Burn Treatment
A burn is damage to the skin’s
tissues, usually caused by excessive heat. Recognizing
different types of burns and having a basic knowledge
of how to treat them can minimize injury and
prevent fatalities.
Burning
Heat is the most obvious
cause of burn injuries. This can be direct contact
with fires, radiators or hot liquids, but also
the radiated heat from an extreme source of heat,
such as a furnace or open fire. Burns can also
be caused by chemicals, electricity, the sun’s
rays, friction (rubbing or chafing) or extreme
cold.
Burns usually affect the skin,
but other important areas of the body can also
be injured. For example, the airways and lungs
can be damaged as a result of inhaling hot fumes
and gases.
Types of Burns
Burns are usually a result
of one of the following:
Scalds - Scalds
are the most common cause of burns. They occur
when skin comes into contact with hot liquids.
Scalds with hot oil are generally more severe
than with hot water because oil heats to higher
temperatures than water, and the thicker liquid
may remain on the skin for a longer period
of time. Similarly, covered areas of skin can
yield severe burns because clothing retains
heat, keeping scalding liquid in contact with
the skin longer. Even steam can cause a severe
scalding injury.
Thermal - Flame
and Flash -Flame is the next most common cause
of burn injuries. Likely sources include careless
smoking, improper use of flammable liquids, auto
accidents or clothing ignited by stoves or space
heaters. Flash follows closely behind flame with
injuries from natural gas explosions, propane
and gasoline. Flash flames can cause intense
heat over a brief time. Clothing, unless ignited,
often protects skin in this type of burn.
Contact - Many
burns are caused by contact with hot objects
such as metal, plastic, glass and hot coals.
Electrical - Contact
with live wires or unprotected electrical outlets
can also cause burn injuries. The severity of
these types of burns depends on the intensity
of the electrical current and the duration of
exposure.
Chemical - Most
often, chemical burns occur during industrial
accidents, but they can also occur in the home
with common battery acids, oils and gases. Chemical
burns can cause progressive damage until the
chemical is inactivated. The severity of this
type of burn depends on the kind of chemical,
length of exposure and amount of tissue involved.
Ultraviolet - Severe
burns can result from overexposure to sun or
tanning equipment.
Inhalation Injury - This
injury occurs when someone is trapped in an enclosed
space with toxic gas or fumes from a fire or
chemical leak. These gases can produce a chemical
burn causing an inflammatory response to a person's
respiratory system. Initially, inhalation injuries
may be masked by other outer burns. However,
damage may appear within two to 48 hours after
a burn injury.
 Types
of burn
The severity of a burn depends
on how deeply it has affected the tissue. There
are three categories of burn: referred to as first,
second and third-degree burns.
First-degree burn
Previously referred to as
a first-degree burn, a superficial burn is limited
to the epidermis. It is characterized by heat, pain,
moistening and reddening of the burned surface, but
rarely shows blistering or charring of tissue. Superficial
burns often heal in three to seven days and seldom
scar. Typical superficial burns include sunburn and
minor scalds.
Second-degree burn
Sometimes referred to as
partial thickness burns, first-degree burns are characterized
as either "superficial"
or "deep." Both types penetrate deeper
than a first-degree burn and destroy the epidermal
layers, extending into the dermis layer. They can
cause damage to sweat glands and hair follicles
and are extremely painful, often with intense swelling.
Skin that has incurred a superficial
second-degree burn is moist, red and weepy. Most
superficial second-degree burns heal in 10 to
21 days, but leave a change in skin color and
pigmentation. A deep second-degree burn can be
ivory or pearly white in color and may require
a process known as debridement and additional
skin grafting treatments.
Third-degree burn
A third-degree burn, also
known as a full thickness burn, destroys all the
epidermal and dermal skin layers. The tissue damage
extends below hair follicles and sweat glands to
subcutaneous (fat) tissue. With this degree of burn,
the skin becomes charred and leathery and often appears
depressed relative to surrounding tissue. The skin
can be bright red, waxy white, tan or brown; there
are no blisters; and third degree burns may cause
massive swelling. Perhaps surprisingly, third degree
burns are usually not painful because the injury
has destroyed nerve endings. Skin grafting or other
replacement options are required for treatment of
a third degree burn.
When a burn injury is deep
enough to involve muscle, bone, tendon and/or
ligament, it is sometimes classified as a fourth
degree burn. These burns are often life threatening
and may require amputation.
Other burn sites
Burns to the face, singeing
of eyebrows or nasal hair and black deposits in the
mouth or sputum indicate that the airways may be
burnt and immediate medical attention should be sought.
NOTE:
Microcyn® does not have U.S. FDA clearance
for claims other than to moisten, lubricate,
cleanse and debride wounds. |
