A lot of home remedies and tips are passed on from person to person. These first aid emergencies often occur on home turf and many people use around-the-house remedies as quick cures – but can you really trust these tricks?
Finger on Ice: Severing a finger while slicing vegetables or chopping wood is more common than anyone wants to believe. If you have severed a body part, such as a finger or a toe, many people assume the best way to preserve it is by packing it in a cooler on ice. Instead, wrap the severed appendage in damp gauze, place it in a water-tight bag, and head to the emergency room. You can apply ice to the wound on the hand or body, and cover it with a clean, dry cloth.
Ice for Burns: It might make sense to ice something that is burnt to cool it down, but this is another first aid myth. If you are suffering from a burn, wash it and apply an antibiotic ointment. If the burn is severe or occurred on your eyes, mouth, or genital region, head to the ER.
Butter for Burns: Another common myth about burn treatment is that you should put butter or grease on the wound. Again, not the best move. You could get an infection.
Rubbing Objects Out of Your Eyes: When something is in your eye, your instinct may be to try to get it out by rubbing your eye. This can actually lodge the foreign object even deeper into your eye, where it can do more damage. Instead, rinse the eye with tap water to avoid a serious abrasion or tear.
Milky Tooth: Milk does a body good and it can also save a tooth if you’ve knocked one out of your mouth. If you have a knocked-out tooth, it’s possible to have it re-planted if you put the tooth in milk and head straight to emergency. This is a home remedy that actually works!
Control Poison Ingestion with Ipecac Syrup: Unless you’ve been instructed to take Ipecac or another vomiting-induced medication by emergency personnel, do not take it. It might seem to make sense to induce vomiting if you’ve swallowed poison, but the better move is to call emergency services right away.
Milk for Poison Control: Another common misconception about poison control is that you should drink milk if you have accidently consumed poison. Milk will not magically coat your throat and abolish the poison. No liquid will. Instead, call the emergency services.
The Whisky Toothache: Drinking alcohol for a toothache is more likely to make you tipsy than to stop the pain. Try acetaminophen or ibuprofen instead and call a dentist
Use Heat on Bone and Joint Injuries: Heat will cause more blood, and other injury related chemicals, to rush to the area. This will increase the swelling, which will make recovery take much longer, and can also lead to more scar tissue later on. The best solution is a cold pack for about 20 minutes every hour.
Popping a Blister: It is very tempting to break blisters but by doing so will expose very sensitive skin which can be more painful and can lead to infection. If by chance the blister does break, do not tear the skin off. Many times the skin will heal. It may re-grow permanently or fall off in a few days when the underlying skin has toughened up a bit.