Burn Degrees

Burn Categories Everyone in this room today has experienced a burn. Many of you have burnt yourself while cooking so you know how painful a burn can be. More serious burns can result in disfigurement, loss of feeling, and sometimes death. Burns are categorized depending on the severity of the burn. They range from 1st degree to 6th degree. According to a survey taken by the National Emergency Department, nearly 500,000 people received medical treatment for burns in 2012. Children under age 4 and adults over age 60 have a higher chance of complications and death from severe burns. Burns can be caused by dry heat, wet heat, radiation, friction, heated objects, the sun, electricity, or chemicals. Thermal burns are the most common type. Thermal burns occur when hot metals, scalding liquids, steam, or flames come in contact with your skin. These are frequently the result of fires, automobile accidents, space heaters, and electrical malfunctions. Kitchen accidents are seen more often. Changing the batteries in household smoke detectors can prevent many fires from occurring. Burns to your airways can be caused by inhaling smoke, steam, superheated air, or toxic fumes, often in a poorly ventilated space.
First-degree burns are usually limited to redness, a white plaque, and minor pain at the site of injury. These burns usually extend only into the epidermis. These burns are usually seen in sunburnt patients or a flash burn, which is a sudden and brief burst of heat. First-degree burns can be treated at home unless the burn covers a large area.
Second-degree burns additionally fill with clear fluid, have superficial blistering of the skin, and can involve more or less pain depending on the level of nerve involvement. Second-degree burns involve the superficial dermis and may also involve the deep dermis layer. Third-degree burns are which most of the epidermis is lost. They additionally have charring of the skin, and sometimes produce hard eschars. An eschar is a