Household accidents like kitchen burns don’t always need full-fledged medical attention. But some quick first aid can make a difference. For common burns, we are partial to a home remedy that uses cold water first, and then a soy sauce soak.
Soy Sauce for the Pain of a Kitchen Burn:
Q. I recently had a bad burn on my finger due to grease popping. I doused it with soy sauce and it felt better immediately.
I only kept the soy sauce on it for about a minute and I still had some irritation the next day. I was impressed with the immediate relief, but I wish I had left the soy sauce on longer.
A. We have heard from numerous readers that soy sauce can ease the pain and even the redness of a kitchen burn. We have used this remedy ourselves and find it helpful, but it does work better if you leave the soy sauce on for longer than a minute.
GN reported:
“I have used soy sauce for years for burns. It really works. When my kids especially, would get burns I would pour a little in a dish and they would soak in it and lick their fingers until the burning was gone. It was usually within 15 minutes. I also have used mustard when camping.”
Dee offered her testimony:
“I have used soy or Tamari sauce on burns for several years. It works! I didn’t know about the cold water so I just put it directly on the burn immediately. It stings for a bit, but then any evidence that I was ever burned disappears like magic. I’ve had some pretty severe burns and it always works the same. I keep a small bottle of it in my bathroom for when I (frequently) touch something other than my hair with the curling iron.”
So far as we can tell, this home remedy has not been studied. Scientists are considering soy protein as a source for making burn dressings, however (Acta Biomaterialia, Jan., 2012).
