BURN INJURIES

First aid and treatment

 Classification
• First degree burns – superficial thickness
• Second degree burns
partial thickness - superficial
partial thickness - deep
• Third degree burns - full thickness
• Fourth degree burns - full thickness
 The skin
• Epidermis
• Dermis
• Subcutis

Wikipedia, 2007
 Function of skin
• Protection and regulation in many ways

temperature warm - coldness

moist - keeping
infections
water ”proof”
 Burning degrees

The skin

Wikipedia, 2007
 Burning depth
• First-degree • epidermis involvement

• Second-degree • superficial (papillary)

dermis
• deep (reticular) dermis

• Third-degree • dermis and underlying

• Fourth-degree tissue and possibly
fascia, bone and muscle
 Clinical findings
• First-degree • Erythema, minor pain,
lack of blisters
• Second-degree
• Blisters, clear fluid and
pain
• Whiter appearance, with
decreased pain. Difficult
to distinguish from full
thickness
• Third-degree
• Fourth-degree • Hard, leather-like eschar,
purple fluid, no sensation
(insensate)
 Burn injuries of the body
Adult Children
• Head 9% • Head 18 %
• Chest 18 % • Chest 18 %
• Back 18 % • Back 18 %
• Each leg 18 % • Each leg 14 %
• Each arm 9% • Each arm 9%
• Genitalia 1% • Genitalia 1%
 Different kind of burns
• Thermal - flame, radiation or excessive
heat from fire, steam, hot liquids and hot
objects
• Chemical burns
• Electric burns
• Light by intensive light sources
• Radiation
 First aid
• Douse the affected
area with (cool) water
for at least 10 minutes
in order to relieve
pain and to reduce
swellings
• Cover the burn with
sterile and non-fluffy
dressing to prevent
infection
 Treatment
• Airway – breathing help if necessairy – fresh air
if possible
• Chock prevention
• Lots of liquid
• Pain relieve
• Wound dressings
• Don´t use ointment, grease or butter
• Warm the rest of the patient – blanket etc
• Take away rings, armrings etc etc
 Medical assistance
• Any burn to the face,hands, feet or
genitalia
• Any 3rd degree/full thickness burn or any
burn that covers a large area
• Any burn that can interfere with respiration
• Any burn to an infant or elderly person
• Any chemical or electrical burn
 Problems?
• Scars
• Infection
• Tetanus?
 The severity of burn
• Body regions ---- face!!!!!
• Degree of burn
• Extent of burned surface area - %????
• Age of the patient
• Pre-existing physical or mental condition
 What happens in the body?
• Resorption phase • Resorption of oedoma
3rd -10th day • Big diures
• Electrolytes
changement

• Chancing osmolarity
 Observations
• Airway
• Burns in the face - the eyebrows
Redness in the mouth/ throat
• Black sputum?
• Burns from inside or outside of mouth
• Which kind of burn it was?
 Smoke injuries
Cyanid-poisoning Carbonmonoxid-poisoning

• From fire in all kind of • Doesn´t smell!!!!

textils • When burning is
• Via skin, lungs or mouth incomplete
• Smell like bitter almond • Attached as COHb
• Can lead to tachycardi, • Headache, weakness,
restless, spasm, coma nausea, vomiting,
and collaps breathingproblems,
eye-problems, irritable,
concentration-problems,
can lead to death
 Treatment smoke injuries
Airway - oxygen

Medication for airway - cortison?

bronchdilatation?
Rest – don´t breath more deep than possible ….

Smoke contains a lot of different particles from

different substances that burns (textile, plastic
etc etc etc )