Yesterday I burned my hand on my curling iron.
And I wasn't even doing my hair.
Nope, we were mounting a hair tools caddy on the wall, and when I picked up my curling iron to put it in the rack, I noticed the handle was warm. "Interesting," I thought. "I wonder if the iron part is hot."
So, stupid me, I tested it by WRAPPING MY ENTIRE RIGHT HAND AROUND THE BARREL!
And dropped it pronto! Ran for the sink and stuck my hand under cool running water while I tried not to panic. Or cuss. Which I probably did anyway. But right now, the whole incident is kind of a blur.
No idea how the iron got turned on, unless in all our moving stuff around, I accidentally hit the ON button. But it's a lesson I won't soon forget.
Once I removed my hand from the water, it hurt like crazy, and I was desperate for relief. I sent my husband out to the deck for an aloe vera leaf, but the summer heat had pretty much baked my plant to a shriveled crisp. I squeezed out a few dribbles of juice--not enough to do much good.
Next, I sent hubby to the drugstore for burn gel, and in the meantime went online to search for other remedies.
Apple cider vinegar seemed to get a good rap, so I soaked a washcloth in vinegar and water and laid it on my hand. Okay, helped a little. Then hubby got back with the burn gel and I applied some. It felt cool at first but quickly wore off. Then I read you were supposed to layer it on, not rub it in, and that worked better.
So between the vinegar compress and the burn gel, I managed to survive the rest of the day. At bedtime, I tried another home remedy I'd found online. After slathering on more burn gel, I wrapped my entire hand in aluminum foil--yes, you heard me right!--then slipped one of hubby's white cotton socks over the foil.
Amazingly blessed relief! I slept soundly all night long with no discomfort. This morning when I removed the sock and foil, I didn't find so much as a blister, just a little pinkness and tenderness. I can't grip anything too tightly, but I can drive and type and hold a pen (sort of).
However, it may be a few days before I work up the nerve to use that curling iron again.
