

Your doctor might recommend a tetanus shot after a burn injury. If you develop an infection, you may need IV antibiotics. If you are being transferred to a burn center, your wound will likely be covered in dry gauze only. Your care team may also use various specialty wound dressings to prepare the wound to heal. These help prevent infection and prepare the wound to close. If you are not being transferred to a burn center, your care team may select from a variety of topical products for wound healing, such as bacitracin and silver sulfadiazine (Silvadene). You may need morphine and anti-anxiety medications - particularly for dressing changes. You may need intravenous (IV) fluids to prevent dehydration and organ failure. Your care team may use techniques such as ultrasound mist therapy to clean and stimulate the wound tissue. Medical treatmentĪfter you have received first aid for a major burn, your medical care may include medications and products that are intended to encourage healing. And they may need emotional support and months of follow-up care, such as physical therapy.
#3RD DEGREE BURN ON FACE SKIN#
They may need skin grafts to cover large wounds. People with severe burns may require treatment at specialized burn centers. The goals of treatment are to control pain, remove dead tissue, prevent infection, reduce scarring risk and regain function. They usually heal within a couple of weeks.įor serious burns, after appropriate first aid and wound assessment, your treatment may involve medications, wound dressings, therapy and surgery. The information on this webpage is based on material from the American Society for Surgery of the Hand and is for educational purposes only.Most minor burns can be treated at home. Long-term follow up with your hand surgeon should be planned to evaluate for the possibility that further surgery may improve your hand function. Many burned hands will develop contractures months or years after the original injury. Many patients with burn injuries will require more than one operation. Your hand surgeon will coordinate therapy with a therapist if he or she feels that you would benefit from rehabilitation. Deeper burns or those that occur in conjunction with other injuries may require extensive therapy and rehabilitation. Superficial burns generally will not need any formal hand therapy. The need for therapy depends on the depth of the burn wound and any other factors that may lead to stiffness in the hand. In such cases, the constriction may need to be released, a procedure known as escharotomy.
#3RD DEGREE BURN ON FACE FULL#
A burn that goes around the full circumference of the limb can sometimes constrict it like a tourniquet. Small full thickness burns may be treated like the partial thickness but will take longer to heal and will leave scarring. Ideally this is within two to three weeks after the injury. The hand is then splinted until the grafts are healed, and then mobilization begins. Most surgeons remove the dead skin as soon as it is evident that the burn is full thickness, and graft immediately. The timing of this depends on the size and location of the burns.

Some 2nd degree burns may need excision of damaged skin followed by skin grafting.ģrd Degree (Full Thickness Burns): The dead skin will need to be removed and replaced with skin grafts. Wound healing occurs within two to three weeks. If there are open, raw surfaces, cleaning with frequent dressing changes and the application of local topical antibiotics is performed until the wounds are healed. These usually heal within a week.Ģnd Degree (Partial Thickness Burns): Blisters may or may not be trimmed but the hand and forearm should be splinted in a position of safety to prevent later stiffness. Burns localized to the hand may be treated on an outpatient basis if the pain can be adequately controlled.ġst Degree (Superficial Burns): Treated primarily for comfort with local analgesics and pain medications. Burns over a major percentage of the body require hospitalization and care in special burn units. The treatment depends on the depth and extent of the burn. Burns are classified by the depth of injury, which helps determine the appropriate treatment.ġst Degree: Superficial - redness of skin without blistersĢnd Degree: Partial thickness skin damage - blisters presentģrd Degree: Full thickness skin damage - skin is white and leatheryĤth Degree: As in third degree but with damage to deeper structures, such as tendons, joints, and boneĪfter first aid measures that include removing the hand from the source of heat and keeping it clean, treatment focuses on preventing further problems with stiffness and infection.
