutes. This will help to "take the heat" out of the body so that the skin will not continue to burn from the residual heat held in the body.

Crack an egg (or more if needed) into a bowl and remove the yolk with a spoon or even carefully with you hand. You can then immerse the burned area into the egg white. Keep it in the egg white for at least 20 minutes. One of our readers kept a burned area in egg whites for several hours!

Another option is to use a pastry brush to coat the burn with egg white. Let the egg white dry and repeat several times so that you have several "layers" of egg white on the skin. The "egg white skin" can be rinsed off hours later, or the next day.

Some of our readers have used a paper towel and soaked it with egg white and applied this to the burn. This method would only be suggested for minor burns. If the skin is broken and you apply a paper towel to the burn, you may have trouble removing it.

How Do Egg Whites Help Burns?

First of all, the egg whites are cold, which helps to pull the heat out of the burn.

Secondly, egg whites contain lots of nutrients - vitamins, mineral, and protein.

Egg white are also a popular fever reducing remedy. Something about egg whites is particularly cooling.

Cautions for Egg White for Burns

Because of the risk of salmonella, do not use egg whites for burns if the skin is broken. Try a different remedy, like honey.

Have you tried egg whites for a burn? Please share your story with us!


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.

73 User Reviews

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4 star (3) 
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3 star (1) 
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1 star (2) 
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Posted by Coffeycat (London) on 10/23/2024
★★★★★

First time I heard about egg whites for burns was from the book “Brotherless night” set in Sri Lanka. I followed that up with a medical study from Iran, then found this thread.

The Iranian study also suggested using garlic as an antibacterial ointment. There is so much healing in nature that we have forgotten in our rush for ”progress”

I was recently bitten by insect unknown in Portugal. My skin swelled in painful itchy seeping bumps for 3 days before a local reached down and plucked a “weed” from the field we were working in. He squeezed the yellow sap from the stem onto each of the swollen bites. Immediate relief! The next morning no sign of irritation and no scarring....I usually scar badly.


Egg Whites
Posted by Travelin On (Oregon, USA) on 01/04/2024
★★★★★

Egg Whites: Great healer for a scalding burn

I burned my hand while holding a thermos bottle and pouring boiling water into the thermos bottle. For whatever reason the boiling water exceeded the mouth of the thermos and burned the back of my hand, between the fingers and the inside of the hand. Got the hand under cold water ASAP and left it there to cool it down which really helped prevent blistering, though the tissues did swell. Once the hand could leave the running cold water for a bit, I applied egg white to all of the burned area and then some. Let it dry and went on with the chores of the day. Within 1/2 hour of having the egg white on the horrible intense pain was gone and all that remained was very tender tissue. Needing to wash my hands a few times with the chores of the day I continued reapplying egg white for the rest of the day so that the hand remained with egg white on it for a good 8 hours during the day. Come night, there was still some very tender skin across the knuckles that attach the fingers to the palm of the hand and I opted to apply more egg white, let it dry, put a glove over the hand and go to bed for the night. Come morning the tenderness was still there, but less. With the immediate cold water and putting on egg whites as often as I felt was required, there are no blisters and the burn is healing quickly.


Egg Whites
Posted by Katzie (Canxun, Mexico) on 10/11/2023
★★★★★

Burned my little finger on my hand quite thoroughly. Here in Mexico Melipona Honey (from stingless bees) is predominant (over Manuka). This is an awesome remedy, BUT for quick relief, Egg Whites are the thing!!

After burning two fingers with hot water!, I first tried 1 Egg White!! This took the pain away, instantly! 10 mins later I used melipona honey over the area, wrapped it - and now, 2hrs later, its like it never happened! No bumps, no bruises, no injured areas! Its like it never even happened.

This was a bad one though, so I had to soak the burned area for, like, 10 whole minutes!!


Egg Whites
Posted by Ashley j (Idaho ) on 03/14/2023
★★★★★

I once was trying to light my cigarette (I know not healthy) and it was windy outside I thought I was using my regular lighter but picked up a torch lighter and ended up burning the inside of my hand that was right next to my thumb and forefinger and boyyyy did it hurt. I remember running into the kitchen grabbing 2 eggs separating the yolk from the egg whites and taking a paper towel and soaking them in the white and placing it right on my hand . I then got a zip lock and put some ice cubes in and a dry hand towel and wrapped the bag of ice and placed in on the paper towel to keep the egg whites cold on the burn had to reapply after 20 mins and then after about another 15 the pain was completely gone. It was red but no longer hurt.. I run to this remedy now whenever I accidentally burn myself.and the best thing yet I never got a burn blister or a scar...


Egg Whites
Posted by Cyndi (Martinez, Ca) on 01/01/2023
★★★★★

I used egg whites on a sunburn a few years back. I used a blush brush and brushed it on several times creating a layered effect. The egg white completely took the burn out of the skin and I was no longer in pain. It works great and I'll always use it for every burn from now on.


Egg Whites
Posted by Wayne (New York) on 12/07/2022
★★★★★

Egg whites really work. My mother was moving a corning ware dish with boiling water in it and the handle came off. Boiling water all over my leg. I whipped the jeans off (pain, pain, pain), my mother quickly broke some eggs, took the whites, and covered the large red burned area. Later there was still some red but 90% was clear. Thank you mom...and egg whites.

Wayne


Egg Whites
Posted by Katzie (Calgary) on 08/03/2022
★★★★★

I got a hot water burn on my hand. Treated with THC Honey and essential oils, which were all great and very soothing.

On day 3 small blisters showed up anyways; they were small and painless, but blisters can be a real problem. So I put 1 nice cold egg white on it. I would dunk my hand, then pull it out and let it dry and did this for 4 coats of egg white. I covered with more honey over that, wrapped in loose gauze overnight, and now the next day, no blisters and it feels great! Thanks, Earth Clinic!

Happy healing, everybody.

Replied by Katzie
(Calgary)
08/05/2022

I just wanted to add that the reason I had to put egg whites on a 3-day old burn is that I did not realize how bad the burn was. The discolourization and striations in skin tone were fascinating to me. I even noted that the burn did not extend down to the folds of my knuckle when my thumb is bent.

Y'see, I found the discolour striations and small blisters fascinating because I did not know how bad that burn was! Unpasteurized honey (preferably Manuka, but I only had THC Honey), along with neem oil & castor oil meant I never experienced any pain! I think it was the worst (deepest), yet painless burn I have ever had. Here it is day 5, and I presently dunking my hand again in egg whites as one of the blisters is trying to come up again. Update: the egg white took it down, again!


Egg Whites
Posted by Emrose (Statesboro, Ga) on 06/01/2018
★★★★☆

While using a crocheted pot holder, I pulled a cast iron skillet out of a 325° F oven, set it on the stove, then needed to move it. I'd forgotten to ensure the entirety of the handle was covered. The kind of burn that results in a blister happened. Hubby suggested that I run cold water over it to take the heat out. I don't know about everyone else, but that only works while the burn is in the water. My hand would've felt as if it were on fire the second I stopped.

Instead, I searched for burn remedies in case there were some I didn't know about. The first one that made any sense was egg whites. Two went into a saucer, my hand soaking until I could lift it with minimal pain. For now (roughly 45 mins after the incident), I'm leaving the dried egg on. It hurts in proportion to how much I move my hand. At least I'm not stuck at the sink! I plan on using some honey (raw, unfiltered) once I feel the whites can be washed off.

Replied by Deirdre
(Los Angeles)
06/01/2018

Hi, I suggest you get a manuka honey bandage from the burn section of the pharmacy for that right away. I had 2nd degree burn on the side of my arm from boiling soup exploding out of a blender lid a few years ago and wasted critical days trying other remedies for a large burn blister that ended up popping when I peeled off a bandaid (not good, delays the healing). The manuka bandaid was immediately soothing and incredible effective. I tried raw honey a few days before buying the bandaids but it was too messy and kept seeping out of the sides. Good luck, I know how painful it is!

Emrose
(Statesboro, Ga)
06/02/2018
1 posts

Thanks for the advice! It never blistered; possibly thanks to the eggs. I used honey, a paper towel, & an ace bandage to keep the honey in place/allow it to breathe. By the end of the day, it only hurt when touched. Today (the day after the burn), it only hurts when rubbed/scraped. This is definitely a remedy I plan on using again! By the way, I only burnt a small portion of my palm, so it's not a big wound.


Egg Whites
Posted by Fdm (Knoxville, Tn) on 05/19/2018
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

Due to an accident in which I spilled scalding hot water on tender skin on the underside of my wrists and was in terrible pain, I used egg white. Please note that the skin was not broken. First, I ran cool water over my wrists for 30 minutes, which took a lot of the initial heat out. However, unless I kept icy compresses on my wrists the pain was extreme and my wrists were still bright red. Even homeopathic cantharsis did not reduce the pain or redness. I decided to try egg whites, applied with a cotton swab. Pain was reduced to a tolerable level and redness diminished.

I did this several times, rinsing egg white off with cool water and reapplying egg white and allowing time for it to dry. With every application of egg white the pain diminished more and the color finally went to pink instead of red.

At this level of discomfort, I was able to sleep. When I woke the next morning the pain was totally gone. The area still remained somewhat pink, but there was no blistering and I was able to function completely normally. After coming home from work, I applied more egg white and did so again this morning. I'm writing this 48 hours after the injury and am still pain free, but the burn is still pink. There was also some swelling initially, which is gone this morning.


Egg Whites
Posted by Jim Adetula Engr. (Lagos, Nigeria ) on 04/09/2018
★★★★★

Thanks. I suffered severe burnt on my left hand from a powerbank that I modified to last longer than designed. Based on ur advice, I dipped my hand in cold water for about 70 minutes then broke an egg removed the white I used tissue paper to apply the raw egg gel several layers and now the already swollen hand returned normal within 7 hours. It was like magic. Along the way I took paracetamol. Thanks for ur advise.


Egg Whites
Posted by Cgull (Sydney) on 09/26/2017
★★★★★

Last night I scalded my left wrist with steam from a boiling kettle, the pain was excruciating, then I remembered the egg white trick I saw on the net . A few minutes after the egg white was administered there was only the slightest discomfort.

By this morning I had completely forgotten the incident. Then I noticed a few small blisters but a few hours later they all but one disappeared.

There is redness on the skin but no pain. I had similar burns before, but never have they healed so quickly.

Replied by Shelley
(Delaware)
09/27/2017
★★★★★

This is absolutely true.. I had grease burn on left hand.. Used the egg white method, pulled the heat right out, never blistered, no scarring!


Egg Whites
Posted by Tamstersq (Ft Myers, Fl) on 09/16/2017
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

I had a crock pot full of hot soup that I was putting in the fridge. Just as I got to the shelf the crock broke in half. Luckily I had an oven mit on my right hand. No so lucky I only had a pot holder in the left hand Well my left hand got toasted I immediately put it in a ice bath for some time. I then applied home grown aloe I applied the aloe for a couple of days. Then hurricane Irma hit I kept

The wounds covered with antibacterial gauze and antibiotic gel and wraps while doing yard work the next 3 days. The pain level was high Then Thursday after Irma hit Ft Myers FL a friend told me about egg whites I thought ok why not. So glad I did, the healing process has been quick. Not totally healed yet but the pain level has gone down greatly and healing seems faster than the antibiotic gel.

I'm a waitress so I have to put bandages on the affected areas They're not pretty. But now using two bandages instead of three. The top of my left hand, three fingers and the bottom of my wrist were affected. I only have to bandage the top of hand now. Love natural cures! Stiil have some time to heal as I believe 3 Rd degree burns were incurred. I thank my friend for the advice. Wish I had known a few days earlier.


Egg Whites
Posted by Jv (San Jose ) on 05/21/2017
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

Back in the 80's I foolishly opened my truck radiator cap. The fluid burst up hitting the hood and came down on my right arm. Burning me from shoulder to wrist with second degree burns. We found a hose and began rinsing my arm. A friend sent his daughter into a nearby store and had her buy 1/2 dz eggs. As the skin on my arm was literally sliding off he applied the whites and the pain stopped. I applied egg whites for several days afterwards. My arm completely healed without a single scar.

Replied by RIKER
(Co.)
11/19/2020
3 posts

I knew I should've bought those non-organic caged chicken eggs… Minor steam burn and egg white layers did nothing. I took some Arnica by mouth and that helped some.


Egg Whites
Posted by Mama To Many (Tn) on 04/10/2017
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

I had the opportunity to test out a natural burn remedy. I was pulling a very hot dish out of the oven with a damp rag because it was handy. I know better. The heat went through that damp towel fast and a burned my hand. I was in a hurry (thus the foolish potholder alternative) and didn't want to go get the healing salve or lavender. I just kept cooking. I had a raw onion sitting thought that might help. I rubbed it on the burn. Nope.

Next I was cracking eggs and I recalled reading about egg whites for burns here at Earth Clinic. I quickly wiped some of the white onto the burn and carried on. I let it dry.

Sure enough, it stopped the pain! I don't know the chemistry behind it but it worked.

~Mama to Many~


Egg Whites
Posted by Dorry (San Jose ) on 02/20/2017
★★★★★

I poured boiled hot water on my hand. It was really bad. I remember some where I read about egg white. So, I used egg white all over my hand and wrapped it with a piece of cloths. First it was burning for a while, then stopped. Next day there was no sign of burn.



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