BURNS

Burns are tissue damage caused by heat, chemicals, electricity, radiation or the sun. When a wound
occurs, several effects will occur including loss of all or part of organ function, sympathetic stress
response, bleeding and blood clotting, bacterial contamination and cell death.

Burns are caused by the transfer of energy from a heat source to the body. The heat can be
transferred by conduction or electromagnetic radiation, the degree of burn is related to several
factors, conduction of the affected tissue and the length of time the skin is in contact with the heat
source. Skin with burns suffers damage to the epidermis, dermis and subcutaneous tissue depending
on the cause. The occurrence of skin integrity allows microorganisms to enter the body. Fluid loss will
affect the normal value of body fluids and electrolytes as a result of an increase in vascular
permeability resulting in fluid shifts from intravascular to extravascular through capillary leaks which
result in the body losing sodium, water, chloride, potassium and plasma proteins.

Burns can be classified as thermal, chemical, electrical, and radiation. Thermal Burns Thermal (hot)
burns are caused by exposure to or contact with fire, hot liquids or other hot objects. Chemical burns
are tissue damage to your body from harsh or corrosive substances. Most chemical burns are the
result of accidentally spilling a chemical on your own body. But it’s also possible to ingest chemicals
or be exposed in other ways. Electrical injury is when a high energy current flows through the body
due to contact with an electrical source. Injuries occur due to current flowing through the body, arc
flash, or burning clothing. With the first two, the body converts electricity into heat, which results in
a thermal burn. Radiation burns are burns caused by radiation exposure such as exposure to excess
rays, X-rays or gamma rays.

Burns are one of the incidents that often occur in the community, especially the most common
incidents of household burns, namely first and second degree burns. First degree burns (superficial
burns)

First degree burns are burns that affect only the outer skin or epidermis. Usually caused by excessive
exposure to sunlight. Usually it will heal by itself without having to take medical action.

Second degree burns (superficial partial-thickness burn)

Second degree burns are burns that occur in the deeper layers of the skin than the epidermis.
Several conditions often trigger scar tissue or keloids.

Third degree burns (full thickness burn)

Third degree burns are the worst type of burn because not only the epidermis tissue is damaged but
also the dermis tissue. The cause could be a person who was hit by a gas cylinder explosion and
trapped inside the building.

Bibliography

Kaushik et al., 2009 (2009) ‘No Title 一位學齡前期急性支氣管炎病童之護理經驗’, 源遠護理,

2(1), pp. 1–8.

Bintoro (2019) ‘The Concept of Burns’, Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling, 53(9), pp.
1689–1699.

Rahayuningsih (2016) ‘Nursing Care for Burn Patients’, Convention Center in Tegal City, p. 6.
Rosendahl, F. (1959) ‘Natrium’, Fresenius’ Zeitschrift für Analytische Chemie, 171(2), p. 115. Available
at: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00494719.