One of the most painful injuries that one can ever experience is a burn injury. When a burn occurs to the skin, nerve endings are damaged causing intense feelings of pain. Every year, millions of people in the United States are burned in one way or another. Of those, thousands die as a result of their burns. Many require long-term hospitalization. Burns are a leading cause of unintentional death in the United States, exceeded in numbers only by automobile crashes and falls.

    Serious burns are complex injuries. In addition to the burn injury itself, a number of other functions may be affected. Burn injuries can affect muscles, bones, nerves, and blood vessels. The respiratory system can be damaged, with possible airway obstruction, respiratory failure and respiratory arrest. Since burns injure the skin, they impair the body's normal fluid/electrolyte balance, body temperature, body thermal regulation, joint function, manual dexterity, and physical appearance. In addition to the physical damage caused by burns, patients also may suffer emotional and psychological problems that begin at the emergency scene and could last a long time.

Pediatric Burns
International Society For Burn Injuries
National Burn Victim Foundation
Burn Support Groups

Degrees of burns are:

  • First degree burns are superficial injuries that involve only the epidermis or outer layer of skin. They are the most common and the most minor of all burns. The skin is reddened and extremely painful. The burn will heal on its own without scarring within two to five days. There may be peeling of the skin and some temporary discoloration.
  • Second degree burns occur when the first layer of skin is burned through and the second layer, the dermal layer, is damaged but the burn does not pass through to underlying tissues. The skin appears moist and there will be deep intense pain, reddening, blisters and a mottled appearance to the skin. Second degree burns are considered minor if they involve less than 15 percent of the body surface in adults and less than 10 percent in children. When treated with reasonable care, second degree burns will heal themselves and produce very little scarring. Healing is usually complete within three weeks.
  • Third degree burns involve all the layers of the skin. They are referred to as full thickness burns and are the most serious of all burns. These are usually charred black and include areas that are dry and white. While a third-degree burn may be very painful, some patients feel little or no pain because the nerve endings have been destroyed. This type of burn may require skin grafting. As third degree burns heal, dense scars form.

BC Professional Firefighters Burn Fund
American Burn Association
Understanding Burns
Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation

Treatment of burns

Cool a burn with water. Do what you must to get cool water on the burn as soon as you can. Put cool, water-soaked cloths on the burn. If possible, avoid icy cold water and ice cubes. Such measures could cause further damage to burned skin.

Don'ts

  • DON'T apply ointment, butter, ice, medications, fluffy cotton dressing, adhesive bandages, cream, oil spray, or any household remedy to a burn. This can interfere with proper healing.
  • DON'T allow the burn to become contaminated. Avoid breathing or coughing on the burn.
  • DON'T disturb blistered or dead skin.
  • DON'T give the victim anything by mouth, if there is a severe burn.
  • DON'T apply cold compresses and do not immerse a severe burn in cold water. This can cause shock .
  • DON'T place a pillow under the victim's head if there is an airway burn and he or she is lying down. This can close the airway.

Cool the Burn
Knapp Burn Foundation
Burn Support Group Database
Burn Prevention Foundation

In the event of ANY serious burns, call 911!

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