Burns: Overview

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Modified on 2009/10/14 21:43 by admin

» Burns: Overview

A burn is an injury to tissue that can be caused by heat, chemicals or electricity. While burns most often affect the skin, deeper burns can injure tissue well below the skin's surface. In addition, internal burns may occur to the esophagus and stomach when extremely hot liquids are ingested and to the lungs when hot air is inhaled during a fire.

Minor burns, known as first degree burns, are the most common, accounting for approximately 85% of all burns. Second and third degree burns involve progressively deeper tissue damage and carry with them more serious health consequences including, but not limited to, infection, shock and scarring.

The location of the burn also impacts on its severity. For instance, burns to the face, genitals, hands and feet typically require hospitalization. Treating the most severe burns may involve the use of a hyperbaric chamber, a device which nourishes the wounds with pressurized oxygen. Burn victims may also require intubation, a procedure in which an emergency physician or other medical professional inserts a tube into the throat in order to assist breathing. Other commonly used burn treatment procedures include skin grafts and antibiotic therapy (both of which help guard against infection) and fluid replenishment.

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