What Happens When Skin Burns

Burns and scalds are damage to the pare usually caused by rut. Both are treated in the aforementioned way.

A burn is caused past dry heat – by an atomic number 26 or fire, for example. A scald is caused by something wet, such as hot water or steam.

Burns can be very painful and may cause:

carmine or peeling peel
blisters
swelling
white or charred peel

The corporeality of pain you lot feel is non always related to how serious the burn is. Even a very serious burn may be relatively painless.

Treating burns and scalds

To treat a fire, follow the commencement aid advice beneath:

immediately become the person away from the heat source to end the burning
cool the burn with cool or lukewarm running water for twenty minutes – exercise not use ice, iced h2o, or any creams or greasy substances similar butter
remove any clothing or jewellery that's near the burnt surface area of pare, including babies' nappies, just practise non move anything that'due south stuck to the skin
brand sure the person keeps warm past using a coating, for example, but accept intendance not to rub information technology against the burnt area
cover the fire by placing a layer of cling picture show over information technology – a clean plastic bag could also be used for burns on your mitt
apply painkillers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen to care for whatever pain
if the face or optics are burnt, sit upwardly every bit much equally possible, rather than lying down – this helps to reduce swelling
if it's an acid or chemical burn , dial 999, carefully endeavor to remove the chemical and any contaminated clothing, and rinse the afflicted area using equally much make clean water as possible

Read more nigh treating burns and scalds.

When to get medical attention

Depending on how serious a burn is, it may be possible to treat information technology at home.

For pocket-sized burns, continue the burn clean and practice not burst any blisters that course.

More serious burns require professional medical attention.

You should go to a hospital A&Eastward section for:

all chemic and electrical burns
large or deep burns – any burn bigger than the injured person'southward hand
burns that cause white or charred skin – any size
burns on the face, easily, artillery, feet, legs or genitals that cause blisters

If someone has breathed in smoke or fumes, they should too seek medical attending.

Some symptoms may be delayed and can include:

cough
a sore throat
difficulty breathing
facial burns

People at greater adventure from the furnishings of burns, such as children nether 5 years old and significant women, should also get medical attending after a burn or scald.

The size and depth of the fire will be assessed and the afflicted area cleaned before a dressing is practical. In astringent cases, pare graft surgery may exist recommended.

Types of burn

Burns are assessed past how seriously your skin is damaged and which layers of pare are affected.

Your skin has iii layers:

the epidermis – the outer layer of skin
the dermis – the layer of tissue merely below, which contains blood capillaries, nerve endings, sweat glands and pilus follicles
the subcutaneous fat, or subcutis – the deeper layer of fatty and tissue

There are 4 principal types of burn, which tend to have a unlike appearance and dissimilar symptoms:

superficial epidermal burn – where the epidermis is damaged; your skin will be cherry, slightly swollen and painful, but not blistered
superficial dermal burn – where the epidermis and part of the dermis are damaged; your skin volition be stake pink and painful, and there may be small blisters
deep dermal or partial thickness burn down – where the epidermis and the dermis are damaged; this type of burn makes your skin turn ruddy and blotchy; your skin may be dry or moist and go swollen and blistered, and information technology may exist very painful or painless
total thickness burn down – where all 3 layers of peel (the epidermis, dermis and subcutis) are damaged; the pare is frequently burnt away and the tissue underneath may appear pale or blackened, while the remaining skin will exist dry and white, brownish or black with no blisters, and the texture of the skin may also be leathery or waxy

Preventing burns and scalds

Many severe burns and scalds affect babies and young children.

Examples of things you can do to assistance reduce the likelihood of your child having a serious blow at dwelling include:

keeping your child out of the kitchen whenever possible
testing the temperature of bath water using your elbow before yous put your baby or toddler in the bath
keeping matches, lighters and lit candles out of immature children'due south sight and reach
keeping hot drinks well away from immature children

Read more about preventing burns and scalds.