Different Degrees Of Burns

Different Degrees Of Burns
Burn is an area of tissue damage, caused by heat (including
friction and electricity), by cold, by a caustic chemical, or by
radiation. Burns are classified according to the depth of the tissue
damage.

Each year in the United States, more than 2 million burn injuries
demand medical attention. Ten thousand people die every year of
burn-related infections. Tragically, many burn
victims are children. The good news is that, in recent years, survival
statistics for serious burns have improved dramatically. Twenty years
ago, for instance, burns covering half the body were routinely fatal.
Today, patients with burns encompassing 90 percent of their body
surface can survive, albeit sometimes with permanent impairments.

Among the advances that have contributed directly to this public
health benefit are discoveries of the importance of proper wound care,
adequate nutrition, and infection control.

First-degree burns produce a redness of the skin, like a sunburn, and they heal without scarring.

Second-degree burns cause the destruction of deeper structures within the skin, resulting in blistering.

Third-degree burns destroy the full thickness of the skin, leaving
an open area. The deeper tissues (fat or muscle) are also destroyed.

First and second-degree burns tend to be more painful than
third-degree burns, because the nerve endings are damaged but not
completely destroyed. Extensive third-degree burns are a
life-threatening emergency. Large areas of burned skin cause the loss
of the body fluid of the surrounding tissues, which can lead to
dehydration and the rapid onset of shock, particularly in children. For
this reason, intravenous rehydration may be necessary, as well as local
treatment and painkilling drugs. Third-degree burns require a skin
graft to prevent disfiguring scars. Recent developments in artificial
skin hold great promise for burn victims.

Burn-induced skin loss affords bacteria

and other microorganisms easy access to the warm, moist, nutrient-rich
fluids that course through the body, while at the same time it provides
a conduit for the rapid and dangerous loss of these fluids. Extensive
blood loss can thrust a burn or trauma victim into shock, a
life-threatening condition in which blood pressure plunges so low that
vital organs--such as the brain, heart, and kidneys--simply cannot get
enough blood (and thereby oxygen) to function. Hence, replenishing skin
lost to severe burns is an urgent matter in the care of a burn patient.
When a patient has lost 80 or 90 percent of the skin as a result of
direct contact with scalding hot liquids, flames, harsh chemicals,
electrical current, or nuclear radiation, two immediate tasks come to
the fore. First, a burn surgeon must surgically remove the burned skin,
then the unprotected underlying tissue must be quickly covered. Two
classes of biomaterials useful in covering the wound are
laboratory-grown skin cells and artificial skin; the two are sometimes
used in combination.

Regardless of the type of burn, the result is fluid accumulation and
inflammation in and around the wound. Moreover, it should be noted that
the skin is the body's first defense against infection by
microorganisms. Damage to the skin can predispose the burn victim to
both infection at the site of the wound as well as internally.

First degree thermal burns can be treated with local skin care such as Aloe Vera. Many topical antibiotics and antiseptics are available in the drug store for minor burns.

All second and third degree thermal burns and the complicated
locations listed above need immediate physician evaluation. Special
topical antiseptic creams are used for more serious burns, including
silver sulfdiazine, silver nitrate, and mafenide acetate creams.

PABA (Para-aminobenzoic Acid) helps in the assimilation of protein
and pantothenic acid. It is important for normal skin and hair growth.
It can protect you against sunburn, prevent wrinkles, reduce the pain
of burns and restore grey hair to its natural color.

Proper nutrition may seem far from the minds of a critically injured
burn patient or his or her doctor. But delivering the wrong mix of
nutrients and minerals into the bloodstream can do more harm than good.
NIGMS-funded research by Dr. David Herndon of the University of Texas
Medical Branch at Galveston contributed to this conclusion by showing
that making the intestinal tract "work" (by feeding the patient by
mouth, instead of intravenously) keeps bacteria that normally live in
the stomach from seeping into the bloodstream and causing body-wide
infections that often lead to deadly septic shock.

The following nutrient combinations are those recommended for the treatment of burns:

Vitamins : A, C, E (internally & topically)

Minerals : Zinc, Postassium

Amino Acids : L-Arginine, L-Ornithine

Food Supplements : Protein, Chlorophyl

Herbs : Aloe Vera