Readers sometimes perform their own n of 1 clinical trials. That is what happened to this reader of our newspaper column. He participated in an unplanned soy sauce experiment to determine how well this home remedy works against moderate household burns.
The Hot Mug Soy Sauce Experiment:
Q. I was an unwitting guinea pig in an unplanned experiment involving soy sauce. Two days ago I foolishly stuck a mug into the microwave to heat up some lukewarm coffee. I had forgotten that mug has a metal glaze and is not intended for microwave use.
When I grabbed it, the handle was extremely hot and I burned my fingers badly. I remembered your suggestion to get the burn under cold water immediately and then coat it with soy sauce. This worked surprisingly well and within moments there was no discomfort and no blister.
Half an hour later, however, I realized that I had also burned the back of one finger that had touched the mug. It developed an impressive blister, even though it initially seemed much less severe. I had overlooked this area and had not treated it. I am now a believer that cold water and soy sauce can keep a burn from blistering.
A. Thanks for sharing your success during an unplanned soy sauce experiment. We have heard from other readers that ice-cold water followed by soy sauce can ease the pain of a kitchen burn.
Here is Another Soy Sauce Experiment:
Sylvia used soy sauce even though she maintains she had never heard of it before:
“I too have an amazing burn story to share. I was putting wood in the wood burner in the middle of the night only to have my left arm touch the door. The immediate injury went through all the layers of my skin.
“I poured soy sauce on it and the pain stopped immediately and I slept through the night. (I often wondered why I put on the soy sauce on the burn but I just felt guided to do it). I never had pain and it continued to heal completely.
“I have no scar but there is a 3 inch long white area as a reminder these many years later. I think it is probably important to use the fermented sauce rather than the artificial stuff.
“I have often thought that this should be tried in burn units and or carried into combat.”
Jody keeps soy sauce handy because of a burn at the beach:
“I was at the beach over Christmas and was taking a Bundt pan out of the oven with bread rolls and butter and pudding mix to make a Carmel sauce while it baked. I took it out of the oven and inverted it on a plate, only the extra sauce spilled onto my bare foot.
“I had just read about the soy sauce experiment and happened to have some close by for something I was making later.. I opened the bottle and poured it on my foot, felt immediate relief and it did not even turn red or blister. I think because I dumped it on so fast, it would have been harder to put my foot in the sink with ice water, that the result was truly amazing.
“I’ve used soy sauce at home but it didn’t work as well as that first time as it usually takes time to find it. Now, I leave a bottle on the counter by the stove.”
Magdalena’s spilled hot chicken broth on her thigh:
“On one perfect day I prepared my lunch: some bread, ham etc. and a cup of boiling chicken broth.
I don’t know how this happen. In an instant, I had this whole cup of hot soup spilled on my thighs. Thank God , I had some soy sauce left. I poured it on paper towels and put them on the red-burned skin. In an hour, I had few reddish spots left. The rest was gone.“Joe and Terry, thank you for your great work.
The People’s Pharmacy does wonders.”
BJA get’s a little excited describing his soy sauce experience:
“I heated Spaghettios in the micro for 2 min. As my dad would say “Dumb sh**!
“I spilled the red hot noodles on my left hand coming out of the micro and its been on FIRE!!! I held a paper towel wrapped in ice cubes for about and hour. My hand was still burning sooooo baaaad.
“I looked it up and saw “Try, Soy Sauce.” Oh WoW! As soon as I poured it on, “Oh what a relief it is.” LOL.
“The soy sauce cooled the ON FIRE feeling as soon as I poured it on. We’ll see what the next day feeling is, but as of today, Thank-You!”(Seriously, I Thank You!).”
Louie says soy sauce did the job:
“This remedy blows me away!
“I read about it in your column but I NEVER understood just HOW effective it is, until recently.
“I was making some pizza (vegan, of course) – opened the oven door to check on the pie’s progress and proceeded to ‘rest’ my forearm on the inside of the oven door. Quickly realizing that the sizzling wasn’t the pizza, and the pain not imaginary, I expressed myself in ways forbidden on the radio (profane language)!
“I grabbed a bottle of soy sauce and poured some on my arm. I was surprised and DELIGHTED that the burn never progressed! The worst of it was a red mark and bit of mild itching. NO blisters, NO PAIN!!!
“WOW…THE GRAEDONS represent We, The People!”
If you would like to read about other home remedies for burns you may want to read this article about cold yellow mustard. Please share your own experience with minor household burns in the comment section below.
