3 Common Types of Burns

Burns is tissue damage caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, the sun, or radiation.

A burn is a common household injury. The cause and degree of injury determine your recovery of burns. People with serious burns should seek help from a burns emergency clinic to prevent death and complications.

Burn Levels

The following are types of burns:

• First-degree burns
• Second-degree burns
• Third-degree burns

Each degree is determined by how severe the damages to the skin are.

There are various causes of burns, including:

• Scalding from boiling liquids
• Electrical burns
• Fires, including flames from candles, matches, and lighters
• Chemical burns
• Excessive sun exposure

You should seek burns emergency treatment for electrical and chemical burns because they can affect the inner side of your body even if the damage to the skin is minor.

First-degree burn

First-degree burns cause minimal damage to the skin. They are also referred to as superficial burns because they affect the skin’s outermost layer. Some signs of this type of burn include:

• Redness
• Swelling or minor inflammation
• Dry peeling skin as the burns heals
• Pain

The sign and symptoms vanish after the skin cells are shed, and that is because the burn affects the uppermost layer of skin. First-degree burns take 7 to 10 days to heal without scarring.

You should seek burns emergency services if the burn affects more than three inches of the skin or is on the face or a major joint like knee, foot, ankle, foot, shoulder, elbow, spine, and forearm.

What Are the Treatments for First-Degree Burns?

• Soaking the wound for five minutes or longer in cool water
• Taking pain relievers like ibuprofen or acetaminophen to help manage the pain
• Applying lidocaine with aloe vera cream or gel to soothe the skin
• Using loose gauze and antibiotic ointment to protect the injured area

If the symptoms worsen, you should visit an er near you.

Second-degree burn

Second-degree burns cause damages that extend beyond the skin’s top layer. It causes extreme redness, soreness, and blistering on the skin.

Bandage the wound properly and keep the area clean to prevent infection. It also helps the injury heal quicker.

Most second-degree burns take two to three weeks to heal without scarring, but there will be pigment changes to the skin.

The time the burn may take to heal depends on how worse the blisters are. In cases where the burn is severe, you may require skin grafting to fix the damage. Skin grafting involves taking healthy skin from a certain part of the body and moving it to the area with burned skin.

The following are treatments for a second-degree burn:

• Run cool water on the skin for 15 minutes or more
• Take pain relievers like ibuprofen
• Apply antibiotic cream on blisters

Visit a burns emergency room if the burn affects the following areas: hands, face, groin, buttocks, and feet.

Third-degree burn

These types of burns are the most severe compared to first and second-degree burns because the damage they cause extends through all the layers of skin.

People have a notion that the most painful burns are from third-degree burns. However, the damage caused during the burn is so extensive that you may not experience any pain due to nerve damage.

What are The Symptoms for Third-Degree Burns?

• Burned areas may look black, white, or brown
• The skin may appear dry and leathery
• Numbness
• Swelling

You may require surgery to prevent contracture and severe scarring. You may also need physical therapy and rehabilitation.

A third-degree burn should be treated in an emergency room near you.

Express ER in Temple provides various services, including burns treatment. Call us if you need burns emergency care.

Ways to Prevent Burns

Most burns occur at home. Children and infants are more likely to develop burns. Some preventive measures to do at home are:

• Block children’s access to the kitchen when cooking
• Turn pot handles to the rear end of the stove
• Check and dispose of electrical cables with exposed wires
• Wear sunscreen
• Install smoke detectors and test them regularly
• Ensure you have fire extinguishers at your home
• Lock up matches and lighters away out of reach of children
• Avoid wearing loose-fitting clothes when cooking; they might catch fire
• Wear gloves when handling chemicals and keep them out of reach

When first- and second-degree burns are treated quickly and properly, the outlook is good. If you need burns treatment, you can go to an ER in Temple.