In general
A child can receive a burn from hot liquids or objects, fire, electricity, or chemicals. Prolonged exposure to the sun can also cause sunburn.
It is common to grade burn injuries according to how deep the burn goes in the skin:
- With first-degree burns, only the top layer of the skin is damaged. The skin is red, warm and tender. The surface of the skin is dry and without blisters. This type of burn injury will heal after a few days without leaving a permanent scar on the skin. Most sunburns are first-degree burns.
- With second-degree burns, the skin has been damaged to a deeper level. The skin will be extremely painful, red or pale, and will have swollen and blistered areas. Healing will often take 14 days or more, and there is a small risk of scarring.
- With third-degree burns, all layers of the skin have been destroyed. The skin may be white, brown, or blackened and charred. It feels dry, like parchment or leather. There usually is little or no pain at first because the nerves, which make it possible to sense pain, have also been damaged. With this type of burn injury, there will always be permanent scarring, and the child will often need a skin graft.
When burn injuries occur in children, it is important to estimate the extent of the burn or the total amount of the skin area that has been damaged.
The palm of a child's hand corresponds to approximately 1% of his/her entire body surface. Use the child's palm size to estimate the extent of the burn.
All burn injuries, regardless of the degree, in which the damage corresponds to more than 10% of the child's body surface area must be regarded as potentially serious.
Such children should receive medical attention immediately.
Burn injuries to the face, genitals, hands or feet are the most serious.
