Burn Definitions
Burn is a kind of injury which may be
resulted from extreme heat, electric shock, friction, chemical
exposure, light or radiation of all kinds. It is a wide variety injury
but basically the end result is the burning sensation on the skin which
lead to a certain degree of injury on the skin surface, blood vessel,
muscle and in more severe cases up to the bone.
Burn victim may have to endure the
burning sensation throughout the ordeal and while in the first part of
the healing process. This is due to the highly concentrated sensory
neurons located under our skin. When we first encounter burn for
example from boiling water, the epidermal tissues are the first sensory
receptor to send heat message to our brain.
As long as the burn does not destroy the
receptor and the neurons, the victim will experience burning sensation.
It will take some time of up to a few days to reduce the pain. The pain
feeling will only absent when the epidermis starts to heal and form new
skin.
A Burn victim may experience minor pain
up to fatal complications. It all depends on:
Burn Classifications
The old classification that
describe the severity of the burn classes are by the Degree:
-
First Degree Burns are usually non
serious, non alarming burn. It doesn't require treatment at all.
Example of first degree burns are sun burn or sun tanned.
-
Second Degree Burns usually
inflicted by hot boiling water which may result to blistering to the
skin or epidermis. The victim of this kind needs to address severe pain
due to the Nociceptor injury. Nociceptor is the sensory receptor below
the epidermis or the skin. It sends pain signal to the brain and spinal
cord.
-
Third Degree Burns happen when the
epidermis is gone completely. The pain is usually less severe than the
Second Degree Burns. The damage appear in hypodermis which is directly
below the epidermis. Arrector Pili Muscle( muscle attach to the
follicle hair), Sebaceous Gland(microscopic gland that secrete oil to
the skin) and Hair Follicle are usually at stake of damage when Third
Degree Burns happen. Skin Grafting is usually perform to rectify the
damage.
-
Fourth Degree Burns constitute the
damage right up to the bone. This is life threatening burn. Usually the
damage include muscle, tendon, ligament tissue, nerve fiber, major
artery and vein. In some cases, the hypodermis is completely destroyed
which leads to a condition called compartment syndrome. The case will
usually lead to permanent irreversible damage to the limb. If the
Fourth Degree Burn covers the body extensively, it may be life
threatening. Skin Grafting is necessary to restore the skin.
The new classification represents
a more precise description to Burn terminology. It is divided into
different kind of burn thickness:
-
Superficial Thickness: equivalent
to First Degree Burns
-
Partial Thickness-Superficial:
equivalent to Second Degree Burns
-
Partial Thickness-Deep: equivalent
to Third Degree Burns
-
Full Thickness: equivalent to
Fourth Degree Burns
-
Subdermal: complete destruction to the
above 4 Thickness right up to the bone, tendon and muscle. There is not
much can be done in this type of burn. Limb amputation and life
threatening situation sets in.
TBSA (Total Body Surface Area) is the
measurement used to determine the percentage of the burned affected
area of the body. As a rule of thumb, our palm is approximately 1% of
our body surface. Therefore the percentage of the victim's burnt body
is measured by the number of palm's size.
More updates about Burns:
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