BH
Hey everyone!
Happy Chanukah!
So it’s Chanukah. Chanukah is one week out of the entire year and there are tons of songs out there about it. Pretty cool, huh? Who remembers Miami’s album? I do not know how old it is but it’s still playing. What about Shaindel Antelis’ Miracles? YBC’s album, anyone? Thank G-d, my Daddy’s home, my bubby makes great latkes and these are the nights. So I don’t have much in common with that CD. But if your Bubby, like Eli Gerstner’s, burns the latkes, you might want to fry your own. Listen, I baked donuts Sunday, so I know what frying’s like. It could be a bit on the dangerous side, so as my mother always says “Safety First”. If, G-d forbid, you do get burn yourself. Stay cool, here’s what you do:
First Degree: The skin is usually red, there might be swelling and it can be painful.
Second Degree: Blisters develop, skin takes on an intensely reddened, splotchy appearance, there is severe pain and swelling. (As long as its diameter is not longer than three inches, treat it as a minor burn.)
So here’s how to treat a minor burn (Mayoclinic.com):
Cool it. But don’t use ice. That’s a major no-no. Instead, run your burn under cool water (or in a cool bucket) for 15 minutes or until the pain goes down.
Aloha Vera! Meet Aloe Vera (or Calendula gel – works like magic as well) , it is the #1 thing I put on whenever I burn myself. It’s literally magic! It cools it down like crazy. I remember when I spilled boiling tea on myself (I didn’t touch tea for a year afterwards) it was the only thing that lessened the pain.
Bandage it. Cover in a sterile gauze bandage. Just make sure it’s not a fabric whose lint will stick to you (like fluffy cotton). Bandaging sure helps reduce the pain and protect the burned area.
Don’t break it. A blister, as my mother says, is ‘G-d’s bandage’. So don’t mess. Bursting it may lead to infection, which none of us want.
(For a 3rd degree burn, Heaven forbid, immediately call 911)
Hope I didn’t scare you. Latkes are fun (I’m going to make them now) and you should definitely try it. Just, safety first. The only downside of latkes, in my opinion, is that they’re calorie-loaded. But hey, it’s Chanukah, it’s a Mitzvah and my diet begins next week (but my cousin’s Bar Mitzvah is days away – yikes!) . So who’s counting?
Well, enjoy your latkes or donuts but try not to burn them ;)
Happy Chanukah!
Tonni
We have an aloe vera plant in my house. (the real thing, not a cream!) When I get a burn I pull off a piece of the plant and smear it on the burn.
Works like magic, literally! I suggest it for everyone.
Sigh. I usually igonore slight oil burns, like when it splashes me when I dump the potato-onion mixture into the pan. A few years ago, I was playing with my brother on Pesach while the food was cooking for the meal, and we were carrying ladles of steaming hot water to the sink. My other older brother saw it and smacked the spoon from my hand. It burnt me so bad that I spent the Seders holding my burnt hand to my cold grape juice cup, and I didn’t try that for a long time. It was almost a year later, and I was making one of the last batches of pasta for lunch before Pesach, and I stuck my hand in too far into the pot to mix the spaghetti with a fork. OUCH!!!!! I got burnt again and my hand still hurt at the Seders. But it healed and now I’m much more careful with cooking. Also, there was a time when a large drop of steaming oil splashed onto my hand when I was making pancakes and the area was red and it had burnt off a layer of skin. Boy, I could go on forever talking about cooking food and me. :)
I’ve never gotten a burn but it sounds pa8infull
i’ve had second degree burns- my word of advice: don’t iron your hair for the first time and try to iron the hair next to your ear without pulling it back. my ear was swelling up. it was nasty. and i’ve had those burns. the burns where you stick your hands in the oven, those burns whee you turn the water on too hot when you’re in the shower…. :)