Treatment and cures of burns in children

Fortunately, most of the burns in children that are observed in pediatric medical centers in our country are not very serious. They are more common in younger children (less than three years old) and in boys. The vast majority of cases occur at home and, many times, with the parents present at the time of the accident. In burns, the directly affected organ is the skin. With it, the skin loses its protective barrier functions of the body (protects from bacterial invasion, prevents excessive heat loss and controls body temperature ...) and triggers inflammatory phenomena that can, in severe cases, get to cause functional alterations of the rest of the body's organs, even reaching hypovolemic shock (collapse due to excessive fluid loss) or cardiogenic shock (due to heart failure).

Causes and types of burns

Four types of burns in children

• Thermal burns (85% of cases): they are produced by direct contact with the flame (fire, matches, lighters ...), by contact with an incandescent solid (causing wounds of limited but deep extension) or a liquid at high temperatures (more extensive, but also more superficial injuries). They can be associated with lung injury from inhalation of smoke or toxic substances produced by combustion.
• Electrical burns: They are produced by the passage of electrical current through the body. They are almost always deep injuries and, although fortunately they are rare, they involve potential seriousness.
• Chemical burns: They can be produced by acidic or basic substances (alkalis) and the latter are more harmful, causing deeper and more progressive burns.
• Radiation burns: produced mainly by ultraviolet rays after.

Classification by grade

• First degree burn: they are the mildest. They affect only the epidermis of the skin (the most superficial layer) and appear as erythema (redness). They are painful due to irritation of the finer sensory nerve endings that reach all corners of the skin.
• Superficial second degree burn: They affect the papillary dermis (middle layer of the skin) and are characterized by the appearance of blisters and are usually painful.
• Deep second degree burn: the lesion affects the reticular dermis (intermediate layer immediately below the previous one). The appearance of the skin will be pale red in color and they are painless due to the destruction of the nerve endings.
• Third degree burn: the most serious. The entire thickness of the skin is affected and it resembles cardboard, it is inelastic. It can reach “charring” (blackish coloration). They don't hurt either.

Diagnosis

When assessing the severity of the child's burn, they will take into account the following aspects:

• Extension Pediatric Specialist