Centipede Oil

It was back in 2014, when I was still working. I had finished most of my morning chores and was just about to head to work, but...

"Wait? Is today Tuesday?"

Tuesday is the day for cleaning around the stove. The area around the burner was a bit oily, so I decided to at least get that done and started wiping it with my right hand.
I was working away quickly and smoothly without thinking about anything.

Sizzle! "Oh no!"

I had grabbed the sukiyaki pot from the night before with my left hand to move it aside, forgetting it was on the stove. Even though I had just cleaned the iron pot, put it on the fire, and dried it off...

I panicked, grabbed some ice, put some water in a small bowl, and plunged my hand, still holding the ice, into it. The cold was stronger than the pain, so it didn't hurt as much as I thought it would.

Sizzle!

The sound kept echoing in my mind, refusing to leave.

I could easily imagine that because of the sound, it was going to be pretty bad. I thought about it over and over while looking at my hand, which was freezing from the ice.

"Let's see, let's see... for burns... there was something, ah! Centipede oil!"
But that's at the office. How am I supposed to get there?

I cautiously took my hand out of the ice water and tried wiping it with a towel.
"Oh? Is it healed?"

I thought that for a split second, but I was wrong. Once the moisture was gone, the worst part of my middle finger was bright red and painful! It looked like it was going to blister, so I hurriedly put my hand back in the bowl.

"Now, how do I keep this up until I get to the office?"
Even though the office is close, I can't exactly walk there with this bowl.
I put my hand and some ice into a thick plastic bag that my hand could fit into, added a little water, and lightly tied a rubber band around my wrist. Okay, this should work!

As soon as I arrived at the office, I slathered on the centipede oil. Just as the rumors said, it stinks!!!
"I don't think I can stand this..."

I put on a brand-new thin cloth glove, wrapped it in a Ziploc bag, and then used masking tape to shut out the smell! This should be enough to get me through the day.
It's a perfect experiment to see how effective centipede oil really is (lol).

This centipede oil is made by putting live centipedes into cooking oil (I used sesame oil, hoping it might help with the smell) one after another. Since I can't catch them all at once, every summer, whenever I go to the material storage area in the mountains, I find them and add them in. There should be 5 or 6 in there by now. When I looked closely with trepidation, I could still see the shape of a huge one. Eventually, they will completely dissolve and disappear. It smells and is gross, so I usually keep it in a place where it can't be seen and make sure not to go near it.

After soaking in the centipede oil for about two hours, the pain was gone, so I tried washing my hand. Except for the area around the second joint of my middle finger, there was absolutely no problem! The worst part, the second joint of my middle finger, had changed color and was a bit swollen, but it hadn't blistered and had hardened up. Thank goodness! Just to be safe, I'll apply a propolis compress!

[Postscript]
If you are thinking of making this!
Please remember that centipede oil is a [folk remedy] and is strictly [at your own risk]. More importantly, it turns out that the shochu infusions of 'mock strawberry,' 'houttuynia cordata,' and 'creeping charlie' that I prepare every year for insect bites and minor wounds are also effective for burns. If you're going to make something, Ihighly recommendthis!
I put them in small spray bottles I buy at the 100-yen shop and keep them on standby in every room. My family even goes looking for them if they aren't there. I love the 'mock strawberry' one! Above all, it smells great.