What to Do First After a Burn? Don't Use Toothpaste!
By / Aug 20, 2025
It happens in a flash. A splash of boiling water from the kettle, a brush against a hot oven rack, a moment of lost focus with a steaming mug. The searing, immediate pain of a burn is a uniquely shocking sensation, one that often sends our minds reeling and pushes us toward ingrained, yet dangerously incorrect, folk remedies. The kitchen, the heart of the home, becomes a sudden triage unit, and in that panicked moment, the wrong decision can turn a painful injury into a lasting problem. The single most critical piece of information to sear into your own memory is this: under no circumstances should you ever reach for a tube of toothpaste, butter, oil, or any other kitchen-counter concoction. The first sixty seconds after a burn are golden, and what you do—or do not do—will directly influence healing, pain levels, and the risk of permanent scarring.