Almost all burns are preventable. Click here to test your safety knowledge with the ACH Burn Center Safety Quiz.
This Web page should answer any of your general questions about burn treatment and prevention. If there is anything you ever wanted to know about burns, ask a question using the form below. Your question may get added to this page. At the very least, someone from The Burn Center at Arkansas Children's Hospital will reply to your message as quickly as possible.
If you have been burned, see a doctor as soon as possible! The information on this page is not meant to be used as medical advice, and it should not be used as a subsitute for seeking medical attention for your specific injury.
Use this form to ask any question related to burns and burn care. Please do not use this form to ask questions about a specific person's burn injury. We are unable to provide specific patient advice over the Internet, due to the lack of a full context of your child’s condition as is developed through the normal consideration and examination process. If you, or your child, have been burned, please seek medical attention immediately.
What’s the difference between 1st, 2nd and 3rd degree burns?
The degrees of burn describe how deep the burns are with 3rd degree being the deepest or worst. Remember, there are two main layers of skin and the degree of burn is decided by looking at how each layer of skin is affected.
First Degree Burns
The top layer of skin is damaged but not destroyed.
The top layer of skin turns bright pink or very red.
The pain can vary from mild to extreme.
No skin comes off and there are no blisters.
Some very thin skin may flake or peel off a few days later.
Mild sunburns are a good example but 1st degree burns may be caused by other things as well.
Second Degree Burns
The top layer of skin is destroyed.
The top layer of skin may slide off or get fluid under it forming a blister usually within the first 24 hours, sometimes within minutes.
The second layer of skin is damaged but not destroyed.
When the top layer of skin comes off, the second layer is exposed.
The second layer of skin appears red or pink and moist.
These are the most painful kind of burn and one of the most painful types of injuries, period.
If you have seen a blister, you have seen a second degree burn.
Third Degree Burns
The top layer of skin is destroyed.
The top layer of skin may slide off or fall off easily.
The second layer of skin is destroyed as well but does not come off.
When the top layer of skin comes off, the second layer is exposed.
The second layer appears white, gray, yellow, brown or black and is usually dry.
What is the first thing we should do if someone is burned?
The first thing we want to do is stop the burning by putting the burned area under cool running water for just a couple of minutes. Don’t over do it! It is important that we don’t let the burned area or the person get cold.
Next, cover the burned area with a clean dry towel or sheet. Seek medical attention if the burn is big or deep or if there has been a fire.
What can we do to make burns heal faster or better?
First Degree Burns
These burns should heal naturally within a few days or at least a week. The top layer of skin slowly replaces itself and the damaged skin flakes off or peels off a few days after the burn.
Apply a mild moisturizer a few times a day to keep the skin from drying out. Just don’t apply the moisturizer immediately after the burn.
Second Degree Burns
These burns should heal within 1-3 weeks naturally. However, the outcome can vary a lot and treatment can make a big difference. A new top layer of skin will grow back out of the second layer of skin IF the conditions are right. That’s why burns that are very big or are on an important part of the body should really be treated by burn specialists.
In the best case, second degree burns heal quickly, don’t leave scars and don’t require surgery. In worse cases, second degree burns heal slowly, leave obvious scars and may even require skin grafting.
So what makes the difference?
Second degree burns do better if:
They are not very deep burns.
They are not very big burns.They are cooled with running water immediately for a couple of minutes.
They do not have ice put on them.
They do not have butter or other food put on them.
They receive medical treatment very quickly.
They receive wound care in a Burn Center.
The patient is in good health otherwise.
The patient is not less than two years old or over 50 years old.
The patient does not smoke.
Third Degree Burns
These burns will not heal without a skin graft if they are very big at all. A new top layer of skin cannot grow back out of the second layer like second degree burns. If they are very small, third degree burns may heal from the edges but even a third degree burn the size of a penny can take several weeks to heal. That is why it is important that all third degree burns be examined in The Burn Center at Arkansas Children's Hospital.
A skin graft is surgery where the skin lost to a third degree burn is replaced by a very thin layer of the patient’s own skin taken from an unburned part of their body.
I recently lost over 200 pounds after gastric bypass surgery, and I have about 30 pounds of excess skin. Do you take donations of excess skin for your burn patients?
We cannot use donated skin for our patients. We are the state’s only Burn Center and perform skin grafting everyday, but we use synthetic skin substitutes and the patient’s own skin.
It is possible (though not likely) that some of the organ harvesting organizations may be able to take your donation. You might call the Arkansas Regional Organ Recovery Agency (ARORA) at 501-224-2623.
There IS a need for people to donate their organs (including skin) but not while still living - you get a chance to sign up to be an organ donor when you renew your driver's license. You can ask ARORA about that too.
It’s hard to think of every case in which a doctor might be needed. However, if you have any doubt, it is always better to seek medical help. Here are some examples where you should definitely get medical attention quickly:
Any third degree burns.
Any burns where the patient may have breathed in smoke.
Any second degree burn bigger than the palm of the patient’s hand.
Any second degree burn on the face, hands, feet, or genitals where scars would be more obvious or serious.
Any burns that go all the way around a finger, toe, arm, leg or neck.
Any chemical or electrical burns.
If the patient has a fever or extreme pain.
If the patient has some other health problem, especially diabetes or immune system problems.
If the patient is under two years old or over 50 years old.
What can I do to prevent someone in my home from being burned?
Again, it’s hard to think of every possible burn hazard but here are a few of the most important steps you can take to prevent burns around the house:
Keep small children out of the kitchen. The most likely way a child under five will get a bad burn is from hot food or liquid in the kitchen.
Turn pot handles away from the edge of the stove, and use the back burners when you can.
Watch out for electrical cords connected to hot items.
Don’t use a table cloth if you have small children around. A child might pull the table cloth and spill hot food or beverages on herself.
Set your water heater to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Children can be scalded by water straight from the faucet in less than one second if the water is set too high. This is a very common cause of burns to children under five years old.
If you have children in the house, lighters and matches should be locked (not just hidden) away. A rule in the house should be that children are not to touch lighters or matches.
Always wear sun block (30 SPF or better) when outside in the summer. This can prevent the pain and possible scarring from sunburns but also reduce your and your child’s risk for skin cancer.
Don’t use gasoline for anything except putting in the gas tank. Even then, use extreme caution. Misuse of gasoline is one of the most common causes of severe burns to people over ten years old.
Don’t smoke. If you have a cigarette in your hand, you’ve got fire in your hand. It’s the most common cause of deadly home fires and a common cause of burn injuries.
I attended a burn seminar last week and was interested in The Burn Center at Arkansas Children's Hospital. I am a Nursing Student and was
wondering if there were any positions available in The Burn Center?
The Burn Center at Arkansas Children's Hospital welcomes nursing students
to our facility. We offer a Patient Care Partner (PCP) position which allows
nursing students to work side by side with nurses and other team members to
gain first hand experience. The student can create their own flexible work
schedule. The only requirement for this position is completion of the first
semester in any RN program and an interest in burn nursing.
Nursing students looking for benefits, more hours or more consistent hours
can also apply for Patient Care Technician or Burn Technician. They will receive
on the job training for these positions and they will develop skills related
to burn wound care and patient care.
I have a black friend with a second degee burn on her foot (not deep). The skin where she was burned (10 days ago) is pink (which her doctor says is a good sign). She wants to know if her foot will forever be pink or if her color will return eventually.
Superficial burns often have little melanin pigment when they initially heal. If they heal within 10-14 days the pigment (skin color) usually returns over several months to a year. If it takes longer than 3 weeks then it is less likely to regain the normal pigmentation.
Will what you eat determine how fast a burn will heal?
The answer to your question is yes. Good nutrition is important for everyone but do not make big changes to your diet unless you are told to by your doctor. The following information is for patients with burns that are being treated by a doctor or nurse. For very small burns, you do not need to change your eating habits.
When a person is burned the body responds in a way that uses up the body’s protein and calories ingested during the day. If a burn survivor does not eat enough protein and calories, then the body will break down protein stored in the muscle and use fat stores for any extra calories required. This is called hypermetabolism. If the body is in hypermetabolism, then it is compromised and is not able to provide the adequate nutrition needed to heal the wound. The larger the wound, the more hypermetabolic a patient will likely be, therefore, it is incredibly important that a patient adhere to the nutritional recommendations of the dietitian.
Typically, patients with serious burn injuries are recommended to be placed on a high protein/high calorie diet due to the reasons listed in the previous paragraph. The high protein foods that are strongly encouraged are meats, eggs, and dairy products (milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream). The protein helps the wounds heal, and the calories help sustain the rest of the body. If one does not follow this type of diet, then it has typically been shown that one will have graft loss, potential infection, and that the wound will take longer to heal.
