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We have heard about First, Second right
up to Fourth Degree of Burn in the news almost every other day. What is
it all about? Primarily Burn Degree is recognize as the level of burn
injury inflicted on the surface of our body.
The cause of the injury may be due to
many factors such as direct from:
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fire or scalded by very hot gas, liquid
or solids
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chemical- whether in the form of acid or
alkaline
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abrasion
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electrical burns- in the form of electric
shock
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radiation burn in the form of rays-
radiotherapy is one of them
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sun burn
The Old Understanding of Burn Degree
Traditional description of Burn Degree
could be divided into 3 Degree and to some practitioners up to 4th
Degree. In the olden days, when surgical was not the norm, doctors
would not know how extensive the burn could be explain. Their only
description is through the visual impact to the burned area.
This has somehow created the 4 Degrees of
Burn to explain them all.
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First Burn Degree: This is
the least traumatic among all the burn that we encounter. Sun burn is
one of them. They do not need any medical attention to address the
problem. In fact most people would be happy to have a tanned first Burn
Degree on their body.
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Second Burn Degree: This
Degree of Burn extend through the epidermis to the dermis( the second
layer of the skin) Skin functions are destroyed. Their senses are no
longer sensitive but pain are at it's highest level because this is
where the nociceptor( nociceptor is a sensory receptor that sends
signal to the brain and to our spinal cord) resides.
Usually blisters are common when second
degree burn occur. Fluid builds up between the epidermis and the
surface of the skin resulting to the blister.
Infection will start to occur when the
blister is broken up. New nerve cells start to grow. Because of the new
cells, it is very fragile and tends to be very painful to even a light
touch. The cells are extremely sensitive.
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Third Burn Degree: Third
Degree of Burn completely destroys the cells and nerves of the dermis
level. The victim may not be able to feel the burning sensation on the
affected part due to the completely destroyed nociceptor.
The affected area needs to be taken care
of immediately. Preventing infection become a major challenge. Without
the protection of epidermis and dermis, the victim is open to bacteria
and virus. Depending on how many percent that inflicted on the victim
body, anything more than 5% is considered serious. The victim may need
to stay in a clean room or in ICU if needed to address the burn.
The usual treatment is to perform skin
grafting to he affected area in order to speed up the healing process.
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Fourth Burn Degree: This
Degree of Burn is very serious. The affected area are fully burnt out
to the extend right up to the bones at times. The blood vessels,
nerves, muscles and tendons are partial or fully damaged. The chances
of recovery is very slim and may take a long process to heal. In the
worst scenario, amputation or loss of life my persist.
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