What are burns?
Burns are lesions in the skin and other body tissues, as a reaction to contact or exposure to agents such as sun, heat, cold, electricity, radiation, certain chemicals or high temperature bodies and substances.
Three types of burns can be differentiated according to their severity:
- First-degree burn: in which only the outer layer of the skin is damaged.
- Second-degree burn: in these, both the outer layer of the skin and the layer underneath it are damaged.
- Third degree burns: these are the most dangerous to health, as they can damage the deeper layers of the skin and even the tissues underneath all the layers of skin.
They can also be classified according to the extent of the body that has been affected: minor burns are those that have reached less than 10% of the total body surface, while moderate burns have reached up to 20% of the total body surface and severe burns exceed 20% of the total body surface.
Prognosis of the disease
The burns can be very serious and even life-threatening. The consequences of burns depend on the agent that caused them and the degree of involvement. Burns are especially dangerous in infants, children up to 4 years of age and the elderly, as their skin is usually thinner.
The damage caused by skin burns is cumulative. Thus, burns caused by sun exposure can lead to skin cancer. In many cases the onset of skin cancer appears during adulthood, as a consequence of a lifetime of accumulating burn damage to the skin.
Symptoms of burns
The main symptoms of burns include:
- Redness of the skin or in more severe cases, white or charred skin.
- Blistering
- Peeling of the skin
- Pain and burning
- Swelling
In case of burns of the respiratory tract symptoms may include:
- Cough
- Difficulty breathing
- Burns of the face or neck
- Wheezing
- Dark or black spotted mucus
- Voice changes
Burns are manifested by swollen, red, peeling skin, often causing pain or stinging.
Medical tests for burns
The diagnostic examination of burns usually begins with a physical examination by the dermatologist, who will assess the extent of the skin affected and the severity of the burn.
Depending on the symptoms presented by the patient and the severity of the burn, the specialist may also require tests such as clinical analysis, X-rays or other imaging tests to detect whether the internal structures of the body have been affected.
What are the causes of burns?
The most frequent causes of burns are the following:
- Sun exposure.
- Heat: either in the form of fire (flames), high temperature bodies, cooking liquids, cooked food that is still hot or steam.
- Cold: extreme cold such as ice or liquid nitrogen also causes burns.
- Chemicals: chemical burns are caused by contact with or ingestion of abrasive chemicals such as bleach.
- Electricity: from contact with unprotected wires, or putting fingers or objects in the socket.
Can they be prevented?
There are different methods to protect the skin and prevent it from sunburn: sunscreen can be applied in the form of creams, gels and sprays, as well as lip balms with sun protection. It is also recommended to avoid exposure to the sun during the hours of greatest intensity, which are midday. Covering yourself with a hat or visor or clothing also prevents sunburn.
Of course, it is essential to avoid fires, contact with fire or high temperature elements such as irons, frying pans, the oven or glass-ceramic hob, and to avoid direct contact with highly flammable substances or abrasive chemicals.
Treatments for burns
Treatment for burns will depend on the type of burn and degree of severity. Milder burns can be treated with aloe vera and specific creams.
For more severe burns, treatment may include medications, bandages and physical therapy, with the goal of eliminating pain, preventing or healing infections, removing dead tissue, reducing scarring and restoring normal function.
Burn surgery is aimed at treating and restoring both the appearance of the tissues affected by this type of injury and recovering their functionality in cases of more severe burns. Depending on the depth and cause of the burn, as well as the location of the sequelae it has left, different treatments or interventions will be required to repair the lesions produced in the affected tissues and structures or organs.
Currently, natural cell regeneration and skin graft implantation techniques are applied in cases where the tissue destroyed by the burn cannot regenerate on its own. For this purpose, thanks to the advances of plastic surgery in this field, skin cells are cultivated that allow the creation of grafts to reconstruct this type of lesions when they are very serious, obtaining safer and more satisfactory results to cure burns.
Which specialist treats them?
The dermatologist is the specialist in charge of detecting burns and prescribing their treatment. In case the patient requires surgery, he/she will go to the specialist in Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery.