Let’s be honest, we do get burnt quite frequently, be it due to the sun exposure or while cooking something in the kitchen, burns are like the common household injuries and nobody is spared. Sadly, there are also burn injuries where someone else is at fault and you need to seek legal advice when damages can cover your costs for loss of earnings and medical treatment.
There are types of burns and basically, they are categorised by how severe they are, for example, a first-degree burn is considered to be the least severe burn since only the outer skin is damaged during that.
Degrees of burns
First-degree burn
The least severe of all, it damages the outer layer of skin. The symptoms of this type of burn are mild swelling, pain, and redness.
Second-degree burn
It affects the skin deeply and one might even develop blisters, apart from the symptoms in the first-degree case. These can leave scars and can even change your skin colour.
Third-degree burn
Almost two thick layers of the skin are damaged in this condition. It usually makes the skin numb because the nerve endings are damaged and you can barely feel any sensations.
Fourth-degree burn
The symptoms in this, as well as the third-degree case, require urgent medical attention because the innermost layers of the skin get damaged during these conditions. These are life-threatening and can have life long effects.
Types of burns
The most common reasons include:
Friction burns
When something hard just rubs off your skin resulting in a heat burn and a scrape. It usually happens when people get into accidents.
Thermal burns
Remember when you touch a warm object, and your skin cells seem numb and dead, it is the case of the thermal burn, and it happens due to a sudden rise in your skin’s temperature.
Canned air burns
It is a form of cold burn that leads to frostbite. It happens when the skin cells get dead by freezing or being into close contact with something extremely cold for a long time.
Chemical burns
It happens when you spill some strong acids on your skin or simply if you touch some extremely harsh chemicals and detergents.
Radiation burns
These are developed due to excessive radiation, be it a prolonged sun exposure or X-Ray radiation, anything dealing with harsh UV rays can cause this.
Electrical burns
You develop these burns if you get some kind of shock or electric current.
Can you treat burns at home?
Yes, mostly the first degree and second-degree burns can be treated at home safely. Here’s a list of remedies that can be used to treat burns naturally;
1. Warm soaks
This is helpful only in the case of ice burns, frostbites, and forms of cold burns. Simply soak the affected skin in a bowl of warm water with temperatures around 104° to 108° F. Repeat the process, if and when needed, and perform warm compresses. It can be used during the cure of aerosol burn treatment.
2. Cool compresses
In cases other than frostbite, cool water soaks or compresses are preferable. The water should not be too cold, and this should be a 15-minute process with little gaps. The compression should not be too harsh and should only be performed for 20 minutes.
3. Aloe Vera
Aloe vera can really soothe the burnt skin and instantly cool down the inflammation and redness, promoting better blood circulation. Just slice the leaf from the middle and rub it over the affected skin or simply freeze some gel in a tray and use the cubes to rub over the burnt skin.
4. Honey
A natural anti-bacterial and anti-fungal ointment, if you apply some homey over the minor burns, it can really help to calm the skin and make it nourished. Make sure you use 100% organic honey. Otherwise, it might give you some infection.
5. Stay out of the sun and don’t pop the blisters
Avoid going out in the sun, if it’s an emergency, then you should always wear sunscreen and at no cost, you should touch those wounds, popping the blisters can make the infection spread to other parts.
What NOT to do!
Many of us might think that rubbing some essential oils can be helpful, but to let you know, oils can worsen the situation by trapping the heat inside the wound, so avoid it completely. Another thing that you should keep in mind is that you should never use ice as the first remedy, let the wound soak into some cold water, and then use the ice if also required never use toothpaste on the burnt skin. This can turn it into a bacterial infection.
Take care of the wound, avoid scratching, and keep in mind the dos and the don’ts.
Author Bio:
Henna is a wellness lifestyle writer. She loves sharing her thoughts and personal experiences related to natural remedies, Ayurvedic, yoga and fitness through her writing. She currently writes for How To Cure.
She can connect with others experiencing health concerns and help them through their recovery journeys through natural remedies.
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