Contents
General description of the disease
A burn is called damage to human soft tissues, which is provoked by exposure to high temperatures, steam, or the ingress of chemicals such as acid, alkali, heavy metal salts.
Burn degree:
- 1 the upper layer of the epithelium is damaged, in which only redness of the skin is observed;
- 2 there is a deeper lesion of the skin, in which bubbles appear on the damaged area;
- 3 there is necrosis of the entire thickness of the skin;
- 4 the impact of lesion factors is so strong that carbonization of body tissues occurs.
To determine the severity of the injury, the area and depth of the injury are taken into account. The higher these indications, the more severe the degree and condition of the patient.
The most common cases of burns:
- thermal – a burn occurs due to skin lesions by high temperatures caused by such factors as: fire, liquid, steam (the upper respiratory tract is affected), hot objects;
- chemical – this includes damage from various types of acids, alkalis, heavy metal salts.
There are special forms of burns (except for thermal and chemical), these are:
- beam – are formed by prolonged direct exposure to solar (ultraviolet) and X-rays, as well as as a result of ionizing radiation;
- power – burns occur due to the effect of an electric arc at the point of entry-exit of the current charge.
It is worth noting that the effect of low temperatures on the skin and the human body (meaning frostbite) and damage by ultrasound or vibration are not considered burns.
Symptoms of burns and a variety of clinical manifestations
Symptoms are divided depending on the degree and depth of the burn injury.
At the 1st degree there erythema, in which there is swelling of the damaged area and redness of the skin is observed in the affected area.
If you have 2 or 3 degree burns appear vesicles… These are vesicles containing blood lymph. Content may be hemorrhagic or serous. In a more severe course of the disease, these vesicles can coalesce and form bullae. A bulla is considered to be a volumetric bladder from 2 cm in diameter, the appearance of which is mainly observed in the third degree of burn injury. If blisters and bullae are removed, or when the top layer of skin is peeled off, erosion will begin. She is often bleeding and easily damaged.
In the presence of deep burns and the presence of dead tissue, ulcers appear, similar in appearance to erosion (ulcers can affect the entire depth of tissues to the bone). As the affected areas of skin and tissue die and dry out, a black scab appears. This process is called dry necrosis. Moreover, if there are a lot of dead tissues, bacteria begin to multiply. This is due to a lack of fluid in necrotic tissues. The area affected by bacteria begins to swell, acquire an unpleasant odor, and has a yellow-green color. This is wet necrosis (when the lesion is opened, a green liquid begins to stand out). Wet necrosis is more difficult to heal, in many cases it spreads to healthy tissues.
Complications
A burn is considered not only damage to the skin and soft tissues, but also the body’s response to the damage itself.
Complications are divided into 3 groups:
- burn disease – develops alternately in 4 stages: shock from a burn (lasts up to 48 hours, and in severe cases up to three days), acute burn toxemia (begins due to tissue breakdown products entering the bloodstream), burn septicotoxemia (a period of time covering purulent process in the wound before it heals or is treated by a surgeon), the recovery process (begins from the moment of epithelialization or granulation of the wound (it all depends on the depth of the damage)
- endogenous intoxication – the accumulation of products formed due to the process of catabolism (occurs due to insufficient functioning of the kidneys with the liver due to an excessive load on them associated with the processing and elimination of decay products of damaged skin and tissues);
- burn infection and sepsis – a burn stimulates the body to fight damage, which increases the body’s defenses, but due to bacterial aggression and decay products accumulated in the body, it causes a secondary type of immunodeficiency.
Useful foods for burns
In the first days after burns, a patient with a severe course must be given food that is sparing the body (meaning to beware of mechanical damage): butter, milk, broth, fresh juices. On the following days, it is necessary to increase the calorie content of food by increasing the consumption of carbohydrates (you can eat cottage cheese, sour cream, cheese, grated vegetables and fruits, cereals, cutlets). This is due to the loss of salts by the body, disruption of the water, protein and carbohydrate balance due to the decay products of bacteria and protein bodies of damaged tissues.
First of all, it is better to give products cooked in a boiled-steamed way and adhere to the diet of table number 11. Gradually, you can move on to the usual and familiar methods of heat treatment. Add vitamins of groups B, C, DA to the diet.They will help increase immunity, help fight bacteria and quickly restore lesions.
In case of severe burns and the inability to take food on their own, probing is prescribed.
Traditional medicine for burns
Traditional medicine provides for the treatment of mild burns with linseed oil mixed with beeswax, cabbage leaves, raw eggs, onion gruel, soap foam from simple laundry soap, using baths in saline solution.
Dangerous and harmful products in case of burns
Heavy, hard, dry food that can cause mechanical damage.
Attention!
The administration is not responsible for any attempt to use the information provided, and does not guarantee that it will not harm you personally. The materials cannot be used to prescribe treatment and make a diagnosis. Always consult your specialist doctor!