Burn Cream Substitutes

Burns can come from a number of causes, including the sun, extreme heat or cold, steam, friction and chemicals. You may not want to buy a burn cream off the shelf, or you might prefer to use more natural substitutes wherever possible. A few different alternative remedies can work well on burns.

Manuka Honey

• Manuka honey from New Zealand contains healing properties in its nectar. Used on a wound, Manuka honey's antibacterial activity stops the burn from becoming infected and helps repair damaged skin and tissue. Manuka honey also has anti-inflammatory properties, which helps to act as a painkiller.

Milk

• A milk-based solution you can make at home can help to relieve the symptoms of sunburn. Mix a teaspoon of powdered milk with five teaspoons of water to make a thick paste and add two pinches of salt. Use a spatula to apply the paste to the burnt areas of the skin. Do not cover it with a bandage in order to gain the best results. The pain from the sunburn will soon start to disappear. Add more of the paste if the pain starts to come back after a while.

Vinegar

• Diluted vinegar is said to be one of the best relievers for the pain caused by a burn. As many households have vinegar in the cupboard, you can use the solution quickly. To make the diluted vinegar, mix one part of vinegar of any variety to one part of water, for example one teaspoon of vinegar and 1 teaspoon of water. Soak a cloth in the diluted vinegar. The vinegar offers both pain relief and helps you to relax after the trauma. If the pain comes back after a while, get a new cloth soaked in diluted vinegar and apply it to the area again.

Aloe Vera

• Using the leaves from an aloe vera plant can offer a superb remedy for burns. Cut off a small piece of a fleshy leaf from the aloe vera plant and squeeze out the aloe vera sap directly onto the wound. Aloe vera contains astringent and also has tissue healing properties, making it ideal to sooth and repair a burn. It is a good idea to keep an aloe vera plant in your home to deal with kitchen-related burns.

Cotton-Ash Paste

• This alternative to a burn cream is derived from the ancient Indian Yunani healing art and is said to have been used for centuries to treat burns. Take a large piece of cotton wool and burn it in a metal pot. Take the ash from the burned cotton wool and mix it with olive oil to make a thick paste. If you don't have any olive oil then any cooking oil can be used. Apply the black paste to the burn and cover it with cling film. The pain starts to disappear within moments and the shock from the trauma recedes. Apply fresh paste if the pain comes back. Continue to apply it for a week, depending on the severity of the burn, by which time the burn should have healed.