If you don't have an aloe plant in your kitchen, you should!

[Flaxbee]

I have a lovely, rather big aloe plant in the kitchen - bought it a while ago and never really needed it until yesterday, when I burned the crap out of my index finger in the oven. Owie owie owie. Anyway, rather than rushing to the tap, I realized "Hey, I have aloe! Let's give it a try". Cut off a section, applied the aloe goo to my finger (actually, I opened the leaf and held it wrapped around the burn for about 5 minutes).

Unbelievable. My finger blistered, but no redness, no surrounding tissue redness, no pain, and today it is almost gone. I put some antibiotic ointment on it last night before bed, but the aloe, no doubt about it, prevented me from developing a very nasty and deep burn.

So, all you cooks out there. BUY ONE!

End of public service announcement. I am now going into Asheville for the day. :hi:

[redqueen]

1. Thanks!

You're right... I burned the crap outta my hand not once but twice over the holidays. Stupid oven.

I'll get one this weekend. Thanks again!

[RebelOne]

2. Thanks, good advice. I am always burning myself.

[LynneSin]

3. Because I have the aloe spray and it won't die if I forget to water it

:D

[Flaxbee]

5. see, that's the beauty of aloe, though!

you really don't need to water it very often; they don't like lots of water. And they're very pretty... much more fun than a soulless spray ;)

[madinmaryland]

7. You'll have to forgive LynneSin, because in DE there is not enough

room to grow aloe plants!

:hi:

[here_is_to_hope]

4. Mine is closer to the woodstove...

A@#$#%^&^*((! OUCH!:scared:

[madinmaryland]

6. Do cats eat those? Two of ours like to gnaw on the cactus plants.

:shrug:

[Flaxbee]

8. ours haven't tried to -- they sometimes brush against it

but none have gnawed on it. I think they just like it because the leaves are rigid and they can get a good scratch if they want one (as a succulent, it doesn't have awful stickers or needles - just light ridging on the leaves).

:hi:

[sarge43]

11. My bottle of pure aleo gel has the warning "For external use only."

So the kitties best leave an aleo plant alone.

[sarge43]

9. Also perfect for sunburns.

Aleo gel is sold at any pharm or supermarket. Every household should have a bottle. Another great thing about aleo is it reduces scaring.

[Sanity Claws]

10. I used it on a bad sunburn

It helped a lot -- cut down the pain and no blisters erupted.

[begin_within]

12. Keep it in a sunny window though - they need sun

Does not need a lot of water - just enough to keep it going. Well-drained and/or sandy soil. They are native to north Africa and the Canary Islands.

The clear gel part (not the yellow juice) contains subtances that reduce inflammation and stimulate the growth of new cells. It is especially useful for burns and sunburn.

This plant can be toxic to pets if ingested, the juice or gel can irritate the intestinal tract.

[Flaxbee]

13. thanks for the additional info!

:hi:

our cats aren't interested in it, thankfully, but I know there are lots of 'chewers' out there who might accidentally ingest it.

Ours is in very indirect sun - and growing like crazy. I'm going to need to move it into a bigger container in the spring - any suggestions on how to do this successfully / without too much trauma to the plant?

[begin_within]

17. It's simple and easy to transplant,

like all succulents are. Not tender or fussy at all about transpanting. Just move it into a bigger pot. Use sandy, well-drained soil because it doesn't like to sit in soggy soil. If there are any little "baby" plants around the bottom, you can pull those off and plant them in their own little pots if you want to. They will then eventually grow to full-size plants. It reproduces both ways, like many succulents and cacti - both by sending out the little baby plants along the outside, and by flowers and seeds.

[1gobluedem]

14. I wish I'd had one handy when I fell on the grill

But...I didn't. :(

[DarkTirade]

15. We don't have an aloe plant in our kitchen...

we have five or six. :P For some reason people kept giving them to my grandma.

[sarge43]

16. Another use for aleo - moisturizer

After washing your face, leave a bit damp and smooth on a little aleo, don't need much. It works. Also good as an after shave, especially if there are nicks.