First Aid Burns

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Burn is defined as tissue damage due to heat, chemical, radiation and electricity resulting in swelling, scarring, blistering, in serious cases leads shock, infection and even death.

What are the types of burns? 

Burns are divided into 3 type depend upon the depth of burns.

1. First degree burns: Only epidermis (superficial skin) is damaged causes inflammation, pain, redness of the skin.

2. Second degree burns: Epidermis and the part of dermis are affected causes pain, redness, blister of the skin.

3. Third degree burns: Epidermis, dermis and muscle, nerve and blood vessels are damaged results leathery and painless.

How is severity of burns calculated?

Severity of burns calculated as a percentage of total body area affected and the location of the burn. “Rule of nines” is used to measure the percentage of burns. Different body surface area is divided to approximately 9% of total body area, by adding the percentage of burning area we can calculate the severity of burns. Burns in face and genital organ is more severe than other location. 

First aid of  Burns?

First aid for first and second degree burns:

1. Remove person form burning area
2. Remove rigs, bracelets and clothing from burned area, don’t remove cloths if it stuck in the skin.
3. Hold burned area under cool running water for more than 10 minute (don’t use ice on the burn)
4. Clean wound with warm water
5. Dressed with topical antibiotic like as Neosporin and Bacitracin, use Neosporin on face.
6. Use painkiller such as Ibuprofen, aspirin.
7. Take tetanus vaccination.

Fist aid for third degree burns:

• Remove person form the burning area
• Call for ambulance
• Don’t remove burned clothes
• Cover the burning area with cool, moist, sterile bandage or moist towels
• Don’t use ice pack in burning area
• Check for breathing, circulation if not do CRP but need caution.

What is the prognosis of burns?

When patients have less then 20% of burning area they can recover well, but who have more then 50% of burning area they have a high mortality and morbidity risk.

References:

• medicinenet.com
• mayoclinic.com
• nlm.nih.gov
• medindia.net
• webmd.com
• nhs.ukburngs

Filed Under: First Aid

Tags: burn, burns, chemical burns, featured, first aid burns, First Aid management of Burns, first degree burns, home remedies of burns, how to treat burns, management of burns, thirst degree burns, treatment of burns