Burns skin - Things to know

Causes of burns : Most commonly due to heat: hot heat (like fire, boiling water, heated solid objects, heat, gas being heated .) and cold heat - cold damage caused by cold weather. Long exposure to negative cold agents hundreds of degrees deep (liquid nitrogen, cold tunnels in industries .).

In addition to heat, we also have burns due to electric current (high voltage, low voltage), electric arc burns are classified as heat burns. Chemical burns (strong acids or bases) are common cases of acid burns, hot lime burns (heat burns with alkaline burns) .

Burn level

The severity or severity of a burn case depends on a variety of factors such as: area of ​​the burn (the size of the burn - the larger the burn, the more severe), the depth of the burn (the degree of superficial injury) The deeper the skin - the deeper the burn is, the more severe it is), the age of the patient (children, the elderly who suffer from burns is often worse) or if the victim suffers from other injuries combined (fractures, seizures) Craniofacial injury, trauma to other organs .). In addition, heavy or light prognosis for burn patients is affected by first aid, first aid right or wrong, timely or not .

How to treat burns effectively?

Treatment of burns includes systemic treatment and topical treatment of burns.

Systemic treatment for the purpose of preventing or treating systemic complications caused by burns (eg complications of burns, infections, intoxication, acute renal failure, gastrointestinal bleeding, multiple organ failure due to burns) .). In addition, systemic treatment is understood as measures to provide patients with better nutrition, to support the physical and mental health of patients to help them overcome illness.

Topical treatment of burns is the method of taking drugs or not taking drugs aimed at creating the most favorable conditions for the burn to be self-healing (in case of shallow burns) or surgical intervention (in case of deep burns) to fix burns.

For shallow burns, drugs that treat burns have groups such as groups of anti-bacterial burns, groups that create a favorable environment (moisture, provide growth factors .) for the re-epithelialization of burns. . It is important to understand that topical drugs only promote the healing of shallow burns, not deciding whether or not to leave the shallow burn, because shallow burns burn out on their own or without drugs.

For deep burns, topical drugs work to promote the dissolution of burns and fight infections, and the drugs do not make deep burns themselves and require surgical intervention. At present, there are quite a number of remedies for burns in the folklore, however, there is no official remedy approved and recognized by the scientific council.

The best advice for patients with burns is that they should not arbitrarily use burns when the source is unknown, the nature of shallow or deep burns has not been determined. There is no medicine to avoid burn scars. Having scars or no scars, good or bad scars depends on many factors that are primarily critical or shallow, deep burns, then the factors related to locality, treatment and care Squirrel after getting out . All ads say that drugs that burns without scars have no scientific basis.

Handle immediately after being burned

So far, the best and most effective treatment is still soaking, washing the burn into clean cold water (water from 10-20 ^o C, not using ice, cold ice). The soaking and washing should be done as soon as possible, soak for 15-20 minutes. After soaking, you should use a clean cloth to lightly press the burned area and then transfer the victim to the nearest medical facility. Do not apply anything according to experience on the burn at that time because it will cause pain or infection. Every attempt to find topical medications is not the best way because it will take away the opportunity (in the first 30 minutes) and is not necessary.

TS.BS. NGUYEN VIEN LUONG (National Burn Institute)