Burns

A thermal burn is a type of burn resulting from making contact with heated objects, such as boiling water, steam, hot cooking oil, fire, and hot objects. Scalds are the most common type of thermal burn suffered by children, but for adults thermal burns are most commonly caused by fire. Conditions of thermal burns are a reddened to leathered skin condition; burn site pain; swelling; blistering, sometimes glossy from leaking fluid; skin loss or charring with patches appearing white, brown, or black. Burns are generally classified from first degree to fourth degree. However, thermal burns are most commonly categorized as minor, moderate, and major, based almost solely on the depth and size of the burn. Statistics from the American Burn Association (2015) report 73% of burns occur in the home, with males twice as likely to experience burns than females.