On May 7, 11:41*pm, "Julie Bove" > wrote:
> "gtr" > wrote in messagenews:2012050720535327657-xxx@yyyzzz....
> > As if.
>
> > I just burned the hell out of the side of my thumb shuffling salmon about
> > in the broiler. Any ancient wisdom on how to treat it?
>
> > I've got a blister 1 inch by 1/4 inch. *I'm dosing it every hour with a
> > fresh application of aloe vera goo.

Not every hour, every few minutes. Put on the aloe every time it gets
dry.
>
> Cold water works for me.

Cold water first, then aloe gel, preferably fresh from a plant. Then
apply the aloe repeatedly for an hour or more For a thumb, after coat
after coat drying on, fill the thumb of a nitrile or latex glove with
the gel, then stick your hand in it. Oil of lavender also helps.
Burns are the only thing that makes me covet cocaine. I'd be
perfectly safe from abusing in a world where cocaine was legal because
I would never use it for anything other than a local anesthetic.

The last time I got a horrible burn, I was not in a position to get
any aloe. I kept my hand in cold water for hours and hours. I was at
a bachelor party that was actually just a bunch of guys going
canoeing. I was the most sober guy there, having arrived late with my
son, after they'd been drinking for hours. There was a rut I didn't
know about near the fire, and I tripped and fell into the fire. From
early morning until evening I spent the hours with my hand in ice
water. I had brought a keglet of some excellent beer to share with
everyone, and I tapped it before they left on the float with my 5 YO
son under the care of his cousins, and with a top quality life jacket
on. I sat at the campsite and drank a LOT of beer, then my wife's
cousin drove my car back for me. Some people thought that I was
irresponsible bringing my son to the "Methodist bachelor party" to
begin with, and ever more letting him go on the float without me, but
his cousins are righteous guys--one of them being a member of The
Bonobos, and the other a member of the church where I work--and he had
a great PFD on.

I called it a "Methodist bachelor party" because it was the Methodist
cousin's bachelor party, and there were no strippers or anything, just
a bunch of guys going on a float trip. The only thing that made it a
bachelor party was that the females weren't invited, and it was right
before the guy got married. I wasn't even tempted to let my injury
screw up anyone else's time, including my son's. My son had a great
time, and that keglet of Schlafly Dry Hopped APA and the ice water
made my time tolerable. I had a giant blister on my palm that
persisted for weeks. I had to dust mop and mop with one hand for well
over a month. The only part of my job that I was unable to do was
replacing the can liners in the trash cans. I didn't miss a single
day of work.

--Bryan