Burn Injuries: Understand the Differences

Burns can be a painful and debilitating injury to suffer after an accident. In some cases, the injury after an accident is a burn, and in other cases, a burn is a painful after-effect of the accident. Either way, burns are not as simple and straightforward as you may think, and there are more ways for your body to suffer burn injuries than you may think.

You’ve probably already heard of burns as being classified into degrees, of first, second and third degree. But what do those degrees actually mean?

First and Second Degree

First degree burns may hurt, but they won’t cause any real long term damage and tend to heal in a relatively quick period of time. They usually don’t go very deep, only affecting the top area of skin. In fact, most of us may have suffered this type of burn if we’ve spent time in the sun, as a sunburn is considered a first degree burn.

Second degree burns are more severe, going down to affect and damage the dermis, below the outer skin layer. There may be scarring and blistering, and skin grafts may be necessary.

Third and Fourth Degree

Third degree burns are by far the worst type of burns. Ironically because this type of burn goes far enough down to damage nerves, the victim may not even feel much pain—although there has been very significant damage done to the body.

Fourth degree burns go even deeper, and can damage tissue or tendons or even muscle. Because the body is exposed, infection is a real and dangerous risk. Urgent and immediate medical attention is needed, because of the extensive damage to the body.

Damage to the Body

As you can imagine since many of these affect nerves, one common symptom of burn injuries (other than pain), is damage to nerves. But that doesn’t just mean that there is no pain sensation; victims often experience tingling, neuropathy (numbness), or physical weakness.

The damage to tendons and ligaments, can lead to inability to use limbs, and limited range of motion.

Infections

The most serious burns can even lead to amputations, whether because of the damage done by the burn itself, or because of infection that can set in.

Infections are a serious risk with burn injuries; severe injuries can lead to sepsis, a life altering condition that is the body’s response to the spread of infection.

No Heat Source Needed

You do not need a heat source to get a burn, nor do you need fire.

Burns can be caused by friction, common when a body is dragged on the ground after an accident (motorcyclists and pedestrians are especially susceptible). It can be caused by electrocution, and even exposure to certain kinds of chemicals.

Even inhaling certain chemicals can lead to burns, albeit those burns are internal. They can lead to inability to breathe, damage to lungs, and damage to the face.

Call the Boston personal injury lawyers at The Law Office of Joseph Linnehan, Jr. today for help at 617-275-4200 if you suffered a burn because of any kind of accident caused by someone else.

Sources:

hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/burns

stanfordhealthcare.org/medical-conditions/skin-hair-and-nails/burns/types.html