Pain out of all proportion

When cleaning the stove I managed to burn the tip of my index finger on the pilot light plate - ouch!

After many years as a first aider I knew what to do immediately - put the finger under running water.  Not wanting to leave the tap running too long, I progressed to putting my finger in a cup of water and moving it around.  I added some ice lollies to the water to cool it further - no ice cubes available.

Twenty minutes later, severe pain out of all proportion to the apparent injury if I dared take my finger out of the water.  So I kept it in. Another 20 minutes went by, and another.  Same result. After an hour and a half, I still couldn't take my finger out of the water due to the severe pain that would result. But I can't just keep my finger in a cup of water all day...

I sent hubby to Boots for some burn gel - I'd never used it before although I'd heard about it.  I took my finger out of the water and applied a generous dollop of the gel.  Painful at first from being out of the water, but the pain subsided very quickly.  Half an hour later my finger was pain-free.

I don't know how the gel works, but work it does.

Lesson learnt - burn gel is an important addition to the home first aid kit.