The effects of burns can range from inconsequential to catastrophic. After a minor burn, you might need first aid, though you will probably not suffer any permanent disfigurement or disabilities. After a severe burn, however, you could experience scarring and tissue loss and even find yourself at risk of death.
Burn injuries are the result of many types of accidents. Whether you are the victim of a traffic collision or a work-related accident, your flesh could end up damaged or destroyed.
What Is the Anatomy of the Skin?
Your skin protects your body, shielding your muscles and organs from ultraviolet light and solar radiation. It also provides a water-tight barrier that retains moisture and seals out harmful chemicals and debris, and it works with your immune system to prevent pathogens from entering your body.
Your skin comprises three layers, which are as follows:
Epidermis
The epidermis is the surface layer of skin that works primarily to seal your body from its external environment. It keeps harmful substances out and prevents your body from dehydrating.
The epidermis also interacts with the sun, containing pigment cells that protect you from sunburns and help the skin synthesize vitamin D from sunlight.
Finally, the epidermis works with the immune system to kill off any microorganisms that get through the skin’s protective layer. Langerhans cells within the epidermis provide the body’s first defense against bacterial and viral infections.
Dermis
The dermis is the second layer of skin, just below the epidermis. It contains oil glands to keep the epidermis healthy and sweat glands to help keep the body cool. The dermis is also home to the body’s hair follicles, which enhance your skin’s sense of touch and keep the body warm.
In addition, the dermis contains the structures meant to keep the skin functioning. Blood vessels for the skin run through the dermis, as do nerve endings that control sweat glands and detect touch sensations.
Hypodermis
The hypodermis is the lowest layer of skin, containing fat to insulate the body and housing the connective tissues that hold the skin to your musculoskeletal system.
What Are Burns?
For most, burns only bring to mind flames or a hot pan. Nevertheless, burns cover various injuries in which a chemical reaction destroys skin cells.
Some examples include the following:
Thermal Burns
Thermal burns happen when your skin comes into contact with something hot, such as:
- Steam
- Exhaust gasses
- Boiling water or other liquids
- Hot surfaces
Thermal burns are common around the house but can also occur in the workplace. Mechanics, restaurant workers, construction workers, and others who work around hot materials can often suffer thermal burns.
Combustion Burns
Combustion burns result directly from flames. Your skin (or something on your skin) catches fire, burning you. An oil refinery leak, for example, could result in a spray of gasoline onto your skin, which, if ignited, will cause you to suffer a severe combustion burn.
Chemical Burns
Chemical burns take place when you come into contact with a caustic substance, such as:
- Acids
- Lye or other bases
- Oxygenators like bleach
Many products use these substances, including degreasers and cleaning products, and industries ranging from manufacturing to printing also use these dangerous chemicals. You could even suffer a chemical burn in a car accident if brake fluid or similar chemicals in your vehicle splash onto you.
Radiation Burns
Radiation burns happen when energetic particles damage your skin cells. The most common radiation burn is sunburn, but people can also experience radiation burns in workplaces that use radioactive materials. Hospitals, dental practices, and laser engravers have access to substances that can cause radiation burns.
Electrical Burns
An electrical current entering your body can cause your skin to reach very high temperatures almost instantly since your body acts as a resistor. An electrical current can also heat the surface of an electrified object, thereby causing a thermal burn as well.
What Are Some Burn Injury Symptoms?
The symptoms of a burn will depend on its severity. Doctors use the following three-stage system to rate the severity of burn injuries:
First-Degree Burns
First-degree burns affect only the epidermis.
Symptoms include the following:
- Pain
- Redness
- Swelling
First-degree burns usually only require first aid and rest to heal and rarely cause scars.
Second-Degree Burns
Second-degree burns affect the epidermis and part of the dermis. The symptoms of second-degree burns will be more painful and severe than those of first-degree burns.
Some common symptoms are as follows:
- Pain
- Redness
- Swelling
- Blistering and peeling skin
Second-degree burns will require first aid and rest. Your doctor may also prescribe antibiotics to prevent your blistered and peeling skin from infection.
Third-Degree Burns
Third-degree burns, also known as “full-thickness burns,” affect the epidermis and the entirety of the dermis.
Symptoms of third-degree burns include such things as:
- White, gray, or charred skin
- No pain due to the destruction of nerve endings
- Swelling
- Bleeding
Third-degree burns are exceedingly dangerous, as now that the skin cannot protect the body, patients have a high risk of infection. They can also become dehydrated due to fluid loss. Doctors can treat third-degree burns with skin grafts harvested from the victim or grown artificially. However, third-degree burns can lead to serious complications.
What Complications Can Arise from Burn Injuries?
Burns can cause long-term complications, such as:
Scars
Your body replaces lost skin cells, but these replacements lack the soft, elastic qualities of the original cells, instead having a tough, thick texture. Scars form when a patch of these tough, thick cells grows over a wound.
You can develop scars when a burn covers a large area, and you will also have a higher risk of burn scars when doctors place a skin graft over your burn injury.
Contractures
Contractures occur when your muscles, tendons, and ligaments shrink and toughen while recovering from a burn. They are a form of damage that can deform your burned body parts and cause permanent disabilities and disfigurement.
How Can You Get Compensation for a Burn Injury?
If your burn injury happened due to someone else’s actions, you might have a valid claim for personal injury compensation. If you were burned on the job due to a welder explosion, for instance, you might have a product liability claim against the manufacturer of the defective welder.You might also have significant losses for your burn injuries due to medical costs, disfigurement, and disability. To discuss your burns and the compensation you can seek, contact us at Hale Injury Lawyers for a free consultation today at (337) 888-4253.