Home vs Urgent Care vs Emergency Room for Burns?Īs discussed above, any large burns or burns that are 2nd degree or more, will need medical care right away. Higher risk patients should seek medical attention right away. Older patients, infants or toddlers, diabetics, and those with other chronic medical conditions may have prolonged healing and/or poorer outcomes, so would more likely need to be seen by a healthcare provider early on. This is also an important factor in burn injury outcomes. Finally, burns that cross over a joint (wrist, elbow, knee, spine etc.) can require additional care to prevent complications down the road.Īny complicated burn should be seen by medical provider right away. These include: Face, hands, feet, genitals, any burns that are "circumferential" -meaning that they go all the way around the limb or digit. Certain locations on the body are more susceptible to infection, are harder to care for, or have other anatomical considerations that make treatment challenging. This is another important factor to consider when evaluating a burn. There is no feeling in the area since the nerve endings are destroyed.Īny burn that is second degree or greater will need medical attention right away! Where is the Burn?
Infected 2nd degree burn skin#
Fourth-degree burns go through both layers of the skin and underlying tissue as well as deeper tissue, possibly involving muscle and bone. The burn site may look white or blackened and charred. They may go into the innermost layer of skin, the subcutaneous tissue. Third-degree burns destroy the epidermis and dermis. The burn site looks red, blistered, and may be swollen and painful. Second-degree burns involve the epidermis and part of the lower layer of skin, the dermis. Second-degree (partial thickness) burns.The burn site is red, painful, dry, and with no blisters. First-degree burns affect only the outer layer of skin (the epidermis). The higher the number, the deeper and potentially more serious the burn. How Deep is the Burn?īurns are also classified by how “deep” they have penetrated tissue. In general, any burn that is more than 3% of your BSA in adults and > 2% in children, will need medical attention right away. Clinicians will describe burn size as a percent of your total Body Surface Area (BSA) –this is the standard way of estimating how much of your skin has been burned.įor most adults the surface area of your palm (not fingers or wrist) is equal to 1% of your skin surface – so you can tell at home how big the burn is by seeing how many “palms” it takes to cover the whole burn. In general, the bigger the burn, the more serious it can be. So how do you know? Here are some general tips to help you decide when to seek care: How Big is the Burn? Some burns you can take care of at home with some common sense and first aid other burns can be quite serious and require medical attention. Whether you stayed too long at the beach or got a little careless at the BBQ, burns can be a painful part of anyone’s summer.
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