Symptoms:
- Blisters
- Pain
- Peeling skin
- Red skin
- Shock
- Swelling
- White or charred skin
Causes:
- Fire
- Hot liquid or steam
- Hot metal or other objects
- Electrical current
- Radiation
- Sunlight or other UV radiation
- Chemicals
Treatments:
- Depends on location and severity of burns
- Minor burns can be treated at home
- Cool the burn with cool water or a cool compress, don’t apply ice to burn as it causes further damage to the tissue
- Remove ring or other tight items
- Don’t break blisters
- If they break, clean area with water
- Apply an antibiotic lotion
- Apply lotion with aloe or moisturizer once burn is completely cooled to prevent drying
- Bandage burn
- Take pain reliever
- Serious burns involve medications, wound dressings, therapy and surgery (skin grafts)
- Burn creams
- Dry gauze bandages
- Goal of treatment is to control pain, remove dead tissue, prevent infection, reduce risk of scarring and to regain function
When to see a Doctor:
- Burns covering feet, hands, face, groin, buttocks, major joint or large area of body (more than 10%)
- Deep burns
- Burns causing skin to look leathery
- Burns that are charred or have patches of black, brown or white
- Chemical or electricity burns
- Difficulty breathing or burns to airway
- Signs of infection in the burn
- Burn or blister thats large or doesn’t heal in two weeks
Burn Treatment Centers
- Grady Burn Center
- Joseph M. Still Burn Center
- Hospitals