Burns and scalds - NHS

Burns and scalds are damage to the skin usually caused by heat. Both are treated in the same way. A burn is caused by dry heat – by an iron or fire, for example ... Skiptomaincontent Home HealthAtoZ BacktoHealthAtoZ Overview - Burnsandscalds Contents Overview Treatment Recovery Complications Prevention Burnsandscaldsaredamagetotheskinusually causedbyheat.Botharetreatedinthesameway.Aburniscausedbydryheat –byanironorfire,forexample. A scaldiscausedbysomethingwet,suchashotwaterorsteam. Credit: Burnscanbeverypainfulandmaycause:redorpeelingskinblistersswellingwhiteorcharredskinTheamountofpainyoufeelisnotalwaysrelatedtohowserioustheburnis.Evenaveryseriousburnmayberelativelypainless. TreatingburnsandscaldsTotreataburn,followthe firstaidadvicebelow:immediatelygetthepersonawayfromtheheatsourcetostoptheburningcooltheburnwithcoolorlukewarmrunningwaterfor 20minutes –donotuseice,icedwater,oranycreamsorgreasysubstanceslikebutterremoveanyclothingorjewellerythat'sneartheburntareaofskin,includingbabies'nappies, butdonot moveanythingthat'sstucktotheskinmakesurethepersonkeepswarm by usingablanket, forexample, buttakecarenottorubitagainsttheburntareacovertheburnbyplacingalayerofclingfilmoverit –acleanplasticbagcouldalsobeusedforburnsonyourhandusepainkillerssuchas paracetamoloribuprofentotreat any painifthefaceoreyesareburnt,situpasmuchaspossible,ratherthanlyingdown–thishelpstoreduceswellingifit'sanacidorchemicalburn,dial999,carefullytrytoremovethechemicalandanycontaminatedclothing,andrinsetheaffectedareausingasmuchcleanwateraspossibleReadmoreabouttreatingburnsandscalds. WhentogetmedicalattentionDependingonhowseriousaburnis,itmaybepossibletotreatitathome.Forminorburns,keeptheburncleananddonotburstanyblistersthatform.Moreseriousburnsrequireprofessionalmedicalattention.YoushouldgotoahospitalA&Edepartmentfor:allchemicalandelectricalburnslargeordeepburns–anyburnbiggerthantheinjuredperson'shandburnsthatcausewhiteorcharredskin–anysizeburnsontheface,hands,arms,feet,legsorgenitals thatcauseblistersIfsomeonehasbreathedinsmokeorfumes,theyshouldalsoseekmedicalattention.Somesymptomsmaybedelayedandcaninclude:coughingasorethroatdifficultybreathingfacialburnsPeopleatgreaterriskfromtheeffectsofburns,suchaschildrenunder5yearsoldandpregnantwomen,shouldalsogetmedicalattentionafteraburnorscald.Thesizeanddepthoftheburnwillbeassessedandtheaffectedareacleanedbeforeadressingisapplied. Inseverecases,skingraftsurgerymayberecommended.Readmoreabout:recoveringfromburnsandscaldscomplicationsofburnsandscalds TypesofburnBurnsareassessedbyhowseriouslyyourskinisdamagedandwhichlayersofskinareaffected.Yourskinhas3layers:theepidermis –theouterlayerofskinthedermis–thelayeroftissuejustbeneath,whichcontainsbloodcapillaries,nerveendings,sweatglandsandhairfolliclesthesubcutaneousfat,orsubcutis–thedeeperlayeroffatandtissueThereare4maintypesofburn,whichtendtohaveadifferentappearanceanddifferentsymptoms:superficialepidermalburn– wheretheepidermisisdamaged;yourskinwillbered,slightlyswollenandpainful,butnotblisteredsuperficialdermalburn – wheretheepidermisandpartofthedermisaredamaged;yourskinwillbepalepinkandpainful,andtheremaybesmallblistersdeepdermalorpartialthicknessburn – wheretheepidermisandthedermisaredamaged;thistypeofburnmakesyourskinturnredandblotchy;yourskinmaybedryormoistandbecomeswollenandblistered,anditmaybeverypainfulorpainlessfullthicknessburn –whereall3layersofskin(theepidermis,dermisandsubcutis)aredamaged;theskinisoftenburntawayandthetissueunderneathmayappearpaleorblackened,whiletheremainingskinwillbedryandwhite,brownorblackwithnoblisters,andthetextureoftheskinmayalsobeleatheryorwaxy PreventingburnsandscaldsManysevereburnsandscaldsaffectbabiesandyoungchildren.Examplesofthingsyoucandotohelpreducethelikelihoodofyourchildhavingaseriousaccidentathomeinclude:keepingyourchildoutofthekitchenwheneverpossibletestingthetemperatureofbathwaterusingyourelbowbeforeyouputyourbabyortoddlerinthebathkeepingmatches,lightersandlitcandlesoutofyoungchildren'ssightandreachkeepinghotdrinkswellawayfromyoungchildrenReadmoreaboutpreventingburnsandscalds. FurtheradviceIfyouneedadviceaboutaburnorscald,youcan:call NHS111gotoaminorinjuriesunitgotoanNHSwalk-incentrecallorseeaGPFindminorinjuryunitsandwalk-incentresnearyou Pagelastreviewed:24September2018 Nextreviewdue:24September2021 Next : Treatment