Burns
Uploaded by mumsa1 on Mar 20, 2012
Most small or superficial burns can be treated at home.
In this article:
What are different types of burns?
When to go to your GP
Symptoms
When to go to hospital (A&E)
Common causes
How Chemist Online can help
Treating burns at home (what to do)
Advice & Support
What are different types of burns?
Burns can generally be categorised into three types:
Small burns (or superficial burns or scalds, where only the top layer of the skin is affected) – these are usually caused by small incidents such as a spilt hot drink, or kettle steam, and can be treated with basic first aid at home
Partial thickness burns – more severe than small burns because the damage is deeper and blistering tends to occur in tandem with the loss of skin and the redness and pain in the affected area
Full thickness burns – this is where the entire thickness of the skin is affected to the point that the skin becomes blackened (these types of severe ‘charring’ burns as also known as ‘third degree burns’ and can leave considerable scarring)
Symptoms
Symptoms of burns include:
discoloured skin
peeled skin
blistered skin
pain around the affected area (ranging from mild to severe)
swelling
charred skin
damage to muscle, bone and body tissue
Other symptoms which can occur as a result of sustaining burns can include: shock, increased heart rate, headache, fever and faintness.
Common causes
Common causes of burns include:
Hot water and/or steam (e.g., baths where the water is at a scalding temperature, accidentally knocked over cups of tea…)
Cooking fluids
Contact with fire
The skin touching extremely hot surfaces, such as an open oven door scalding the backs of a child’s legs, or a metallic burns sustained from absentmindedly sitting upon a car bonnet on a boiling hot day…
Accidents with inflammable liquids and gases – usually sustained in the workplace
Chemical burns – also usually sustained in the workplace
Electrical burns (also known as electricity burns) – these can be sustained at home or in the workplace
Laser burns (e.g., where an operation that involves laser surgery may go wrong for some reason)
Sunburns
Note: The severity of a person’s pain from a burn may not necessarily correspond with the severity or classification of the burn itself. In fact, some small burns can be significantly more painful than a partial thickness burn.
Treating burns at home (what to do)
What to do:
Immediately use cool (but not very cold) water to cool the burnt area. Keep the affected area under this stream of tepid water for not less than twenty minutes, even...