Treating Burn Injuries

Burn injuries are extremely painful and can be life threatening. Most hospitals and private clinics around the world have a separate facility for burn management as the patients require specialized care.

Injury caused by heat leading to total or partial destruction of the skin and body tissues can be defined as a burn. Instead of degrees, the extent of burn injury is now classified as the percentage of the total surface area of the body. The depth of the burn is refereed to as partial or full burn depending on the extent of injury to the layers of the skin.

First Aid- The patient should be removed from the area of the accident and the wound should be carefully washed out with water initially. Later on the wound should be washed again by a solution made of acids, alkalis and copper sulphate crystals. A gel or cream of calcium gluconate gel may be applied liberally on the affected area. To compensate for the loss of fluids, an intravenous fluid drip may be started if possible.

Treatment- After admission, the extent and depth of the burn must be assessed properly. Signs of respiratory distress and other superficial burn injuries as well as the color of the eyes must be noted carefully.
The fluid intake of the patient must be monitored carefully and adjusted according to the urine output. A urinary catheter needs to be inserted if the kidneys are damaged. Before receiving the pathological report the patient must be given analgesics as well as tetanus toxoid in order to control the pain and infection.

Dressings- The dressings of the patient must be changed often and precaution must be taken to see that no part of the wound remains exposed. A simple bandage of  Vaseline gauze is most effective.

Grafting- Skin grafting may be needed if the damaged skin cannot regenerate. The skin of the hands must be grafted as soon as possible. Permanent damage to sensory organs must be seen to before starting the grafting process. It is customary to take the skin from the thighs for grafting.