How to Stop Pain From a Burn

Burn injuries can sometimes take weeks to heal depending on the severity of the burn. First degree burns--sunburns and contact burns--affect only the first layer of skin and usually heal in less than a week. Second degree burns are deeper and thicker and can take up to three weeks to heal. Third degree burns are severe, can take up to a month or longer to heal and may even require skin grafts. The pain from a burn can seem almost unbearable at times, but there are ways to relieve the pain and offer comfort to the burn sufferer.

Things You'll Need

• Cool water
• Soft cloth
• Silvadene
• Soft bandage
• Pain medication
• Antibiotic gel

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Instructions

• 1

  Run the burn under cool, running water for 15 minutes. If the burn is on an area of your body where you can’t do that, fill a tub with cool water and soak in it for 15 minutes. This especially helps to relieve the pain of a new burn.

• 2

  Soak a soft cloth in cool water, and apply it to the burn site for five minutes, five or six times per day or whenever you’d like pain relief.

• 3

  Apply Silvadene (available only by prescription) to the burn, and cover the burn with a soft bandage (not gauze). Follow the directions on the prescription to apply it.

• 4

  Ask your doctor for a prescription pain medication you can take orally to relieve the pain, or try over-the-counter pain medications. Follow the dosing instructions included with the medication.

• 5

  Apply an antibiotic gel to the burn site to soothe the pain and prevent infection. Wash your hands, put a little of the gel on your finger and spread it lightly over the burn.