Copyright 2006 Chicago Sun-Times, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
By The Chicago Sun-Times (Illinois)
The first full week of February is observed as Burn Awareness Week, sponsored by the American Burn Association. Burn Awareness Week is designed to provide an opportunity for burn, fire and life safety educators to unite in sharing a common burn awareness and prevention message in our communities.
Nearly 250,000 children in the U.S. ages 17 and under are burned each year seriously enough to require medical attention; 15,000 require hospitalization.
Burns are one of the more common injuries in the United States. The development of specialized burn centers has greatly improved the knowledge and technology in providing care to burn victims.
A burn is an injury to the skin -- our largest organ and one of astonishing complexity. We may worry about lines, wrinkles, blemishes and suntans each summer, but rarely do we appreciate our skin for the important and vital work it does.
Our skin is a water-tight bag securing precious fluids that carry oxygen and protein to the cells. It shields us from armies of hostile micro-organisms, all eager to wreak havoc inside the body. In winter, the skin serves as a natural overcoat, and in the summer it serves as an air cooler. Each square inch of skin contains 1 yard of blood vessels, 4 yards of nerves, 100 sweat glands and 3 million cells.
When a severe burn destroys the skin, it is destroying our defenses against devastating fluid loss, deadly infection and uncontrolled temperature extremes. The severity of a burn depends on how much of the skin is affected and how many layers of skin have been damaged.
THE CLASSIFICATION OF BURNS
- A superficial (first-degree) burn is the least severe. It reddens the skin and can be painful but is not a threat to life. If you have had a sunburn, you know how a superficial burn feels.
- A partial thickness (second-degree) burn destroys the top layers of the skin and causes blistering and white, pink or red splotchy patches. A deep partial thickness burn is very painful and can lead to permanent scarring and possible skin graft.
- A full thickness (third-degree) burn destroys all layers of the skin. A third-degree burn will look dry and leathery, white, brown or charred. There is little or no pain at first. Grafting is necessary because there are no skin cells left to reproduce themselves.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
- When hot tap water reaches 140 degrees Fahrenheit it can cause a third-degree burn in just 5 seconds.
- Burn accidents frequently occur when parents or caregivers are in a hurry, angry or under a lot of pressure.
- Hot liquids can cause life-threatening burn injuries.
For more information, visit the American Burn Association’s Web site at www.ameriburn.org or the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance’s Web site at www.ifsa.org.