Yesterday I was painting some parts that required that the paint be heated up to adhere properly. I was using a heat gun on the high setting (1200 degrees). The heat gun started to fall and like a FOOL I went to catch it. I the pain was INTENSE and immediate. I grabbed a can of WD-40 and soaked 3 fingers and the plam of my hand. My thinking was the old wives tale of putting butter on a burn. I was fully expecting to go to the emergency room to have my hand treated.

The WD-40 soaked in and started to relieve the pain. The pain came back a second time so I repeated the soaking. My hand required a third treatment. To my amazement I saw no blistering and the pain had subsided. The area was tender to the touch and red but that was all. I came inside to the house to clean up in case a trip to the doctor was in order but still no blistering.

The picture is of my hand this morning. The skin is tight on 3 fingers and my palm but you can not tell they were burned.

Ripley's believe it or not?

Lucky sod. Good thinking, but I don't know why it worked.

Was it cool when you sprayed it? If you immediately apply cold to a burn (1* or 2*) you will slow down the reaction that causes the skin to blister, hurt, turn red. I would still expect it to slough off some if you killed any skin, but it will likely be less. If it wasnt due to the cooling effects of the WD40, then I dont know what happened.

I use WD40 and spray it on cutting blades and drill bits to keep them cool and sharp. Works great, especially when you don't have cutting oil handy. Maybe it does have a cooling property to it?

In response to Dr Evil, the WD-40 was not cool. It was about 80 degrees in the garage and I grabed it off the shelf. I am still baffled about the whole thing. My mother sent an email all about the uses of WD-40 but I thought it was urban legend stuff. Maybe there is some truth in it.

Just be glad it was only a heat gun. My mother's uncle was cutting tree limbs with a chain saw when the same thing happened. Needless to saw he lost his fingers.

engage boy scientist mode:

When compressed gas (the propellant) expands it is cold - like a refrigerator. Even if the can was 80* the cooling effect of the expansion would make the spray quite cool. Couple that with the oils ability to transfer the heat away from your skin and Mikes theory seems reasonable.

boy scientist mode off:

There are some pretty stunning burn creams out there. My wife did the boiling oil trick to her thumb once and we had to take her to emerg. The stuff they put on was amazing but the dressing did not cover a small area at the margins. That which was covered never bothered her. The little strip that remained blistered and was really painful. Maybe the WD40 has some similar properties.

Fish oils ..Its not listed on the label but its in there and it works for just such things ...... thats all i know

The WD40 was cool. At 80 degrees it was probably a 100 degrees cooler than the burning flesh. That bald kid should go to med school...

thats pretty amazing!

Great news to hear that your hand is doing so well...

But to preserve the scientific integrity of this experiment, we need a control group to see if WD40 worked better than immediate ice water would have.

Therefore, we need you to replicate the experience with your other hand and ice water immersion and let us know the results.

Fish oils
I remember my dad telling me about using wd-40 on burns. Never had to do it but always remembered.

I'll need to keep this in mind next time I'm playing with fire....

We should also have a volunteer try Windex. Or was I the only person who saw that movie?

I bet he'd make a good doctor someday if he did

I was actually going to say that a friend suggested I try it and it worked. I was expecting it to sting like a Mo Fo but it immediately took the sting away. Totally surprised. She said it was the ammonia.

I was always told for minor to medium intense burns such as grabbing a glass pyrex dish straight out of the oven...for instance....skin to skin contact was best because it brings the temperature of your finger back down to normal body temperature...thus not shocking..thus not having a reaction such as a blister....could be myth...but in my simple experience 3 weeks ago...it worked well enough

Wow, I never thought of treating a burn like that. You see my solution is to yell out as many obsenities as possible as loud as I can, followed by kicking the s#!t out of what ever burned me, always worked for me!

The univeral cure all!

Reminds me of a scene from Deliverance.

The city boys catch a redneck pounding on a piece of steel - surprised him! Hits his hand with a hammer! He yells lots of nasty words & runs outside to kick the crap out of an old rusted Dodge.

They ask him if he's Ok - says it's Ok.

Great to have something to kick the crap out of, but I don't think my wife would feel the same, since her's is the only non-Porsche in the garage....and it's new.

Don't forget about slamming the garage door that had absolutely nothing to do with the whole scene

also, bread!

i've also heard that if you repeatedly hit or flick the burned area (no joke), it forces blood to that spot and prevents blistering.. may hurt like hell, but so do blisters

WOW! I'll pass on that one. If anything it would increase the release of inflammatory mediators at the scene. Cooling also causes vasoconstriction, flicking the area will cause vasodilation = bad.

BUT, if anyone tries it, let us know so we can shun you and laugh


Back to studying that medical stuff

not so sure it'd be effective with burns per se, but it is effective in preventing blistering.. like on the heel of the foot, or a finger from rubbing...

i remember where i saw it.. that dude on "Man vs. Wild"

Works for me

I wish I had know about these things when I burned my hand. I just like sat there, cursing, then put some cold water on it, but the blister already happened. That was my Jr prom too, so a blistered hand looked really healthy for my date.

Hand update picture this morning. I have no problems and the tightness is gone. The fingerprints on fingers 3.4. and 5 are gone right now but I am sure they will come back at some point.

I think a palm reader is in order here you will live long and prosper

I'm not a licensed palm-reader, and I don't play one on TV, but I think this is a better example of the "Live Long and Prosper" palm...

Click to view attachment

That works

I think you may have found a way to exchange a burn for skin cancer.

WD-40 has 2,000 plus uses:
http://www.wd40.com/files/pdf/wd-40_2042538679.pdf

It was my secret fish attractant for the longest time. Delta stripers seem to have an appetite for it. Probably reminds them of the oil refineries around the area.

Hey Dr Evil, take notes, WD-40 cures will be in the medical board exam!

-jim

I wish I had know about these things when I burned my hand. I just like sat there, cursing, then put some cold water on it, but the blister already happened. That was my Jr prom too, so a blistered hand looked really healthy for my date.
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Are sure your blistered hand wasn't after the Prom when your Date didn't give it up?

Naw, he'd prolly just waste all that edumacation on sex change operations.......ummmm, I mean fixing trannies.