Medical · Reference · Basic
Burns: Cool 20 Minutes, Cover Loosely, Know When to Go
Red Cross's 20 minutes of cool running water, the palm-size trigger for emergency care, and the butter, toothpaste and ice habits to drop.
This is for educational purposes only. Not professional medical, electrical, or safety advice.
Warning
No butter, oils, toothpaste, ice or other household remedies on a serious burn. Do not pop blisters or peel stuck clothing, and do not immerse a severely burned person in cold water — hypothermia is dangerous. Chemical and electrical burns need cause-specific professional assessment even when the visible area looks small.
- 01
Stop the exposure without becoming a casualty
Move the person away from heat or smoke only when it is safe to do so. Do not touch someone still in contact with an electrical source, and do not pull clothing that is stuck to burned skin.
- 02
Assume an uncertain depth is serious
Superficial burns are red and painful; partial-thickness burns commonly blister; full-thickness burns can look white or blackened and may be numb. Pain intensity does not measure severity — a deep burn can be painless.
- 03
Use a conservative size trigger
MedlinePlus advises emergency help for a burn about the size of the person's palm or larger, and the American Red Cross similarly flags burns larger than a palm. For a lay manual, treat palm-size or larger as a reason to seek emergency assessment rather than trying to estimate burn percentages.
- 04
Cool with running water, not ice
The British Red Cross specifies at least 20 minutes of cool running water on the burned area — not whole-body cold immersion. MedlinePlus gives a broader 5–30 minute range for minor burns with unbroken skin. The conservative rule: cool a localized thermal burn for 20 minutes with cool running water while keeping the rest of the person warm, and call for help at the same time for serious burns.
- 05
Cover loosely after cooling
Use a sterile or nonstick dressing, or a clean covering. The British Red Cross permits loosely laid cling film or a clean plastic bag after cooling. Do not break blisters, peel skin, or wrap a limb tightly all the way around.
- 06
Arrange professional care for high-risk burns
Emergency concerns include inhaled smoke or airway injury; burns to the face, mouth, hands, feet, joints or genitals; deep burns; palm-size or larger burns; chemical or electrical injury; and shock. Treat a burn that circles a limb or the chest as urgent rather than managing it at home — no numerical circumferential threshold is established by the pages verified here.
- 07
Watch for infection and delayed trouble
MedlinePlus lists pus or drainage, fever, increasing pain, red streaks and swollen lymph nodes as reasons to make contact promptly, and says persistent pain after 48 hours also warrants contact. Check tetanus status.