

On The Treatment of Burns

Hpathy Ezine, April, 2008 | Print This Post Print This Post |

The author shares an experience, along with historical references, for using slightly warm water instead of cold water for first-aid treatment of minor burns.

How do you treat a burn? Almost everyone, if you ask them for the first response required in the treatment of a burn, will tell you, “Put it in cold water…”.


In my first year of homoeopathic training a general discussion led the lecturer to describe a treatment for burns. He explained that he had been dining with a friend who had burnt herself and had immediately, to his horror, held the burnt area of her hand in the heat of a candle for a little while. The friend had then explained to him that the normal treatment of using cold water was ineffective, but that the application of heat to a burn meant that it would not blister, and although it did hurt more on the initial application it healed far more quickly and painlessly thereafter. This she demonstrated a little while later when he saw to his amazement that the burned area was not even red and she was experiencing no pain.


This is really nothing more than elementary homoeopathy… like cures like… similar similibus curentur….  And yet some in the group were surprised, and some argued that this would be dangerous with anything other than a very slight burn…

Some of us tried this out when the opportunity arose, and I personally discovered that holding an accidentally scalded part in hot water for a little while did indeed improve things to a remarkable degree. The theory was tested more thoroughly when, about year later, whilst working in a fish and chip shop, I slipped and my left hand plunged into the chip fryer up past the wrist. I ran (screaming!) into the kitchen and turned on the hot tap. The plug was in the sink and the sink began to fill. At the same time a couple of concerned customers had run into the kitchen to see if they could help. One of them noticed that I was running the hot tap and tried to ‘help’ by explaining that I had turned on the wrong tap and attempted to turn off the hot and on the cold. In my pain I had to prevent them and also explain what I was doing. This meant that my hand remained in the water for a longer period than it would perhaps, had I been left alone (this is relevant later…).

The next day, my hand had no evidence of the burn whatsoever! The customers who had witnessed the incident were amazed!

Last year (Sept 2007) I received a phone call from one of my daughter’s friends. In the background I could hear my daughter crying and obviously distressed. She had apparently scalded her hand with double boiled water. The drive to the friends’ house took about half an hour. On my arrival I gave her Canth 200c. She explained that she had ‘done the hot water thing’ but that it hadn’t worked. She was in a lot of pain and was obviously distressed.

I took her home, but was concerned as she seemed in so much pain. She was also very angry. The accident had been caused by the friends’ dog, who had become amorous with her leg as she was pouring the water into a cup. She was angry with the dog and was saying that, ‘dogs like that shouldn’t be kept as pets!’ this was a ridiculous thing to say, there was nothing wrong with the dog really, and it was also extremely unusual for her. I gave her Caust 200c, which did ease the pain and she seemed to settle, was no longer angry with the dog and was able to laugh about its antics, but I was still concerned. Her hand had produced a sizable blister and she was still in pain. I was also confused as to why the hot water had not relieved the pain as it had with my own, perhaps more serious, burn.

I remembered seeing Hahnemann’s article ‘On the Treatment of Burns’ in the book ‘The Lesser Writings’. I re-read the article and realised the mistake we had made. I also understood why my burn had had a different result.

The problem was, it seemed, the time that the hand had been exposed to the heat. My hand had been immersed for a considerable amount of time whilst I engaged in discussions with the concerned customers, whilst my daughter had merely put it in and taken it out.

Hahnemann’s advice is that the heating should continue until there is no more pain. He recommends the use of alcohol and/or oil of turpentine, neither of which I had at my disposal, but I deduced that it was the ‘heat’ that was the important ingredient.

I explained this to my daughter and we spent the next three hours with her hand in hot water. At this point I should explain that I do not mean scalding hot! The temperature is what I would describe as ‘hand hot’, the temperature that a normal hand understands as ‘hot’ but not unbearable. Because of the time delay I didn’t ask her to simply plunge her hand into water of this temperature. We began with tepid water and by removing some and adding some we increased the temperature over a period of half and hour. She then kept her hand in the water until the pain stopped. This took several hours.

Over the next few days I suggested to her than she often return her hand to the warm water, particularly if she felt any pain, but also in order to prevent it from drying.

I was concerned as the blister was ‘impressive’, although after the initial hot water treatment she was in very little pain. She described the sensation as a ‘discomfort’ rather than ‘pain’. There had been criticisms of my treatment of it, with various people suggesting that she should have taken it to hospital to have it ‘treated properly’. I sought support or advice from ‘Homoeopathy’ but could only find instructions to ‘immerse the part in cold water and seek medical attention’, in addition to the obvious remedies.


Feonna Bartlett

Feonna Bartlett is a qualified and insured Homoeopath, living and working in Newport Gwent. She is a member of The Society of Homeopaths.Feonna graduated from the Welsh School of Homoeopathy and is committed to ongoing professional development.


  1. Fulvio

    January 15, 2012

    As a burns doctor I am one of the people who doesn’t listen to the voice of homeopathy. After reading this article, that is a fact I state proudly. However, since I have offered the courtesy of reading the argument for this treatment, I would invite others to read about basic burns physiology, particularly Jacksons burn wound model, descriptions of appearances of different depth burns and the natural history of each.


    The blistered burn was always going to heal without scarring, certainly within 3 weeks. In this case it did so despite “treatment”, not because of it.

    I usually regard homeopathy as inconsequential and object to it only because it lacks evidence of efficacy. However, this is actively dangerous and, for a change, has made me quite angry.

    • Manish Bhatia

      Manish Bhatia

      January 18, 2012

      Dear Dr.,
      I respect your concern for the burn patients. The author is just sharing her experience and quoting an article written in 1816 as reference.
      As an honest scientific person, can you just take the ‘observation’ for what it is, without being judgmental?
      Nowhere does the author suggest that you have to increase the severity or the degree of burn. Nowhere does it suggest application of something very hot on a burn. Nowhere does it say don’t take hospital treatment for severe burns.
      It is just arguing about the role of warm water application in small burns as a measure of first-aid relief.
      I do not deny that cold water application has been found helpful as a first-aid in burns but is it scientific to denounce an observation without testing it?
      Why not setup a small experiment where a small first degree burn in volunteers is compared for the effect of both warm (not hot) and cold water application for 20 minutes? You won’t lose anything by just keeping your beliefs aside for sometime and test an observation neutrally.

      • James_BB

        January 19, 2012

        “Nowhere does the author suggest that you have to increase the severity of a burn.” May I draw your attention to paragraph 3: ” burnt herself and had immediately, to his horror, held the burnt area of her hand in the heat of a candle for a little while”. Putting a burn into a naked flame may count as increasing severity.

        • Manish Bhatia

          Manish Bhatia

          January 19, 2012

          The author is just recounting that she saw someone doing that. She doesn’t say that you have to put every burn on candle. Indeed she did say ‘And yet some in the group were surprised, and some argued that this would be dangerous with anything other than a very slight burn…’
          Most of her article is about using warm water as first aid for minor burns.

  2. Malboury

    January 17, 2012

    Would the homeopathic treatment for burns not typically be a pill with some dilution of petrol, acid, caustic soda or the like?

    • Manish Bhatia

      Manish Bhatia

      January 18, 2012

      If you do not understand homeopathy, do you need to display your ignorance, pretending to be smart?

  3. InnocuousRemark

    January 17, 2012

    So your evidence that this works is an anectode and an article from 1816? That is not enough to compel me to intentionally burn myself.

    • Manish Bhatia

      Manish Bhatia

      January 18, 2012

      Where does the article say ‘burn yourself’?

      • James_BB

        January 19, 2012

        Where does the article say ‘burn yourself’?
        “His explanation was that left alone a burn, ‘burnt’, as in the vital force would produce heat. By applying cold water this burning effect was reduced and the vital force had to summon even more heat. If instead we assist the vital force by applying heat the job would be done more quickly.” Applying heat to a burn is relatively unambiguous…

        • Manish Bhatia

          Manish Bhatia

          January 19, 2012

          ‘Applying heat’ and ‘burn yourself’ are not always the same thing. You can ofcourse burn yourself by applying too much heat but the article is about application of slightly warm water. The author says ‘The temperature is what I would describe as ‘hand hot’, the temperature that a normal hand understands as ‘hot’ but not unbearable.’
          Why can’t you read things in totality?

  4. Helen Benz

    January 18, 2012

    My great-grandmother who was 95 years old accidentally burnt her arm to the point that partially bone was seen. The Hospital in Russia sent her home to die because no treatment was available at that time in our small town and doctors did not want her to die at the hospital. My aunt have heard of oil made with Sea-Buckthorn. Twice a day she was pouring this oil on her arm and covering with cheese close. It took a lot of litters of that oil. I was 9 at the time. I remember that it too k pain away immediately (I don’t know if completely but my great grandmother was not crying after the oil was applied for the first time. Sometime past, and the skin on her arm has grown back and it looked younger than the skin on her other arm. and her hand was fully functional. Some ligaments did not grow back and a couple of her fingers were always in a different position. She lived until I was 22.

  5. Pam Purves

    May 14, 2012

    I recently burned my hand on the motor of a gas lawnmower. I touched it for just a second but enough to get a more serious burn than I’ve had before. I immediately ran into the house an got a handful of ice cubes. I continued the freezing treatment for about an hour (filling a work glove worked really well) while I continued to garden. The pain as significant without the ice and gone with the ice. After an hour the pain was gone completely. There is a big blister but it is not painful and I’ve been applying polysporin and vitamin E oil alternately and covering it with a bandage to keep it moist and soft. All is well and the gardening continues.

  6. cheryl-ann

    October 23, 2012

    My peers. – I was burnt in a house fire 18 mths ago. Over 20% 1st, 2nd, 3rd degree to face, cheast, shoulders, arms etc. Additionally Roof insulation melted down my back.
    Atrociously treated by Local Alopathic Medical Training School.
    As a qualified Naturopath, Homeopath etc. I am living proof of how to treat severe burns.
    No one on earth will tell me differently as “The Proof is in The Cooking”
    People are tentative on this subject so No Fear Here.
    I would love to hear from you @

  7. Jackie

    February 12, 2013

    All I know is this, I just scalded my hand with boiling water accidentally while preparing pasta, Initially I ran my hand under cold water, whilst I searched the internet for treatment, i came across this article and as the cold water was not diminishing the pain, I switched to warm then hot water and I can now say the pain has diminished greatly, which was not the result of the cold water, but the hot.

  8. Gregory

    August 7, 2013

    The offense-driven nature of your replies (“if you disagree with me you are stupid and don’t understand”) is indicative of the lack of any backing to your claims. Warm water can be more effective than ice cold water. Room temp water is the most effective. As the temp gets further away from room temp, the effectiveness of the treatment declines. The evidence for this is hundreds of tests on real flesh that was treated with the different temperatures of water people use, showing that hot or ice cold water is a very bad idea.

    Also, you have to do it for 20 minutes. Minimum. If having conversations with those around you at work is what caused you to treat your burn for “a longer time” then you’re very very uninformed. Likewise if you had your daughter treat her burn for anything less than 20 minutes. Your daughter would have healed much more quickly if you had simply had whoever was looking after her INSTANTLY put the burn in room temperature water, and left it for 20 minutes. By personally picking her up and taking her somewhere, you wasted a lot of time: time is the most important factor by far, and you squandered it when you shouldn’t have. By trying to do your “special” treatment that’s “better than anyone else’s and personally mine because I’m different and special”, you made it much more likely that your daughter would experience a lot more pain.