Burn Injury

Burns can be some of the most devastating injuries because they are extremely painful and take a long time to heal. They also can cause permanent disfigurement. Another reason why burn injuries are so horrible is that they can affect a large part of the body at once. When a person suffers a broken leg, the pain is localized to one area. However, a burn injury can cause pain to the entire body, and even inside a person’s body, such as in the lungs. There are three layers of what we know as the skin. There is the epidermis, which is the outermost layer, the dermis which is just inside the epidermis, and the hypodermis which is the deepest layer of the skin. The word hypodermis comes from ‘dermis’ which means skin, and the prefix ‘hypo’ which means ‘below’ in Greek. If you are a victim in a burn accident, contact a San Diego Burn Injury attorney.

Burns to the dermis are known as first degree burns. These birds are usually not life-threatening. The way that burns threaten life is often by destroying the body’s ability to regulate its internal temperature and its ability to regulate its fluid balance. Burns to the dermis (first degree burns) do not usually affect sweat glands or hair follicles. When burns destroy the sweat glands, they prevent the body from sweating, which is the process by which the body cools itself. Evaporation is a cooling process, and sweating causes moisture to evaporate from the skin, cooling the body. Destruction of sweat glands also affects the body’s ability to regulate fluid balance, as sweating is a way to cause fluid to escape from the body. But the more common way that burns affect the body’s ability to regulate fluid balance is that, when there is a burn over a large area of the body it is possible for fluid to evaporate from the wound, reducing the amount of fluid in the body. In certain cases it may be a good idea to contact a San Diego burn injury lawyer.

Because first degree burns generally do not affect sweat glands or hair follicles, they generally do not cause death by virtue of interfering with temperature regulation or fluid balance. However, first degree burns can cause death if they affect a sufficiently large area of the body or if they result in a serious infection. Second degree burns cause death much more commonly than first degree burns because they affect sweat glands and hair follicles. Third degree burns are, of course, more serious than second degree burns, and they often result in damage to nerves, which can actually prevent a victim from feeling the pain. The worst burns are fourth degree burns, which go beyond the skin and can affect muscles, tendons and bones, causing the victim to lose muscle or bone.

According to a San Diego personal injury attorney, there is a huge difference in healing time between the various types of burns. First degree burns can heal in a matter of days or weeks. Second degree burns generally take a few weeks to heal. Third degree burns take months to heal and often require months of intensive physical therapy and rehabilitation. Third degree burns also are most likely to cause permanent scarring.

Children compose a large percentage of burn victims. Some of the best ways to prevent children from becoming burn victims is to supervise them whenever they engage in activity that puts them at risk of being burnt. Surprisingly, the kitchen and bathroom are places where children often suffer burns. The stove and oven in the kitchen have been known to cause many burns. In the bathroom, curling irons have been known to cause burns. Elsewhere in the home, irons and room heaters have caused burns. Fireworks are also a common cause of burns to children. Children should never be permitted to play with fireworks or gasoline.

One of the best ways to avoid burns to children and the rest of the family is to make sure to have working smoke alarms in the home. You can be as vigilant as possible during the day, but when you are sleeping you need to have a backup, in the form of a smoke alarm, to make sure that your family is safe. Click here to visit our auto accident attorney San Diego page.

By Douglas Gilliland