What is Burns?
A burn is damage to the skin and sometimes to the underlying tissues. Burns are categorized according to the depth and extent of the damage to the skin:
- Superficial burn (also called first-degree burn)
- Mildest type of burn
- Often caused by ultraviolet light, or very short (“flash") flame exposure
- Affects only the outer layer of the skin (epidermis)
- Normally does not cause scarring
- Takes about 3-6 days to heal
- Superficial partial-thickness burn (also called second-degree burn)
- Often caused by a scald (spill or splash) or short (“flash”) flame exposure
- Affects the outer layer of the skin more deeply, usually causing blistering
- May or may not cause scarring, but often does cause long-term skin color changes
- Takes about 1-3 weeks to heal
- Deep partial-thickness burn (also called second-degree burn)
- Often caused by a scald (spill), may involve flame, oil, or grease
- Affects the outer and underlying layer of skin (dermis), causing blistering
- Usually causes scarring
- Usually takes more than three weeks to heal
- Full-thickness burn (also called third-degree burn)
- Very serious
- Often caused by scald (immersion), may involve flame, steam, oil, grease, chemicals, or high-voltage electricity
- Damages all layers of the skin, and may involve the tissues underneath (muscle and bone)
- Causes scarring
- Will heal only at the wound edges by scarring, unless skin grafting is done