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Safety and Fire Prevention - Burn Injuries

One of the most painful injuries that one can ever experience is a burn injury. When a burn occurs to the skin, nerve endings are damaged causing intense feelings of pain. Every year, millions of people are burned in one way or another. Of those, thousands die as a result of their burns. Many require long-term hospitalization.

Serious burns are complex injuries. In addition to the burn injury itself, a number of other functions may be affected. Burn injuries can affect muscles, bones, nerves, and blood vessels. The respiratory system can be damaged, with possible airway obstruction, respiratory failure and respiratory arrest. Since burns injure the skin, they impair the body's normal fluid/electrolyte balance, body temperature, body thermal regulation, joint function, manual dexterity, and physical appearance. In addition to the physical damage caused by burns, patients also may suffer emotional and psychological problems that begin at the emergency scene and could last a long time.

Burn Injuries

The Skin

The skin is the largest organ in the body and performs many important functions. It protects against infection by keeping out bacteria. It prevents loss of body fluids and helps control body temperature.

Depth of Burn

The depth of burn is usually categorized as superficial partial-thickness, deep partial-thickness or full-thickness.

Superficial partial-thickness (also know as superficial second degree)

A superficial partial-thickness burn resembles a deep sunburn and is very painful. It will usually heal on its own within ten days.

Deep partial-thickness (also known as deep second degree)

A deep partial-thickness burn is also very painful and blisters will form over the burned area. It may take at least three weeks to heal.

Full-thickness (also known as third degree)

A full-thickness burn involves damage to all the layers of the skin, including the skin-reproducing cells. This wound will require skin grafting to heal.

First Degree Burn Second Degree Burn Third Degree Burn

The severity of a burn injury depends on the depth and size of the burn wound, patient’s age, the patient’s past medical problems and part of the body that has been burned. It is difficult to predict how long it will take for a patient’s injury to heal as all individuals recover at different rates.

It is not always possible to tell the depth of the injury when a patient is admitted. It often takes several days to determine whether the burn wound will heal on its own or if it will require skin grafting.

Determining the severity of burns

  • Source of the burn - a minor burn caused by nuclear radiation is more severe than a burn caused by thermal sources. Chemical burns are dangerous because the chemical may still be on the skin.
  • Body regions burned - burns to the face are more severe because they could affect airway management or the eyes. Burns to hands and feet are also of special concern because they could impede movement of fingers and toes.
  • Degree of the burn - the degree of the burn is important because it could cause infection of exposed tissues and permit invasion of the circulatory system.
  • Extent of burned surface areas - It is important to know the percentage of the amount of the skin surface involved in the burn. The adult body is divided into regions, each of which represents nine percent of the total body surface. These regions are the head and neck, each upper limb, the chest, the abdomen, the upper back, the lower back and buttocks, the front of each lower limb, and the back of each lower limb. This makes up 99 percent of the human body. The remaining one percent is the genital area. With an infant or small child, more emphasis is placed on the head and trunk.
  • Age of the patient - This is important because small children and senior citizens usually have more severe reactions to burns and different healing processes.
  • Pre-existing physical or mental conditions - Patients with respiratory illnesses, heart disorders, diabetes or kidney disease are in greater jeopardy than normally healthy people.

Burn Prevention Tips in the Home

Kitchen

  • Keep hot items in the centre of the table and hot liquids and drinks away from children
  • Keep young children away from the cooking area
  • Use place mats instead of tablecloths - young children use tablecloths to pull themselves up
  • Roll up electrical cords and unplug appliances when not in use
  • Use pot holders, not towels
  • Turn pot handles, inward, toward the back of the stove; use back elements of stove for cooking
  • Store pot holders, paper towels and seasonings away from the stove top
  • Avoid full or puffy sleeves while cooking
  • Keep food away from the stove so no one will be tempted to reach across hot stove elements
  • Use a large lid or baking soda to put out small grease fires in pans
  • Do not store candy or toys above the stove

Living/Family Room

  • Do not use extension cords in place of permanent wires
  • Cover unused electrical outlets with safety plugs
  • Use fireplace matches to light a fireplace
  • Keep matches and lighters away from children
  • Soak cigarettes in water before placing in garbage to ensure they are fully extinguished

Bathroom

  • Run hot and cold water together
  • Set the hot water heater thermostat to low 120F / 50C
  • Never leave children alone in the bathroom
  • Use a ’no slip’ plastic mat in the bathtub to prevent falls

Did You Know?

  • Children under 5 years old suffer the highest number of scald burns
  • Some fabrics burn faster and hotter. Cotton burns readily and produces great heat, while wool is difficult to ignite and burns with a smaller flame
  • Children aged 5 to 9 years suffer clothing burns most frequently
  • Ventilation is required when painting or varnishing. Vapours accumulate and ignite easily. Make sure nearby pilot lights in stoves and furnaces are off
  • The most common scald burns from microwaves occur when plastic wraps/lids are removed from heated items
  • Most reported infant burn injuries from a microwave involve mouth burns from heated bottles
  • Using butter to relieve a burn is a myth. Lotion, ointments or oil dressings keep heat in. Use cool water to let heat out
  • Using a liniment and heating pad together increases the risk of burn
  • Adult males often receive burns when flammable liquids are used improperly
  • Adult females are often burned removing a burning container of grease from the stove
  • Grease fires should be smothered with a lid or cookie sheet
  • In 1987, the Federal Government passed legislation concerning flame retardant sleepwear for sizes 1 to 12x - look for the protective label
  • More than 50% of burn injuries are preventable
  • Most burn injuries occur in the kitchen
  • The peak times for burn injury incidents occur at noon, 6 to 7pm and 11pm to 1am

First Aid

If your clothing catches fire:

  • STOP – do not run
  • DROP – to the ground
  • ROLL – to put the fire out

If a burn occurs COOL immediately and pour cool water (not ice) on the burn. Cover the burn with a clean sheet and seek medical attention.

Never apply ointment, grease or butter to the burned area. Applying such products, actually confine the heat of the burn to the skin and do not allow the damaged area to cool. In essence, the skin continues to "simmer." After the initial trauma of the burn and after it has had sufficient time to cool, it would then be appropriate to put an ointment on the burn. Ointments help prevent infection.

In the event of any serious burns, call 9-1-1.