Types of Burns and Common Locations
Burns to the skin are a horrible injury. Even the smallest 1st degree burns hurt badly. There are four different degrees of burns, 1st degree, 2nd degree, 3rd degree, and 4th degree. The mildest being the 1st degree burn and the worst being the 4th degree burn.
First Degree Burns
1st degree burns is when only the outer layers or the superficial layers of your skin is burned. The burned area turns red and is a little irritated but there are no blisters or other marks. It usually has a low to moderate pain level that is easily relieved with proper ointments or other treatments like rubbing aloe on it. The 1st degree burn can take anywhere from 5 to 10 days to heal completely.
Second Degree Burns
2nd degree burn is burns not only the outer layer of skin or the superficial layer of skin but the burn also reaches the underlying layers. This is also called a partial thickness burn. The burn will typically have red layers with blisters that are clear; your skin will blanch or turn white when put a little bit of pressure to the area, and the burned or damaged part of your skin will feel moist. These burns can be very painful and the burned area will be highly sensitive to the touch. It may also be a little hot or cold. 2nd degree burns can take anywhere from 2 to 3 weeks to heal.
Third Degree Burns
3rd degree burns are burns that damage all the layers of your skin and also nerve endings and tissue beneath your skin layers. The feel of your burn will feel like leather. It will be very stiff with a brown or white color. This burn will not blanch or turn white under pressure given to it. You will typically not feel any pain because your nerve endings were damaged in the burn. 3rd degree burn can take many months to heal properly and are that was burned may never go back to the way it originally was. 3rd degree burns take specialized treatment to the burn to try and heal it as best as possible.
Fourth Degree Burns
4th degree burn is a burn that not only damages skin, underlying tissue and nerve endings but may reach all the way to fat and muscle or even to the bone in some cases. 4th degree burns look black or charred, crispy, and dry. This burn is also a pain free burn because the nerve endings are destroyed. There is no healing the area with this type of burn. In most cases amputation or excision is needed because function is at a complete loss. In severe cases of 4th degree burns death have and can occur.
Burn Injury Statistics
An interesting burn fact is out of burn injuries recorded 60% of them are men and 40% are women. Also 69%of all fires occur in homes, 9% occur on the street or on the highway, 7% occur at sporting or recreational events, and 5% occur in the work area. 85% of deaths caused by fire in the year 2009 happened inside the victim’s home. The leading causes of in home fires are oven ranges, cigarettes, matches, candles, lighters, cigars, wood burning stoves, and toaster ovens.
How to Prevent Burns and Injuries
There are steps you can take to prevent fires in your home or injuries from fire. First of all install smoke detectors in your home. Today, 93% of homes have a fire alarm or smoke detectors installed in the home. And because of the increase of fire alarm or smoke detector installation the in home death rate caused by fire has dropped 50%. Another way to prevent a fire is stay in the kitchen while cooking. Also do not cook if you are intoxicated or very tired. Smoking cigars or cigarettes outside your home can help prevent fires, will also make your home smell better instead of like an ash tray. Installing a sprinkler system in your home is another good way to protect your home from a fire if you are home or not. Keep an eye on you gas make sure there are no leeks. If you use space heaters be extra careful with them. Never ever use extension cords when plugging in air conditioners. Teach your children fire safety and to stay away from lighters and matches. Make sure you do not pile your lawn clippings near a building. Last but not least when using your grill to cook be extremely careful is grill is on your porch or deck.