In the United States alone, over 2 Million people are burned each year.  About 10% seek medical attention.  About 12,000 of these injuries result in death.  Many of these injuries can be prevented as long as you take the necessary precautions.  While these safety measures might be implimented, they will not prevent some burn injuries from taking place.  Did you know that the first seconds after a burn occurs are the most critical?  Let's take a quick look at what a burn is and some ideas to prevent and treat them.

How Burns Occure:  A burn occurs when skin is damaged by extreem temperatures.  Electrical current and chemicals can also burn skin.  Each type of burn has unique characteristics.  Typically, hot liquids (scalding), lighted candles, cigarettes, matches, oven pans, portable heaters , irons, and stove top burns occur while at home.  While he overwhelming majority of household burns are caused by these type of exposures, we can not rule out chemical burns or the sun. 

Burn Assesment:  Burns are classified into 3 general groups.  First-degree (mild), second-degree (moderate), and third-degree (severe) are determined by the dpeth of damage they cause to the skin.  The size of the burn area, where it is located on the body and the age of the victim all play a roll in assesing the burn and the correct type of treatment.  First-degree burns have only injured the outer layers of the skin.  Redness of skin, slight swelling and or mild pain are symptoms of a first-degree burn.  The burn will usually heal within 2 - 5 days.  When the underlying tissue of the skin is injured it is considered a second-degree burn.  Blistering, pain, red skin and a moist appearance of the skin will also include swelling and can last for several days.  The healing process can range from 1 week to 1 month.  Third-degree burns  destroy all layers of skin and even some underlying tissue and muscle, tendon and or bone.  Many times, little pain occurs because neve endings have been destroyed.  The skin may appear dry and charred. Burn vicims that receive third-degree burns may take months or years to recover.  Many times rehabilitation is difficult and painful.

First Aid Treatment for Burns:  Determining what type of burn the victim received will help understand the type of treatment.  Quick response to any burn can help minimize the injury and begin the healing process.  As always, getting proper treatment from a medical professional is always the best recommendation.  If you are an individual who simply wants to be better prepared, these suggestions are simply common, mainstream practices for treatment of burns.  They should not be used in place of professional medical treatment.  Always consult your physician for the proper treatment of any type of injury.  Listed below are some common forms of treatment for Thermal, Electrical & Chemical burns:

Thermal Burns (Burns caused by flame, steam, hot liquid or hot metal)

• Immediately move the victim from the source of the burn.
• Prevent the victim from running, which will only fan the flames.
• If the victim is still on fire, instruct them to Stop, Drop to the ground and Roll to extinguish the flames.
• If the burns were caused by chemicals or any flammable liquid, keep the victim away from heat of an open flame.
• Spray the victim with water or wrap the burn victim in a blanket, heavy coat or rug to smother any visible flames.  If this injury was caused by a grease fire, use baking soda to extinguish any flames.
• Do not use dry dressings, butter, grease, ointments, salves or balms to treat a burn.  Experts contend that they don't cool the burn or releive the pain.  Some of these tretments may leave a greasy residue that must be physically removed if the victim later requires medical attention.  Other options for treatment ar to use a water based solution such as Water Jel which can be used as a dressing or a topical liquid. This new type first aid burn dressing from Water-Jel Techonlogies, promptly relieves pain, protects the wound from further contamination, inhibits burn progression and helps promote healing.  The dressings consist of a sterile fabric saturated with a special cooling water-based gel that is non-toxic, water-soluble and biodegradable.  Be sure to read and follow all package directions for proper use.
• If burned on a clothed area, apply the Water-Jel dressing directly over the burned clothing.  The gel will soak through the clothing to cool the burn, relieve the pain and allow easy removal of clothing prior to treatment by medical personnel.
• For any serious burn, consult your physician and or seek medical attention immediately.  

Electrical Buns (Burns caused by direct contact with electrical current of the passing of an electrical current through the body, including lightning)

• Before getting near or touching the victim, stop the source of the current.
• Use a non-conductive device , such as a piece of wood, rope, dry cloth or rubber to seperate the victim from the current source.
• Immediately move the victim from the source of the burn. 
• Cool the burned areawith a Water-Jel Dressing.
• Seek prompt medical attention.

Chemical Burns (Burns caused by direct bodyily contact with acids, lye, strong detergents or chemicals, or by inhalation of chemical fumes)

• Immediately flush theaffected areas with large quantities of water.
• For a known acid burn, irrigate the area for at least 15 minutes; for a known lye burn, irrigate for one hour.
• Apply a Water-Jel dressing to the burn wound.
• Seek Medical help. 

For Minor Burns:  Many burn are only minor or cover a very small area - but they hurt.  For these burns, a topcial burn care prduct with lidocaine - like Water-Jel's Burn Gel - will quickly releive the pain of minor burns. 

Special thanks to Water-Jel Technologies for providing the resource information for this article.