# elmers glue for burns unconventional first aid



## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

we have all done it bumped the exaust of a hot motor , acidentaly gotten the hand on the inside of the oven while removing dinner, moved a tray of cookies and saw they were falling and grabbed them not thinking. bumped the stove. it happens form time to time

well a while back i had hear on a radio show for get which one now but they said elmers glue to help with 2nd degree burns (the ones that blister)

well not long after i had heard that i grabbed the falling tray of cookies - and burnd my self , used the glue and no blister 

well last night well over a year after trying it the first time i had a stupid accident with a propain torch , lets just say my finger was directly in the flame for longer than any one would want but less than a second but a fairly serios burn either way, i dropped the torch ran for the house and started it under cold water then looking around couldn't find the elmers school glue but did find the elmers wood glue (the school or white elmers was one shelf down and rigt infront of me as pointed out by my daughter later but i was a bit distracted at the time)

any how i gooped it full of wood glue by the way it doesn't do anything for the pain the bag of ice helped with that, actualy constant bags of ice from 7:45 till after midnight when i fell asleep finaly i would doze off drop my ice and wake up from the pain get more ice and repeat yes the bag of ice can end up a bit of a stick mess from the gue 

but woke up this morning it is tender but no pain, and NO BLISTER 
not having a blister is huge less chance of infection , less discomfort from not having a bulged blister 

how does it work the glue drying draws the moisure that would cause the blister thru the skin keeping the water pocket form forming.

in all is speeds recovery by a few days i woud say.


so a nice little peice of first aid for those burns.


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## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

Interesting idea - I'll have to try it sometime. I can't see how it could hurt anything since it's not opening the skin and exposing it to infection. Sorry about your burn, owie!


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

I'm not a big fan of it. I see this idea crop up occasionally and my concerns are always the same.

Glue is not a medical solution. It's an adhesive. At best it's going to trap heat inside the burn and allow it to continue cooking flesh, and at worst it's going to spread bacteria or possibly damage the application site when it's removed. 

It's not difficult to learn basic burn treatment from a book, or to keep on hand some herbs to make a decent salve. We don't have to resort to the "Red Green" school of medicine.


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## Explorer (Dec 2, 2003)

The only first aide treatment I would use wood glue (Elmer's) for is removing small hard to see wood slivers. Put the glue on, let it dry and pull off. The sliver comes out stuck to the glue.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

how many years was super glue used to close cuts before they came up with a medical variety , i even had a boss who used pvc cement boy does that sting.

i would be interested in what your tereatment is ernie , your salve , in the conventional book i have seen 2nd degree burn is run under cold water , then put a hidrocotozone or triple anti biotic ointment on it , (neither doing anything to reduce the blistering) then wrap in a loose dry bandage. that was what we were taught in boy scout first aid

i would like to hear better options , but for now i will use the elmers i am not holding the heat in first i ran it under cold water for 5 minutes then put on the elmers (it is non toxic and the kids can eat it) bread dough would probably work also or a paste of flour and water . then after the glue is on for a few minutes i put ice in a zip lock bag and put that on it and yes it did make a bit of a sticky mess on the bag but i didn't care.
ice on was the only way i didn't have pain radiating thru my hand. 

i had my finger direct in the flame of a propane torch the type for swetting pipes and today i am typing with it and it is tender i can still feel it but am not in pain

i have had burns from touching hot pipes , things i had just welded and other things in the past this was worse than most of them but in all is looking much better than all of them 12 hours later 

last year my mom burned herself on the stove she had the blisters and had her had wrapped up near a month before she had healed , i am typing with my finger today.i have healing left to do but not having blisters to add to the problem is a good improvment.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

this is what the mayo clinic says to do about burns 
personaly i find if it was a pain dealt with by tylenol or aspin it wasn't really a pain it was an anoyance , i also uncerstand i should have taken myself to the hospital last night.

Second-degree burn
When the first layer of skin has been burned through and the second layer of skin (dermis) also is burned, the injury is called a second-degree burn. Blisters develop and the skin takes on an intensely reddened, splotchy appearance. Second-degree burns produce severe pain and swelling. 

If the second-degree burn is no larger than 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) in diameter, treat it as a minor burn. If the burned area is larger or if the burn is on the hands, feet, face, groin or buttocks, or over a major joint, treat it as a major burn and get medical help immediately. 

For minor burns, including first-degree burns and second-degree burns limited to an area no larger than 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) in diameter, take the following action: 

Cool the burn. Hold the burned area under cool (not cold) running water for 10 or 15 minutes or until the pain subsides. If this is impractical, immerse the burn in cool water or cool it with cold compresses. Cooling the burn reduces swelling by conducting heat away from the skin. Don't put ice on the burn. 
Cover the burn with a sterile gauze bandage. Don't use fluffy cotton, or other material that may get lint in the wound. Wrap the gauze loosely to avoid putting pressure on burned skin. Bandaging keeps air off the burn, reduces pain and protects blistered skin. 
Take an over-the-counter pain reliever. These include aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others), naproxen (Aleve) or acetaminophen (Tylenol, others). Use caution when giving aspirin to children or teenagers. Though aspirin is approved for use in children older than age 2, children and teenagers recovering from chickenpox or flu-like symptoms should never take aspirin. Talk to your doctor if you have concerns


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## Ruby (May 10, 2002)

I know for a fact that HONEY will stop the pain of burns. Don't know about blisters. My husband was holding a small bowl in the palm of his hand at and oriental restaurant. He was pouring hot egg drop soup from a ladle when it spilled over his hand. He came back to the table and could hardly stand the pain. We told the waitress what happened. She brought back a container of honey and told him to spread it over the burn. The pain stopped almost instantly.

Also when our puppy Peanut was a tiny puppy she was in the kitchen. I had taken a brisket out of the oven and was going to flip it over. It slipped off the fork and fell back into the hot liquid splashing Peanut. She started hollering. I grabbed her and ran cold water over her. She was still crying and I remembered the honey. Grabbed some and rubbed it into the spots where the hot liquid hit and she quit crying and within minutes she was playing. Never saw any damage from the burn.


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

My daughter tried a poultice made with honey, ground cloves, Slippery Elm and I think there was on other herb in it (sorry I don't remember clearly) on a friend's burn. It worked great. He'd run it under cold water for a time, then put the poultice on. It still stung for a moment, then the cloves killed the pain. She just made a paste out of the honey and herbs and put it on gauze with a band-aid (end of finger burn from grabbing something fresh out of the oven - oops!). Not necessarily suggesting you leave it on for a couple of days, but that's what he did. When he took the band-aid off, it was just pink skin and never did hurt or blister. That's when I realized that "modern" medicine doesn't have all the answers, that many of the remedies we are warned off of actually work BETTER than the chemicals doctors are trained to dispense. His result was much better than any I've had with antibiotic ointments, etc.


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## woodsy_gardener (May 27, 2007)

Explorer said:


> The only first aide treatment I would use wood glue (Elmer's) for is removing small hard to see wood slivers. Put the glue on, let it dry and pull off. The sliver comes out stuck to the glue.


I wonder if that would work with ticks.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

I had a bad grease burn last week. Immediately put it under cold water. Then put Honey on it and covered. The honey didn't take away the pain, but in the morning the blister was not filled with fluid. I was able to keep it covered and part of the skin actually healed back to my flesh. Later while working outside one section the skin came off, that part is still trying to heal. I'll try putting cloves in some Honey. I still haven't gotten some Silvadene from the Dr.


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## Explorer (Dec 2, 2003)

woodsy_gardener said:


> I wonder if that would work with ticks.


Try glue with ticks as it sounds like an interesting experiment. You may need a little thicker application and make sure it completely dries. If you do, tell us how it worked.


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

Seems to me that the honey and the Elmer's are working in the same manner. By osmosis, they are drawing fluid from an area of lesser contentration to an area of greater contentration, in an effort to balance the fluid concentration. Basic organic chemistry. I see no reason why either one would NOT work. Yes, cool the burn right away to stop further burning, but after than, as long as the skin is intact, applying either one is not going to hurt, and may very well help. You wouldn't be introducing any source of infection to the burn, as the drawing action is moving things OUT of the burn, not in.


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

Explorer said:


> Try glue with ticks as it sounds like an interesting experiment. You may need a little thicker application and make sure it completely dries. If you do, tell us how it worked.


As it turns out, the cat was not a big fan of this treatment.


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

> The only first aide treatment I would use wood glue (Elmer's) for is removing small hard to see wood slivers. Put the glue on, let it dry and pull off. The sliver comes out stuck to the glue.


My wife grooms a few dogs and get some sharp little hairs stuck in her skin now and then. I'll suggest this idea to her! THX!!


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## Mackerel (May 30, 2007)

I have no idea of the science behind it, but I was told to pour bleach on a burn. I have done this several times, with the same result as everything else-no blister, pain relief, etc. Thoughts?


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

Ernie said:


> As it turns out, the cat was not a big fan of this treatment.


Ernie, you crack me up, lol!


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## Explorer (Dec 2, 2003)

Ernie said:


> As it turns out, the cat was not a big fan of this treatment.


How about the tick? :happy:


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

What tick?


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

Ernie, I'd hate to be your kitty!

Well, unfortunately, I'm getting a chance to try out this Elmer's glue trick. I burned my thumb right on the inside fold of the finger joint (at the "ball" of the thumb, if that makes any sense) today. Had on a pair of older leather gloves when I was feeding the wood stove - forgot about the hole in them. Ouch! It blistered immediately. I put it in cold water for 15 minutes, put glue all over it and let it dry, then added a bandaid and a clear occlusive dressing over that to keep it dry. It's pretty tender at the moment - I guess I'll see in the morning how it looks then.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

well i can tell you i had burned my self with the torch last week thursday i put the elmers on it , it hurt enought that i wasn't able to really get to sleep till after midnight everytime i would fall asleep i would drop my ice bag or somthing 

woke up friday it was tender but no blister , but by saturday i was back to full outside chores and sunday i was back on dish washing duty 

sure beats a week of a sore blister followed by a week of tenderness that i would normaly expect from a burn like i got.


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

I'm sold - the glue works! Yesterday the blister was totally flat and only slightly tender. Today, you can barely tell I ever had a burn. I'm amazed. I've shown all my co-workers and they can't believe it either.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

manygoatsnmore said:


> I'm sold - the glue works! Yesterday the blister was totally flat and only slightly tender. Today, you can barely tell I ever had a burn. I'm amazed. I've shown all my co-workers and they can't believe it either.


seeing/feeling is beliving with this one glad to hear you have very simmilar results to what i had.


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## Auric (Jul 18, 2005)

Sorry to hear about the burn. I take it this was while working on the pump project?


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

GREENCOUNTYPETE said:


> seeing/feeling is beliving with this one glad to hear you have very simmilar results to what i had.


Yes, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for posting that tip. I thought about trying the honey, but thought it might be a bit messy - the glue dried and I could cover it with a dry dressing.


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

Just wanted to give an update. After 2 days there was absolutely no further tenderness. I have what looks like a small callus on my thumb - in fact, I'd forgotten all about it until I felt some roughness there today. I would imagine that under that layer, the epidermis is busy rebuilding, and eventually, the "callus" will slough off. This was a pretty good blister, and normally I would have expected it to be tender, and to eventually burst and leave a raw spot to heal. Couldn't be happier to have it flat, painless, and healing without a raw spot, especially as I am a nurse, and use alcohol based gels every time I enter or leave a patient room. Alcohol + open wound = OUCHYWAAWAA!!!!


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## fetch33 (Jan 15, 2010)

I am a nurse and fairly skeptical about things. However, last week I burned the tip of my index finger on bacon grease. I did immediately soak it in cold water. It hurt so bad I spend the next 2 hrs with ice on it. Finally I remembered the elmer's glue. I applied elmer's wood glue and a bandaid. Within a minute, the pain was gone! I went about my day. I did remove the bandaid before bed and there was no blister and no pain. I'll definately try it again if the need arises.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

fetch i am glad yours stopped hurting , mine hurt alot , and i even took some serios pain killer, i lost the ability to speak coherantly and forgot my name but not the pain.

i claim no pain reliving affect from elmers but glad it worked for you, not having a blister is my main concern


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## Kringees Mom (Apr 24, 2010)

manygoatsnmore said:


> I'm sold - the glue works! Yesterday the blister was totally flat and only slightly tender. Today, you can barely tell I ever had a burn. I'm amazed. I've shown all my co-workers and they can't believe it either.


That's great, but how is your cat?


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

Hehe, my cats are smart enough to get ME to add wood to the stove.  Now, as to *Ernie's* cat...


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