What Is A Burn Injury And How To Treat It?

Burn injury causes damage to the skin that leads to the death of the affected cells. Burn is one of the most common injuries which can be dangerous at times. If you have landed into a situation like this, you need to know the level of your injury to take the correct measures.

Burn injuries can vary from minor to major damages. It depends upon which level of injury you have suffered from. If you are unable to determine the level of your burn injury, this article will help you understand it.

Following are the four levels of burn injuries. Knowing the level of the injury will help you find the right treatment for it.

• First-degree burn:

This is the most common type of burn. There is diminutive damage to the skin in which only the outer layer of the skin is affected and that skin part will become red with some swelling and inflammation.

This type of burn injury can be treated at home by various methods like dipping the affected part into cold water, using any burn ointment, or taking pain relief medicines, etc. It can take up to a week to recover.

• Second-degree burn:

A second-degree burn can be serious because the damage extends beyond the skin’s outer layer. The affected area becomes dark red, extremely sore, blisters pop giving a liquid and soft texture and cause severe pain.

The second-degree burn should be treated at a hospital because it needs more care to avoid any infections. Proper bandages and procedures are done initially for a quicker heal. These types of burn injuries are recovered within two to three weeks.

• Third-degree burn:

These are the most serious burn injuries that need complete treatment. All skin layers are damaged due to which internal organs may also be affected. The affected part gets dark brown, black or dark yellow.

This burn can cause a significant nerves damage. These burns need proper treatment and surgeries to avoid the scars afterwards. The recovery period time is not properly defined and can vary among the patients.

• Fourth-degree burn:

This is the most severe and the deepest type of burn which can damage all of the skin layers, bones, tendons, and muscles. So, these burns can be life-threatening.

Burn injuries can differ by level and each level needs different care and treatment.

Hopefully, this article helped you out in identifying your level of burn and the treatment required for each type respectively.