How to treat a thermal burn

A burn is tissue damage as a result of high temperature, chemicals, or radiation. This is the most common injury that can occur in everyday life. This is especially true for thermal burns.

There is probably no person who has not been scalded by boiling water or burned by hot oil at least once in his life. Treatment of minor skin burns can be carried out at home; you do not always need to go to the doctor.

Most of these injuries resolve within a few days. But you need to know how to relieve pain, how to speed up healing, and in what cases you still need to seek medical help.

How do people most often get burned?

1. Half of all cases are contact with open fire (fires, bonfires, flames in a stove, ignition of gasoline).
2. 20% is scalding with boiling water or steam.
3. 10% is contact with hot objects.
4. 20% - other factors (acids, alkalis, sunburn, electric current).

Every third person burned is a child. Most often (75% of cases) the arms and hands are burned.

What are they?

I and II degrees refer to superficial burns, in which only the top layer of skin, the epidermis, is affected. When uncomplicated, they heal without leaving scars.

III and IV degrees are deep burns, with damage to all layers of the skin and underlying tissues. They heal with the formation of a rough scar.

What burns can be treated at home?

You can treat at home:

1. 1st degree burns in adults not exceeding 10% of the body area;
2. 2nd degree burns not exceeding 1% of the body.

How to determine the degree?

1st degree burn – manifested by swelling, redness of the skin, pain, sensitivity to touch, and there may be small blisters.

Stage 2 is characterized by the addition of large blisters filled with liquid to the above symptoms.

How to determine area?

The easiest way to determine the burn surface area of ​​a home is the palm method. The area of ​​a person's palm is conventionally taken to be 1% of the area of ​​the entire body.

When should you seek medical help immediately?

1. Any burn that involves the eyes, lips, ears, respiratory tract, or genitals.
2. 2nd degree burn with an area larger than the palm of your hand.
3. 1st degree burn of more than 10% of the body surface (for example, the entire abdomen or the entire arm).
4. Third- and fourth-degree burns (the affected area is covered with a dry crust, charring, there may be no pain due to the death of nerve receptors), even small ones.
5. The pain is uncontrollable.
6. If the wound is contaminated with soil (necessity for tetanus prophylaxis).
7. Burns in children.
8. Treatment of chemical burns is also best left to specialists.

How to treat burns at home

1. Stop contact with the scalding factor. Put out the flames on your clothes and move away from the fire. If you are burned by boiling water, immediately remove clothing in contact with the body. Throw a hot object.
2. Cool the burnt surface. It is best to do this under running water at a temperature of 10-18 degrees. You can immerse the limb in a container of water or apply a damp cloth. You need to cool for 5 to 10 minutes; in case of a chemical burn, rinse with running water for up to 20 minutes (except for burns with quicklime). Cooling has an analgesic effect and also prevents the spread of heating of healthy tissue at the border of the burn.
3. Anesthesia. For severe pain, you can take paracetamol, ibuprofen, ketanov, analgin, and other analgesics.
4. Local treatment. The main goal in treating burns is to protect the surface from germs, relieve pain and speed up the restoration of the damaged layer of skin. They simply use sterile wipes, special wipes for burns, sprays and ointments that promote healing.
5. General treatment. It would be a good idea to take restorative medications and also follow a proper diet to ensure that the burn heals faster and without consequences. It is recommended to increase the amount of protein in the diet (meat, fish, dairy products), as well as vegetables and fruits rich in vitamins. Additionally, you can take vitamin C and Aevit. It is recommended to drink more.

Pharmacy drugs

So, you got a burn from boiling water or oil. They cooled it down, assessed that it was small and shallow, its condition was generally satisfactory, and it could be treated at home. It's worth looking into the first aid kit. Those who are prudent and thrifty may at least have a package of sterile wipes and Panthenol.

What can you ask at the pharmacy?

1. Sterile wipes. Better atraumatic dressings that do not stick to the wound and have antiseptic properties:

1. Atrauman Ag (5cm x 5cm 250 rub, 10 cm x 10 cm 530 rub),
2. Branolind N (30 rub - 100 rub),
3. Combixin and Diosept (manufacturer: Belarus).

There is no need to buy everything at once; to treat minor burns, sometimes one sterile bandage lightly moistened with an antiseptic and Panthenol is enough. In a healthy person, everything will heal without the use of additional funds. If there are no sterile bandages, you can iron a clean cloth with a hot iron.

How long will it take to heal?

Superficial 1st degree burn injuries heal without consequences in 3-4 days. A slight pigmentation may remain, which will also disappear over time.

Second degree burns with blisters will take longer to heal. The bubble gradually subsides, the liquid resolves. It may happen that the bubble bursts with the formation of erosion; this requires additional treatment with antibacterial ointments Levomekol (130 rub) or Voskopran bandage with levomekol ointment (5 x 75, cm 350 rub, 10x10 cm 1100 rub), Silvacin, Dioxyzol. The bandage needs to be changed every other day. Such a burn heals within 10-12 days, also without scar formation.

If, during the treatment, redness, swelling, pain increases, and purulent discharge from the wound appears, this is evidence of infection and a reason to consult a doctor.

What not to do and why

1. Lubricate the burn site with vegetable or butter, kefir, sour cream, creams, ointments. Fat forms a film on the wound, which will make it worse for cooling.
2. Treat the wound with alcohol, brilliant green, and potassium permanganate. These are irritants and can only worsen tissue damage.
3. Treat damage with vinegar or soda. The reason is the same.
4. Tear off clothing stuck to the wound. It is simply cut with scissors around the affected area.
5. Apply ice. It can cause severe vasospasm, which will impair blood circulation and increase necrosis.
6. Treat with urine. Other than the risk of infection, there is no benefit from this.
7. Puncture the blisters yourself. The whole bladder protects the wound from infection. When it is opened, a wound surface is formed, which can fester.

Folk remedies in treatment

There are many tips for treating burns with folk remedies. You shouldn’t trust them all recklessly. But some of them may be useful if the burn is received far from home and away from the first aid kit, or if a person likes to be treated with natural remedies without “any chemicals.”

Many plants are known to have antiseptic properties. The main principle here is “do no harm.” The safest folk remedies:

1. Raw potato juice. Grate one medium potato, put the pulp in gauze and apply to the burned area for 10-15 minutes.
2. Carrot lotion. Instead of potatoes, raw carrots are grated and used in the same way as in the previous recipe.
3. Brew black or green tea with boiling water, cool to room temperature, soak a napkin in the brew and apply to the burn.
4. Ointment with calendula. Brew 3 tablespoons of dry calendula with boiling water, let it brew for 15 minutes, strain. Mix the resulting infusion with Vaseline in a ratio of 1:2. Apply 2 times a day to the burned surface. Keep refrigerated.
5. Pour boiling water over dried linden flowers (1 tablespoon per glass of water). Leave for about an hour, strain. Apply 2-3 times a day until dry.
6. Using the same principle, you can prepare a decoction from any herb or mixture of herbs that have an anti-inflammatory effect: chamomile, calendula, sage, string, plantain.

1. - bandage;
2. - boric acid;
3. - chicken eggs;
4. - celandine grass;
5. - fresh potatoes, carrots, cabbage or pumpkin;
6. - black or green tea;
7. - fresh St. John's wort flowers;
8. - vegetable oil;
9. - sour cream;
10. - aloe juice;
11. - fresh plantain or burdock leaves;
12. - dried clover flowers.

For severe burns, never use alcohol or cologne on your skin. This can cause severe burning and pain. Also, do not lubricate the skin with brilliant green, grease, potassium permanganate solution, or cover it with powders.

To avoid infection entering the wound, do not puncture any blisters that have formed, do not touch the wound with your hands, and do not tear off pieces of clothing stuck to the burn site.

When exposed to thermal energy, the body primarily injures the skin (or mucous membranes). If the intensity of the thermal effect is high, then the injury can affect not only all layers of the skin, but also the tissues located underneath it. Depending on the depth of tissue damage, in clinical practice there are 4 degrees of burns, each of which has its own symptoms and clinical features, on the basis of which the treatment program is based. Therefore, before moving on to considering the treatment of thermal burns, you should familiarize yourself with them.

Degrees of thermal burns and their clinical manifestations

A first degree burn corresponds to a superficial lesion of the skin. It manifests itself as redness and swelling of the skin in the area of ​​heat exposure. The burn site hurts, the victim complains of a burning sensation, which intensifies when touching the damaged skin. Gradually, the pain goes away; after a few days, the surface layer of the skin peels off and disappears, revealing healthy skin underneath.

A second degree burn also refers to superficial skin lesions. Unlike a first-degree burn, in addition to the redness of the burned area of ​​the skin, one or more blisters filled with a cloudy liquid appear on it. The mechanism for the appearance of such bubbles is quite simple: in the place of the most intense exposure to heat on the skin, the liquid part of the blood sweats through the walls of the capillaries with peeling of the surface layer of the skin. If such a bubble ruptures, a weeping skin wound forms in its place. If a 2nd degree thermal burn was saved from infection, such damage heals without a trace, scarring occurs only if infection occurs and secondary inflammation develops with suppuration.

A third degree burn refers to deep skin lesions that involve the germ layer of the dermis. Cells of the burned skin area die with the formation of dry or wet necrosis. The skin near the area of ​​necrosis is red or yellowish, and blisters may form on it. Considering that with this degree of burn, thermal damage affects the germ layer of the skin, healing without scar formation is impossible. The scope of treatment is determined depending on the extent of the burn; for large burns, skin grafting may be required.

A IV degree burn corresponds to charring of the skin and damage to adjacent tissues - subcutaneous tissue, muscles, ligaments, joints and bones. Necrotic tissue, disintegrating, becomes a source of powerful intoxication of the body, which can lead to the death of the victim.

First aid measures for thermal burns

The first thing to do is to stop the heat exposure on the victim. That is, avoid contact with open flames, hot objects, liquids or vapors. In addition, you should free the affected area of ​​the body from clothing and jewelry - when heated, they continue to exert a thermal effect. If clothing is stuck to a burned area of ​​skin, it cannot be torn off - the stuck area of ​​fabric is cut off with scissors.

The second important first aid measure is to remove excess heat from the affected area as quickly as possible. At the physical level, thermal energy during a burn is transferred from a hotter object (heat source) to a less hot one (skin). And this thermal energy continues to destroy cells. To stop the destructive process, excess heat must be eliminated. To do this, the burned limb should be immersed in a container of cold water or placed under a stream of cold tap water. If we are talking about an area of ​​skin on the stomach, back, thigh, cover it with a napkin soaked in cold water, which is changed as it warms up. Cooling the burned area, by the way, helps relieve pain. You can add ice to the cooling water, but you cannot wipe the burn area with a piece of ice or a handful of snow from the freezer: the edges of the ice crystals are quite sharp and can easily cause additional injury to damaged skin.

Also, do not lubricate the burn site with oil, sour cream, or rich cream. A film of fat on the surface of the skin will prevent the removal of excess heat. Fatty fermented milk products or creams are good for restoring skin after 1st degree burns (including sunburn) - but already in the phase of skin regeneration, and not as a first aid measure.

The next step is dressing. As a rule, first-degree burns do not require dressing, although it can be used to protect the burned area of ​​skin from painful contact with clothing or any objects. Second-degree burns are bandaged in order to preserve the integrity of the blisters for as long as possible and thereby prevent infection of the burn wound. Third- and fourth-degree burns are treated in a medical facility; the decision to bandage in this case is made by the attending physician, depending on the chosen method of treating the burn wound (open or closed). You can apply ointment under the bandage to treat burns locally.

In case of intense pain, it is important to supplement the set of first aid measures for burns with pain relief. For small area I-II degree burns, a tablet of any over-the-counter analgesic or NSAID is usually sufficient. For deeper or more extensive burns, pain relief is carried out by doctors, often using narcotic analgesics, which avoids the development of pain shock in the victim.

Regardless of the degree and area of ​​the burn, it is important to provide the victim with enough fluids. Firstly, burned skin intensively loses moisture and with extensive burns dehydration can develop in a short time. Secondly, any burn is associated with the release of a large amount of toxins into the blood, and restoring the water balance in the body reduces the effects of intoxication.

Treatment of thermal burns

Of course, the main task and goal of treating a thermal burn is to restore the integrity of the skin. For superficial burns that do not involve the germ layer of the skin, regeneration occurs independently. If the burn damages the germ layer, healing is only possible through scarring, so with extensive deep burns there is a need for skin grafts.

In addition to measures aimed at restoring tissue integrity, treatment of burns has a number of other goals:

1. pain relief;
2. normalization of hemodynamics;
3. restoration of water and electrolyte balance;
4. normalization of blood pH;
5. restoration of protein metabolism;
6. prevention of liver, heart, lung, and kidney failure;
7. detoxification of the body.

The first step in treating deep thermal burns is to thoroughly clean the burn wound. Foreign bodies, pieces of tissue, and exfoliated epidermis are removed from its surface under aseptic conditions and under local anesthesia. The wound is washed with hydrogen peroxide, after which the doctor decides on the method of further therapy. With the open method, a bandage is not applied to the area of ​​burned skin. The closed method of therapy involves applying anti-burn ointment and subsequent dressing.

Thermal burn: treatment at home

Treatment of thermal burns can be carried out at home - if:

1. We are talking about burns of the 1st and 2nd degrees;
2. the area of ​​damage does not exceed 10% of the skin (the volume is approximately equal to 10 palms of the victim);
3. the burn is not located on the face or in the genital area;
4. the hand or foot is not completely burned;
5. there are no signs of suppuration of the burn wound.

However, even in this case, a preliminary consultation with a doctor is recommended. Treatment of thermal burns in children - any, even superficial and small in area - is permissible only in a hospital setting.

Burn therapy at home consists of thoroughly cooling the burn site, as described above, followed by applying an antiseptic ointment to the damaged skin - for example, Sulfargin. The active ingredient of the drug is silver sulfadiazine, which has an antimicrobial effect. Due to the fact that silver ions are gradually released in the wound, the effect of the ointment is prolonged, and it is enough to apply it once a day. An ointment with antibacterial properties prevents suppuration of a burn wound and accelerates its healing. The drug can be applied either under a bandage once a day, or without it - openly, 2 times a day.

You should also remember that at home it is unacceptable:

1. squeeze, pierce blisters;
2. cover the damaged area with adhesive tape;
3. touch burned skin with dirty hands;
4. use “folk” remedies to treat a burn: fat, “homemade” ointments, butter, etc. In case of a thermal burn, treatment should be carried out with medications sold in pharmacies, and not with cosmetics sold in stores and kiosks.

Thermal burns, even small and shallow ones, require treatment. Regeneration processes in the skin occur independently, but therapeutic measures help speed them up, avoid complications and make the recovery period after a burn as comfortable as possible.