Your skin is one of your most important organs.
It protects you from infections, regulates your temperature, and keeps you healthy. When it’s damaged you lose those functions making quick treatment critical. Our goal is to restore it’s functions as soon as possible.
What is a Burn?
A burn is tissue damage caused by heat, chemicals, electricity, sunlight or nuclear radiation. The most common burns are those caused by scalds, building fires and flammable liquids and gases.
- First-degree burns affect only the outer layer (the epidermis) of the skin.
- Second-degree burns damage the epidermis and the layer beneath it (the dermis).
- Third-degree burns involve damage or complete destruction of this skin to its full depth and damage to underlying tissues.
How does the body react to a severe burn?
The swelling and blistering characteristic of burns is caused by the loss of fluid from damaged blood vessels. In severe cases, such fluid loss can cause shock. Burns can lead to infection, due to damage to the skin’s protective barrier.
How are Burns Treated?
Treating a First Degree Burn Wound.
First-degree burns can be treated with home care. Healing will be quicker the sooner you treat the burn. Treatments for a first-degree burn include:
- Soaking the wound in cool water for five minutes or longer
- Taking acetaminophen or ibuprofen for pain relief
- Applying lidocaine (an anesthetic) with aloe vera gel or cream to soothe the skin
- Using an antibiotic ointment and loose gauze to protect the affected area
Make sure you don’t use ice, as this may make the damaged area worse. Never apply cotton balls to a burn because the small fibers can stick to the injury and increase the risk of infection. Also, avoid home remedies like butter and eggs as these are not proven to be effective.
Treating A 2nd Degree Burn Wound.
Cleaning the wound.
When patients arrive with 2nd degree burns the first thing on our agenda is to clean the wound. Before your skin can regrow we need to remove any dead skin tissue as the result of a burn.
Restoring Burned Skin
Depending on the size, location, and degree of the burn wound there are a couple of treatment options we take.
For smaller minor 2nd degree burns medication and proper dressing may be enough for the wound to heal and be restored naturally.
For more serious 2nd degree burns that have required a significant skin tissue removal we perform a skin graph surgery. We take a small layer of skin from your body (resulting in no more than a brush burn) and place it on the wound.
Dressing the wound and managing scarring
Our goal is to restore the skins function and role it plays in keeping you healthy, and active. Our burn unit is outfitted with the tools, and experience to dress wounds with a focus on less pain, faster healing, and minimal scarring.
Additionally our surgeons can perform additional surgery to prevent scarring from limiting your mobility.
Treating a 3rd Degree Burn Wound.
For large surface area third degree burns extra IV fluids and or blood transfusions are sometimes needed to maintain blood pressure. This extra fluid usually leads to swelling of the hands, legs and face which will resolve over the next several days. Grafting with natural or artificial materials speeds the post-burn healing process.
Early surgical removal (excision or debridement) of burned skin followed by skin grafting reduces the number of days in the hospital and usually improves the function and appearance of the burned area, especially when the face, hands, or feet are involved.
Dressing the wound and managing scarring
Our goal is to restore the skins function and role it plays in keeping you healthy, and active. Our burn unit is outfitted with the tools, and experience to dress wounds with a focus on less pain, faster healing, and minimal scarring.
Additionally our surgeons can perform additional surgery to prevent scarring from limiting your mobility.
We aim for total restoration of your skins function
1. Protection From Infection.
At a minimum your skin is the first line of defense from the outside elements, bacterias, and infections. Restoring this critical function is our number one priority.
2. Holding Fluid.
Our skin aids our body in regulating temperature buy holding and releasing fluids through sweating. This function can be restored with proper treatment in most 2nd and 3rd degree burns.
3. Sensation
Another important function of the skin is touch sensation. Severe burns can damage our skins nerves preventing it from sensing hot or cold, and light touch. With proper burn treatment sensation can be restored in most 2nd and 3rd degree burns.
4. Cosmetic.
Burn damage to skin can cause scarring, and balding. Through proper wound management and at times additional surgery we can treat patients to restore their skins cosmetic function as well.