1 Define each degrees of burn and their characteristics for

1. Define each degrees of burn and their characteristics for each burn? 2. Define rule of nine and explain percent of areas of burn?

Solution

1. Burn is a type of injury characterized by sever skin damage that causes the affected skin cells to die. There are three types of burns : First degree burns, second degree burns and third degree burns; based on severity of burns.

First degree burns: The first degree burns are also called superficial burns. They are the least severe burns which affect the epidermal or outermost layer of the skin. The signs and symptoms of first degree burn includes redness, minor swelling, and pain but the skin remains intact. They usually hela on their own.

An example of first degree burn will be the sun burn or minor flash burn.

Second degree burns: They are also called partial thickness burn. These burns are more serious becasue the damage extends beyond the top layer of the skin. With second degree burns, the epidermis and portion of dermis is affected. The burn causes the skin to blister, it then becomes red, weepy and very painful.

Second degree burns can be caused by explosion, electrical injury or contact with a hot object. Due to the delicate nature of second degree burns, frequent bandaging and antibiotic ointment is required to prevent the wound from becoming infected. Superficial second degree burns heal within 2-3 weeks but in severe cases, skin grafting is required.

Third degree burns: They are also called full thickness burns. They are the worst burns and cause the most damage, extending through every layer of skin. Third degree burns can be caused by flames, high voltage electric current. They can impact the blood stream, major organs and even bones. Indiviuals with third degree burns may not feel the pain due to the damage of nerve fibres. Wound debriment, skin grafting or other surgical processes are done for this type of burns.

2. Rule of nine estimates the percentage of body area that is burned on an adult in multiples of 9. This percentage is used to detemine treatement options. The percentage for each body part is as follows: 4.5 for the head and each arm, 9 percent for front chest, back chest, front abdomen, back abdomen and each leg and 1 percent for groin area. These percentages are added together to find the total percent of surface area affected by burn. For example, in the front abdomen, one arm and one leg are affected, total surface area affect totals 9% + 4.5% +9% = 22.5%.