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First Aid for Second-Degree Burns

What are second-degree burns?

Second-degree burns are more serious than first-degree burns because a deeper layer of skin is burned. They can more easily become infected. Also, if the burn affects more than 10% of your skin, you may go into shock because large quantities of fluid are lost from the burned area.

All second-degree burns greater than 2 to 3 inches in diameter should be treated by a medical professional. Smaller burns can usually be treated at home.

What causes second-degree burns?

Second-degree burns are usually caused by:

* deep sunburn

* exposure to flames

* contact with hot liquids

* burning gasoline or kerosene

* contact with chemicals.

What are the symptoms of second-degree burns?

The skin is bright red and blotchy and has blisters. It usually looks wet because of the loss of fluid through the damaged skin.

Second-degree burns are often very painful.

What is the treatment?

The goals of treatment for second-degree burns are easing the pain and preventing infection.

For second-degree heat burns without open blisters, follow these steps:

* Remove jewelry or tight clothing from the burned area before it begins to swell.

* Flush the burn with cool running water or apply cold- water compresses (a wet towel or handkerchief) until the pain lessens. Do not use ice or ice water, which can cause more damage to the burned area.

* Try not to break the blisters. If the blisters break, the exposed skin can become infected.

* Cover the burn with a clean (sterile, if possible), dry, nonfluffy bandage such as a gauze pad. Do not put tape on the burn.

* Do not put ointments, grease, petroleum jelly, butter, or home remedies on the burn. These substances can hold the heat in, making the burn worse.

* Keep burned arms or legs raised to reduce swelling.

* Get medical help for second-degree burns greater than 2 to 3 inches in diameter or for burns on the hands, face, penis, buttocks, or vaginal area.

For second-degree heat burns with open blisters, follow these steps:

* Do not remove clothing if it is stuck to the burn.

* Do not run water over the burn or use water on the bandage because it increases the risk of shock.

* Cover the burn with a clean (sterile, if possible), dry, nonfluffy bandage, such as a gauze pad. Do not put tape on the burn.

For extensive second-degree burns that are more than 2 to 3 inches in diameter, see your doctor.

* You will need extra fluids to replace the large quantities of fluids your body loses through the burned area. Your doctor may give you fluids intravenously (through a tube into your vein).

* Your doctor will prescribe antibiotics because the burned skin can no longer protect your body from infection by airborne bacteria.

* Your doctor will either lightly bandage the burned area with an antibacterial dressing or leave it unbandaged.

* Your doctor will prescribe medicine to kill the pain.

* Your doctor may recommend a skin graft to lessen scarring.

* Your doctor may give you a tetanus booster.

For chemical burns, follow these steps:

* Flush liquid chemicals from your skin thoroughly with running water for 15 to 30 minutes.

* Remove any clothing and jewelry on which the chemical has spilled.

* Brush dry chemicals off the skin if large amounts of water are not available. Small amounts of water will activate some chemicals. Be sure to keep the chemicals away from your eyes.

* Cover the burn with a dry, loose bandage.

How do I take care of a burn?

After you have cleaned and bandaged the burn, leave it alone for at least 24 hours to allow the healing process to begin.

Preventing infection in the exposed skin is an important part of the treatment for second-degree burns. If you have been told to change your bandages, follow these procedures to help prevent infection:

* Wash your hands carefully with soap and water.

* Place the fresh bandage on a clean towel.

* Take off the old bandage gently. Soak it off if it sticks to the burn.

* Wash the burned area gently.

* Check for any changes or worsening of the burned area, such as pus, swelling, or increased redness.

* Apply a thin layer of antibiotic cream to the burn.

* Cover with the clean bandage.

How long will it take a second-degree burn to heal?

Usually, second-degree burns heal in 10 days to 2 weeks. There may be few or no scars if the burn was not too extensive and if infection is prevented.

When should I call a doctor?

See your doctor immediately if you have any of the following:

* fever

* puslike drainage from the burned area

* excessive swelling of the burned area

* increased redness of the skin

* numbness or coolness of the skin beyond the burned area on arms and legs

* a blister filled with greenish or brownish fluid or one that becomes hot again or turns red

* a burn that doesn't heal in 10 days to 2 weeks.

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Blisters are the one which will develop when a skin gets burned

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As usual, the most important aid to diagnosing any disease, condition or injury is to find out the mechanism of injury (how the injury happened), and the history.

If you see a bottle of acid toppled over, lying next to the patient, it would be logical to assume the burn is chemical. However, don't always assume what you see is what caused it.

The best person to help you diagnose the burn is the patient himself. Ask him what happened, how it happened, how long ago since it happened and what the pain is like (tingling, sharp and how bad it is).

As a general rule, any burn that takes up 5% or more of the body's surface area will require immediate medical attention.

WARNING: Make sure that you are not putting yourself in any danger by assisting the patient. Burns caused by electricity can cause a serious hazard as the electricity source may still be live. NEVER approach a scene which will jeopardise your safety.

When in doubt of the patients condition, always seek medical aid.

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A type of burn that requires immediate medical treatment due to the location of the burn would be on the face, hands and feet, and genitalia. Face, genitalia, hands, and feet all require prompt attention. The face and genitalia because of their connections to the nervous system, the hands and feet because of their location at the far points of the circulatory system.

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Burn-in is the reason computer screensavers were invented. Burn-in happens when an image is displayed too long on a screen. This only happens with traditional CRT "tube" televisions and monitors and plasma TVs and monitors. It has been an especially big problem with rear-projection TVs. On these TVs and monitors, the tubes beam electrons onto the back of a phosphor-coated screen. If the images don't move for an extended period of time they can become permanently etched on the screen. FYI rear projection TVs now use light passing through an LCD. Burn in isn't nearly as big an issue with modern rear projection and LCD projection screens as it was with the older ones. It's also not nearly as big an issue as with plasma and LCD TVs, which have some pretty intense burn ins. The biggest problem you have to worry about with LCDs is dead pixels. Pixels die and just turn black, or sometimes white. The biggest problem with Plasmas is the fact that the actual plasma in the TV weakens over time and the brightness of the screen is drastically reduced over time. We have three at work that we bought about a year ago and they've lost approximagely 25-35% of their brightness already. LCD projection TVs have LCDs in them, so they can suffer from pixel death as well. Rear projection TVs without LCD projection can have their R, G, and B guns burn out - but those guns can be replaced (although it's sometimes expensive).

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I have found that it does. You can take a bag full of ice or maybe a chilled can of soda and put it on your sunburn. It does offer some relief from the sunburn.

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The most obvious answer is an electrical burn.

Electricity will always try to earth itself, so if if you get an "entry" burn by touching a live wire with your hand, you may also have burns on the soles of your feet or anywhere along the path that the current took.

Burns from explosions of incendiaries (phosphorus, magnesium, aluminum) might also qualify as answers for this question. These highly reactive metals can burn right through a limb.

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It is a burn that goes all the way around a body part. For example, it is a burn that is fully around a finger, around a leg, etc., instead of only on one side or one spot on the limb or digit. It is used to describe burns in a medical record and for use in determining the extent of a burn in the medical coding for billing in the treatment of burn patients.

Circumferential comes from circumference - a word meaning "around something".

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Previous answer was "It can be at a higher temperature" that's true but not nearly the whole story. A magicaly property of water-steam is the huge amount of energy involved in the "Latent Heat of Vaporization", that's the energy required to vaporize water to steam after the fluid is at boiling temperature (nominal 212F). To heat water takes about 1 BTU/lb-Deg F so heating water from 112 to 212 takes about 100 BTU, once at 212 F it take another about 1,000 BTU to vaporize it, no change in temperature, still at 212 F. So going the other way, such as with a steam burn your skin must remove that same 1,000 BTU just to condense the steam before the temperature drops at all. So answer is not just the temperature but the huge amount of energy in the steam that holds that temperature. With water, by the time 100 BTU/lb are transferred to your body, water is down to 112 F, if you get hit with steam, your body must absorb 1,100 BTU/lb of steam before you get to that condition. Get it? 11-time more energy so a very much worse burn.

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It depends how bad the burn is. Always put your hand in cold water immediately. Polysporin is really good to put on it too.

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The treatment for a burn depends on its severity and the chemical or substance that caused it. The general treatment for burns is to immerse it in cold running water for 15 - 20 minutes. The general treatment plan can be outlined in the three Cs or three Bs of burn care:

Cool (run under water)

Cover (to stop burning)

Call for Ambulance (111 in New Zealand)

and

Burning Stoppped (the source of burning is ceased)

Breathing Maintained (life is preserved)

Body Examined (no other injuries are found).

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No. The best treatment for a minor burn is to hold it under cold (not ice) water for a few minutes. Never put tooth paste, butter, creams, or anything greasy on a burn, since it can actually hold the heat in, and cause even further discomfort or injury. Use only medications specifically made for burns. If the burn is bad enough that it blistered the skin, treat it with an approved OTC medication for burns, and keep a dry bandage on it until the blister begins to heal. If the burn is severe, you need to see a doctor immediately.

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Acute, non healing burn

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1st degree is just when the skin turns red, maybe with a little inflammation. 2nd degree is when there is a blister. 3rd degree is when the skin is charred.

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For first and second degree burns(redness and blisters), you can run the burn under cool water. You can also apply an ice pack or some Aloe Vera gel/spray. If it is really bad, call 911.

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Some of the homeopathic remedies for burns are arnica montana, cantharis, causticum, hypericum, etc

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If you are looking for something to replace picric acid. There is a white cream that you can buy to put on burns. It helps to take the sting out of the burned area. It also helps to protect against infections. The white cream you are looking for is called Flamazine. It works really well, I have used it my self and it worked for me. It will also help to minimize the amount of scaring if it is a really bad burn. And when I used it, it starts working as soon as I put it on. I just can remember if I got it over the counter or not. I hope this helps you out. I'm dying to know

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Burn injuries are not only caused by fires. They can also be brought about by chemicals, such thioniumglycote and acid. Those are chemical burns.

Mostly common sense and caution. Don't leave irons,stoves,ovens,etc... on and/or plugged in

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Electrical burns look like an in-and-out gunshot: small entry with big exit. The entry port - surrounding skin will look "leathery".

High velocity spatter (spalling) from an armor piercing round will cause an entry and exit wound with a severe burn.

White phosphorus and similar materials including magnesium flares can burn straight through an extremity.

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What you can do is either

* mash up a banana with some honey and yoghurt, and apply it on daily (sounds stupid, works a treat) * Vaseline * Some lip balms * Aloe * Moisturizer with Aloe

Hope U feel better soon!!!

:D

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Pawpaw cream and a bandaid