Like a cup of tea for a cough, a batch of ice for a sunburn may seem like the perfect remedy for millions of Americans who will spend a little too much time in the sun this summer.

But many home remedies that seem like common sense are less than helpful, and the old ice-for-a-burn technique is no exception. It can help soothe some initial pain, but in the end it will slow the healing process.

That has been borne out over the years in various studies of simple treatments for minor scalds and sunburns. In one randomized study by Danish researchers in 2002, 24 healthy volunteers were inflicted with first-degree burns and subjected to different treatments. Those who received a cooling treatment similar to ice did not experience reduced pain or inflammation compared with those who received a placebo treatment.

In another study in the journal Burns in 1997, another team of scientists compared easing burns with ice cubes for 10 minutes with other remedies and found that ice caused “the most severe damage.” “Using an ice cube immediately after injury,” the authors added, “is harmful in some instances.”

According to the Mayo Clinic, putting ice on a burn can cause frostbite and damage the skin. For better results, try running cool water over the area and taking a pain reliever. Then cover the area with gauze but no ointment. Most minor burns heal without further treatment, the clinic says.

就像喝杯水对咳嗽有好处，用冰块来治疗晒伤，对于上百万在这个夏天要花费较多时间在太阳底下的美国人来说是一个绝佳的补救措施。

但是许多被认为是常识的家庭治疗方案好像并不正确，这个流传已久的用冰治疗皮肤灼伤的方法也不例外。它可能帮助缓解皮肤灼伤最初的疼痛，但是它最终将减缓恢复过程。

多年来各项关于烫伤，晒伤的治疗方法的研究结果已经证实了这一点。2002年由丹麦研究员做了一项随机调查，24个健康志愿者给予一度烧伤并且进行了不同的治疗。比较那些接受一种安慰剂治疗的人，接受一种类似于冰的冷却治疗的人并没有减少疼痛和炎症的发生。

1997年另一项关于烧伤的杂志研究表明，另一队科学家对用冰块10分钟和用其他方法来缓解烧伤做了比较，发现冰块“导致了更严重的伤害”。“在一些例子中，受伤之后立刻用冰块是非常有害的，”研究者补充说。

根据Mayo诊所的说法，把冰放在烧伤处可能导致冻伤和损伤皮肤。 为了达到更好的治疗效果，可在烧伤处淋些凉水并上些止痛药，然后用纱布包住，但不要在上面抹软膏。较小的烧伤无须进一步的治疗，诊所的人说道。