Feel the Burn?

"OUCH!" is something I say often. Honestly, I might say something more colorful, but that's what I MEAN when I say those other words that pepper my vocabulary from time to time. 

Recently,  I was making breakfast for the kids, and as I grabbed the handle of the frying pan, I spun the pan around, and accidentally seared the skin on the underside of my forearm. Using my first aid memories, I immediately ran cold water over my arm, but not for too long. I still had breakfast to get on the table. 

As we were sitting around the family room later, I realized the burn was deeper than I'd thought. It began to sting. A lot. 

Sierra suggested I put mustard on it. 

"MUSTARD? Are you serious?"

She was. She'd read about it. So of course, I had to read about it. Google turned up a plethora of articles.

While I didn't find many big name references supporting the healing properties of yellow mustard, there were plenty of sources touting its benefits, including The People's Pharmacy, Lifehacker and The National Mustard Museum. There was an abundance of anecdotes praising mustard's soothing properties. 

To be fair, I wanted to investigate what the naysayers have to say. Here is one example of what I read, thanks to Google. 

Apparently, there is a blog section of WebMd, and there was a PA/PhD who wrote an article advising AGAINST any food product to treat burns. I took his comments with a grain of salt, though. How seriously can I take a medical professional's advice whose article has obvious need of a proofreader and/or editor? These were his parting words:

"If [you] grandmother insists on putting tomato slices on your sunburned back, just do it. Other than cooling down your skin, don’t expect a miracle cure. You do need to be nice to your grandmother and not hurt her good intentions. Besides, you support our struggling tomato farmers." 
-Rod Moser

Okay. Well, there you have it. A "professional" opinion discourages the use of yellow mustard or any other food to soothe a mild burn. 

I can add my testimony to the many other testimonials that after initially running cold water over the burn, the refrigerated mustard lessened the burning sensation, and after awhile, my arm felt much better. For severe burns, of course, you will need to seek medical treatment. 

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional, and just tend to make fun of the medical professionals who publish articles with mistakes in them. This advice is my opinion only, and is not intended to replace your doctor's advice, whether s/he writes well or not. 

Worked for me!