A burn is damage to your body's tissues caused by heat, chemicals, electricity, sunlight or radiation. Scalds from hot liquids and steam, building fires and flammable liquids and gases are the most common causes of burns.
There are three types of burns:
- First-degree burns damage only the outer layer of skin
- Second-degree burns damage the outer layer and the layer underneath
- Third-degree burns damage or destroy the deepest layer of skin and tissues underneath
Burns can cause swelling, blistering, scarring and, in serious cases, shock and even death. They also can lead to infections because they damage your skin's protective barrier. Antibiotic creams can prevent or treat infections. After a third-degree burn, you need skin or synthetic grafts to cover exposed tissue and encourage new skin to grow. First- and second-degree burns usually heal without grafts.
National Institute of General Medical Sciences
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Burns
(National Institute of General Medical Sciences) - http://www.nigms.nih.gov/Publications/Factsheet_Burns.htm
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Burns
(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/burns/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/burnsspanish/htm/index.htm -
Burns and Traumatic Injury(National Institutes of Health) - Links to PDF - http://www.nih.gov/about/researchresultsforthepublic/BurnsandTraumaticInjury.pdf
- Burns(Merck & Co., Inc.) - http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec24/ch289/ch289a.html
- Burns: First Aid(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/first-aid-burns/FA00022/METHOD=print
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Burns: Taking Care of Burns(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/healthy/firstaid/after-injury/638.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/healthy/firstaid/after-injury/638.printerview.html
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Treating Severe Burns with Artificial Skin(National Institute of General Medical Sciences) - http://www.nigms.nih.gov/Publications/Factsheet_ArtificialSkin.htm
- Burns: Avoiding Household Burns(American College of Emergency Physicians) - http://www3.acep.org/patients.aspx?id=25990
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Burns: Preventing Burns in Your Home(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/healthy/safety/safety/649.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/healthy/safety/safety/649.printerview.html
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Aloe Vera(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/aloevera/
- Chemical Burns(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/first-aid-chemical-burns/FA00024/METHOD=print
- Electrical Burns(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/first-aid-electrical-burns/FA00027/METHOD=print
- Household Batteries Can Cause Chemical Burns(Consumer Product Safety Commission) - Links to PDF - http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PUBS/5088.pdf
- Risk of Burns From Eruptions of Hot Water Overheated in Microwave Ovens(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/consumer/erupted.html
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Burns(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/burns/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/burnsspanish/htm/index.htm
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Burns(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Burns%22
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Pathophysiologic response to severe burn injury. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18791359&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Honey in wound care: effects, clinical application and patient benefit. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18773594&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Human mitochondrial oxidative capacity is acutely impaired after burn trauma. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18639661&tool=MedlinePlus
- Burns -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=burns[majr]+NOT+sunburn[majr]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+english[la]+AND+(review[pt]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+clinical+trial[pt]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt]+OR+jsubsetaim[text]+OR+jsubsetk[text]+OR+jsubsetn[text])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt]+OR+news[pt]+OR+case+reports[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- Burn Center Verification(American Burn Association) - http://www.ameriburn.org/verification_verifiedcenters.php
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Trauma, Burn, and Injury: Resources(National Institute of General Medical Sciences) - http://www.nigms.nih.gov/Publications/trauma_burn_resources.htm
- American College of Emergency Physicians - http://www.acep.org/
- Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors - http://www.phoenix-society.org/
- Fire Deaths and Injuries(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/fire.htm
- Fireworks-Related Injuries(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/fworks.htm
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Burns(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/firstaid_safe/sheets/burns_sheet.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/parent/en_espanol/folleto/burns_sheet_esp.html
- Child Safety: Prevent Burns(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/child-safety/CC00044/METHOD=print
- Prevent Burn Injuries: Don't Let Children Put Caps for Toy Guns in Their Pockets(Consumer Product Safety Commission) - http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PUBS/5009.html
- Prevent Burns on Hot Metal Playground Equipment(Consumer Product Safety Commission) - Links to PDF - http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PUBS/5036.pdf
- Fire Safety - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/firesafety.html
- Injuries and Wounds - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/injuriesandwounds.html
- Skin, Hair and Nails - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/skinhairandnails.html
The primary NIH organization for research on Burns is the National Institute of General Medical Sciences - http://www.nih.gov/nigms/
Burns - Multiple Languages - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/languages/burns.html