How to treat a minor burn
For a minor burn, hold it under cool, not icy, running water for twenty minutes, take off any bracelet or ring before it swells, and cover it loosely with plastic wrap or a clean nonstick dressing. Skip butter, oils and ice, and leave blisters intact. A burn bigger than your palm, or on the face, hands or joints, needs medical care.
You brush your wrist against a hot curling iron.
Why it matters: The first twenty minutes decide how bad a burn gets, and the old remedies make it worse.
In an emergency, call your local emergency number, 911 in the US, first. Reading a page is not training: take a certified class and practice on a manikin.
Steps
- Move away from the heat and switch it off.
- Hold the burn under cool running water for twenty minutes.
- Take off rings, bracelets or watches near the burn before it swells.
- Cover loosely with plastic wrap laid on, not wrapped tight, or a clean nonstick dressing.
- Leave blisters alone.
- For pain, ask a pharmacist or clinician what is safe for you to take.
- Watch for signs of infection over the next days: spreading redness, pus, swelling or fever.
- Take a certified first aid class to practice burn care and more.
Stop and call a professional if
- the burn is larger than your palm, deep, white, leathery or charred: call your local emergency number, 911 in the US, for large or deep burns
- the burn is on the face, hands, feet, genitals or a joint, or came from a chemical or electricity: get medical care the same day
- a young child or an older adult is burned
Common mistakes
- Putting ice on the burn.
- Cooling for only a minute because it feels better.
- Popping blisters.
Teach this to someone
A one page sheet for showing a friend, a teenager or a parent: what to say, what to show, and one question to check it landed.
Teach: How to treat a minor burn
What to say
For a minor burn, hold it under cool, not icy, running water for twenty minutes, take off any bracelet or ring before it swells, and cover it loosely with plastic wrap or a clean nonstick dressing. Skip butter, oils and ice, and leave blisters intact. A burn bigger than your palm, or on the face, hands or joints, needs medical care.
What to show
- Move away from the heat and switch it off.
- Hold the burn under cool running water for twenty minutes.
- Take off rings, bracelets or watches near the burn before it swells.
- Cover loosely with plastic wrap laid on, not wrapped tight, or a clean nonstick dressing.
- Leave blisters alone.
- For pain, ask a pharmacist or clinician what is safe for you to take.
- Watch for signs of infection over the next days: spreading redness, pus, swelling or fever.
- Take a certified first aid class to practice burn care and more.
Where it stops
Stop and call a professional if the burn is larger than your palm, deep, white, leathery or charred: call your local emergency number, 911 in the US, for large or deep burns.
Check question
Why remove a bracelet near a burn right away?
Answer: The skin will swell. Swelling can make jewelry hard to remove later.
Your checklist
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Quick quiz
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Related skills
Sources
- US national first aid guidelines for lay responders, 2025. Reviewed September 28, 2026.
Written in our own words from the sources above. It is general information, not advice for your situation; where a professional, your doctor or your lease says something different, follow them.
Last reviewed . First published .