Burns can be minor or life-threatening, which is why knowing first aid treatment for burns is essential.

Prompt attention can limit damage and promote healing.

Serious burns require emergency treatment.

Degrees of Burns

Verywell / Cindy Chung

This article discusses the steps to take for a burn right away and when to seek medical care.

Verywell / Cindy Chung

Types of Burns

Burns fall into three categories based on severity.

First-Degree

A first-degree burn will be red, painful, and dry, but has no blisters.

Mild sunburn is an example.

Second-Degree

The site of a second-degree burn appears red and blistered and may be swollen and painful.

Third-Degree

The area of a third-degree burn appears white or charred.

Third-degree burns may not hurt because the nerve endings have been damaged or destroyed.

This can be a life-threatening emergency.

Do not attempt to treat the burn but do cover it with a sterile or clean cloth.

If the person is unconscious or not breathing, and it is safe to do so,perform CPR.

Because first-degree burns affect only the surface of the skin they don’t usually require medical care.

A second-degree burn causes redness, blistering, pain, and swelling.

Even if there is no pain, prompt medical care for a severe burn is essential.

If the burn is deep or bigger than 3 inches, call 911.

If you have it, bring the container with the chemical with you to the ER.

Staff can guide you through the necessary steps for managing the chemical.

Electrical Burns

Electrical burnscan be worse than they look on the surface.

take a stab at keep them warm and drape a clean cloth over the affected area.

Do not use materials with fibers that may become stuck to the wound.

Immediate medical assistance for electrical burns is essential.

Healing Stages of Burns

The body reacts differently to burns than other types of wounds or injuries.

Your skin will appear dry as it heals.

It may also be darker or lighter than it was before.

Except in minor burns, blisters form, and the risk of serious infection risk can be high.

They affect the body and its tissue more than is visible to the eye.

Serious infection is a risk with severe burns.

Severe second-degree and third-degree burns require medical assistance.

Stanford Health.What are the classifications of burns?

American Academy of Dermatology Association.How to treat a first-degree, minor burn.

NHS Inform.Burns & scalds.

University of Michigan Health.Home treatment for second-degree burns.

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.Third-degree burns.

Tiwari VK.Burn wound: How it differs from other wounds?Indian J Plast Surg.

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