Burns

From simple sunburn on vacation to touching a hot pot on a stove, many of us have experienced minor burns at one time or another. Thermal burn injuries are very common. Annually, 500,000 people receive medical treatment for burn injuries. Children are particularly at risk due to accidental burns.

The type of burn and the severity of the burn  depend on the number of layers of skin affected. Most burns are mild, but some may be severe. Most importantly, 75% of burns are estimated to be preventable. You may get burned from any hot or heated source or from chemical reactions that release heat.

Types of burns:

• Thermal burns - Flame Scald (from steam, hot or molten liquid) or Contact (from a hot object, such as a hot cooking pan)
• Electrical burns
• Radiation burns  (sunburn, medical radiation treatment for cancers, welding exposures)
• Chemical burns

Symptoms & Types of Burns: All thermal burns (from fire or flame) cause an injury to the different layers of the skin . The type of burn  and the severity of the burn depends on the number of layers of skin affected. Traditionally burns were described using the word degrees (first, second, and third). Now most doctors describe burns as to their thickness (superficial, partial, and full).

The skin is made up of three important layers:

• The epidermis (or the outer layer)
• The dermis
• The subcutaneous tissues.

Each of the above corresponds roughly to the types of burns. (It is important to note that many burn  injuries may include all three types of burns at the same time.)

Superficial burn or first degree burn:
This burn  involves only the epidermis, the outermost layer of the skin . Most people are familiar with this burn  in the form of sunburn.
Symptoms and signs — Painful, red, area turns white when touched, no blisters, moist.

Partial thickness burn or second degree burn:
This burn  involves the epidermis and some portion of the dermis, the second layer of the skin . This type of burn  may be further categorized as superficial or deep, depending on how much of the dermis is involved.
Superficial symptoms and signs — Painful, red, area turns white to touch, mottling, blisters, moist, hairs still present

Deep symptoms and signs — May or may not be painful (it may be so deep that nerve endings may be destroyed), may be moist or dry (so deep that sweat glands are destroyed), may or may not turn white when area is touched, hair is usually gone

Full thickness burn  or third degree burn : This is the most severe burn. The burn  involves all of the epidermis and dermis—the first two layers of the skin. Nerve endings, tiny blood vessels, hair follicles, and tiny sweat glands are all destroyed. If very severe, the burn  may involve bone and muscle.
Symptoms and signs — Painless, no sensation to touch, pearly white or charred, dry, may appear leathery.

When to seek medical attention: Seek emergency medical care if you have any partial or full thickness burn that involves the genitals, eyes, ears, hands, or feet, or burns over major joints regardless of size.

Also seek immediate medical care for the following burns:

• Any full thickness burn, for example, that looks dry, is painless, or looks charred.
• Any partial thickness burn that is more than twice the size of your palm
• If pain is uncontrollable

Call 999 for emergency medical transport in these cases:

• If there are extensive partial thickness or full thickness burns to the body
• For any problems breathing with burns to the face
• With a large amount of smoke exposure in a closed room
• If a person is unconscious after he or she has sustained a burn

If you need to update your tetanus shot, your doctor can check your medical records or if you have any questions about burn  care, call your doctor

Self Care at Home:

1. The most important first step is to stop the burning process. Put out any fire or flames (the common advice is to 'stop, drop, and roll' to put out flames on your clothing).
2. Remove hot or burned clothing, if possible, or stop contact with the hot steam, liquid, or a hot object.
3. Cool the injured area with water (not ice) within 30 seconds. This may limit the extent and severity of the burn. Run your burned hand or finger, for example, immediately under cool tap water for several minutes.
4. Control the pain. Apply a cool wet compress for pain relief. Note: Do not use ice. This may worsen the injury to the skin . Other common remedies, such as butter or mayonnaise have not been proven to work; and may increase the chance of infection.
5. Begin the healing process. For small burns and burns that are superficial in nature, you may use a triple antibiotic ointment. This will aid in healing and limit the chance of infection.

Note: Do not remove blisters at home, especially those on the palms of the hands or on the soles of the feet.

Lavender essential oil is valuable oil in the case of burns . It was first discovered by Rene-Maurice Gattefosse  -  a French cosmetic chemist who was working in his family's perfume business and severely burned himself in an accident. He had third-degree burns covering his hand and forearm, and thrust his arm into the nearest vat of cold liquid to relieve the pain. The liquid was lavender oil. He was surprised to find his pain lessened and there was no redness, inflammation, or blistering.

He realized that the lavender oil had begun to heal the burn and continued to use it. The burn healed without a trace of a scar. For Dr. Gattefosse, this began a lifetime of discovery for him learning about essential oils . He started with an analysis of lavender oil and continued analyzing many other oils from various plants and parts of plants. He learned that the healing properties of plants originated in their essential oils.

Dr. Jean Valnet (see above) used Lavender oil to treat serious burns and war injuries when he was a French army surgeon. Lavender can be used safely by both adults and children. Apply Lavender essential oil to gauze and cover the area. Lavender essential oil can help to reduce pain and it can promote rapid healing.