Third-Degree Burns

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When skin is damaged, it can no longer assist the body in protecting against infection, prevention of body fluid loss, manufacturing vitamin D, or regulating body temperature. Therefore, burn injuries are extremely threatening to the young child’s fragile, developing body. Weeks or months of painful, invasive treatment and recovery place much stress on pediatric burn victims. Resulting scars lead to significant anxieties about appearance and social acceptance through which support from family and friends is imperative.
Measuring and Assessing a Pediatric Burn
A burn is categorized based on the layers of skin that it impacts. The superficial integumentary layer is known as the epidermis and the inner, thicker layer is the dermis. First degree burns impact only the epidermis while second degree burns extend to the dermis. A third degree, or full thickness burn, destroys both layers of skin. The damage of fourth degree burns reaches all the way to the underlying muscle and bone. For the purposes of this paper, third degree burns are the focus. Some of the most likely causes of these full thickness burns are scalding liquids, extended contact with hot objects, flames, as well as electrical and chemical sources. They are dry, leathery, and may be deep red, white, yellow, black, or brown in appearance. Initially, the patient will feel little pain as nerve fibers may be damaged (Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters [CHKD], 2007).
The extent of a burn wound is also noted by its coverage of the victim’s total body surface area (TBSA). In adults this is usually referred to as the ‘rule of nines,’ meaning the body is divided into parts equaling approximately nine percent of TBSA. However, because of the cephalocaudal and proximodist...

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Chemical Hazards Emergency Medical Management. (2011). Burn Triage and Treatment-Thermal Injuries. Retrieved from http://chemm.nlm.nih.gov/burns.htm
Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters. (2007). Burns. Retrieved from http://www.chkd. org/ healthlibrary/facts/content.aspx?pageid=0160
De Sousa, A. (2010). Psychological Aspects of Paediatric Burns (A Clinical Review). Ann Burns Fire Disasters. 23(3): 155–159. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/ articles/PMC3188258/

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