YYEEEEEOOOOUUUUUCCHHHH!!!

[phector2004]

finally finished exams and decided to get working on my projects again...

unfortunately, there is now a well-defined fingerprint on my soldering iron... 

any quick remedies? its getting worse by the minute and i'm not even half done perfing

[Ronsonic]

Ice.

Any blistering or just the white third degree burn?

Ice.

Wish I had more for you.

[Scruffie]

15 minutes under cold water followed by Ice, Burny Spray if you have it (although never use this on a serious burn) if it's a serious burn wrap it in cling film then seek medical attention.

On a side note... i'd like to stress to DIYers to wear eye protection, especially when de-soldering i've come close to loosing my eye sight, if I didn't have long hair over my face that blob of solder would be in my eyes...

[phector2004]

15 minutes under cold water followed by Ice, Burny Spray if you have it (although never use this on a serious burn) if it's a serious burn wrap it in cling film then seek medical attention.

On a side note... i'd like to stress to DIYers to wear eye protection, especially when de-soldering i've come close to loosing my eye sight, if I didn't have long hair over my face that blob of solder would be in my eyes...

great point! also when clipping leads

it won't get any better at this point, so i won't be playing any jimi hendrix any time soon, ironic since this is a fuzz face, but that's life for ya

but i'm a good 10x more careful with the iron now!

[Scruffie]

We all burn ourself from time to time, habit, as I forget to wear eye protection from time to time and each time I rinse my eye I regret it... but when i'm soldering and flux smoke and breath steams my goggles I take them off... I have to stop, it's seriously dangerous... but that's another story

If you have no smoke extractor a face mask is good too, but combined with goggles not a good combo due to steam (although I question de-soldering vintage equipment... that vintage board & solder always made me kinda feel weird when I de-soldered it) although flux is only a mild irritant as far as I know (and unleaded solder is a different question altogether)

But... basic medical treatment for burns is 15 minutes under a cold tap and cling film always, even if it's a slight burn as it has less chance of upsetting the burnt skin.

[Brymus]

Aloe plant,not aloe based lotions but the real deal.
Split a big thick leaf/stalk/finger /whatever you call it and smear th egoopy inside on th eburn nice and thick let it dry and do it agin
Do it several times a day,it helps relieve the pain and has vitamins and such that promote healing.
It will stain,alot of stuff including your clothes and laminate counter tops if you let it dry on them.
If the burn is down into the meat of your flesh seek medical attention ASAP
Google is your friend for pics of examples of how bad the burn is and what to do.
Really sorry for your pain,when I started soldering again (did it daily some 20yrs ago) I actually grabbed the iron by the hot end,yowsers
3 fingers burned, 1 fairly good,I feel for you...
As a tile setter what I hated most about constantly cutting my fingers on the sharp shards of tile was the down time from practicing my guitar> duct tape ,neosporin and back to work unless it really needed stitches.

[Scruffie]

Yes Aloe is a nice coolant/antiseptic but I would not reccomend it for fresh burns (great for treating afterwards as it acts as a natural antiseptic and coolant agent) just incase they're worse than you think... if you know it's a medium burn, then aloe is great to keep a constant refreshment on it but for a bad burn, I wouldn't reccomend it to anyone.

[WhenBoredomPeaks]

slightly related but i think i gonna "build" this for my next solder session:

[newfish]

I'd say no to the Cling Film.

If the burn is serious, and requires hospital treatment, you'll open up a whole world of pain as the medical staff try to separate the Film from your sticky skin / blister underneath.

10 - 15 mins under running cold water for sure.

[linny1982]

water, water and more water. just tap water tho not chilled. I used to do a lot of car stereo installs with a crapy iron and would always burn my hands/fingers when conecting looms. fingers are pretty heat proof now tho lol

[GibsonGM]

Calluses are great for soldering!!!!  )   I've put the iron tip right into fingertips on my left hand, many times, and got away pain-free.  Then there are the times you don't hit a callused spot, lol....

[DougH]

Aloe

[petemoore]

  "Spit and air cooling" until the water becomes available [get any evaporative fluid like spit or water on super ASAP, blowing air across it accellerates evaporative cooling.
  The burn continues to cook [like egg] well after the heat has been removed, cooling down the cells that are still relatively intact reduced the healing needed.
   If you run out of aloe..it helps to put something on there that keeps it from drying up. I like 'Resinol'...zinc oxide balm/salve.
   If you happen to have a salt water ocean handy, soaking the burned area in that for hours can accellerate healing to an amazing amount.

[Hides-His-Eyes]

I'd say no to the Cling Film.

If the burn is serious, and requires hospital treatment, you'll open up a whole world of pain as the medical staff try to separate the Film from your sticky skin / blister underneath.

10 - 15 mins under running cold water for sure.

I'll ask my brother, but as I understand it for a serious burn the hospital would much rather you protect the wound with something like cling film on the understanding that you're going to be under anaesthetic when they're dealing with it and they don't want it getting infected.

[Mark Hammer]

Look at it this way.  You will NEVER have a life of crime now, because your fingerprints will be too distinctive.  That's a good thing, right?

[jacobyjd]

Look at it this way.  You will NEVER have a life of crime now, because your fingerprints will be too distinctive.  That's a good thing, right?

Or look at it THIS way--if you do it again, you might as well go all the way and burn ALL your fingerprints off. This could be just the thing that kicks off your life of crime! 

[sundgist]

Calluses are great for soldering!!!!  )   I've put the iron tip right into fingertips on my left hand, many times, and got away pain-free.  Then there are the times you don't hit a callused spot, lol....

I have calluses.
I used to have an ash tray that I rested my soldering iron across, due to lack of stand/holder.
I used to smoke. I used to rest my cig in the same ash tray.
Once, and I never did it again, I picked up the soldering iron as if to take a puff.
No calluses on those bits of my fingers.
Ouch.

[phector2004]

Look at it this way.  You will NEVER have a life of crime now, because your fingerprints will be too distinctive.  That's a good thing, right?

my fingerprint will peel right off onto the weapon/surface/gold bars that i handle!

i actually remember reading about mexican gang members in cali burning/sanding their fingerprints off so they wouldnt be traced for hits/robberies

i dont know how they do it! the pain must be unbearable


thanks again for the help everyone... doubt i can find aloe vera leaves at 45 degrees latitude, but at least the pain is gone today

[Scruffie]

I'd say no to the Cling Film.

If the burn is serious, and requires hospital treatment, you'll open up a whole world of pain as the medical staff try to separate the Film from your sticky skin / blister underneath.

10 - 15 mins under running cold water for sure.

It's suggested by the NHS due to the fact that putting towels on would pull the skin off, if it's stll hot then yeah cling film is gunna just melt but if it's just a standard burn they suggest it to protect your skin and removing it should be a relatively simple operation like removing cling film from anything.

[MikeH]

I was once using a blowtorch (ha ha- not a good way to start a story), and I had mistakenly left a pair of metal 'welding tongs' too close to what I was... err, melting, and like an idiot went to pick them up and burned the pad of my thumb just horribly.  After the pain subsided I had a big fluffy blister on my thumb, which chose to break open right in the middle of my next show.  It's pretty hard (if not damn near impossible) to hold on to a pick when the pad of you thumb is oozing slippery, viscous blister-juice.  That made for an awful performance.