Third degree burns are the most serious burns. It involves all layers of the skin and causes tissue damage. Fat, muscle and even bone can be affected. Areas of the skin may be black or appear dry and white. The skin may also be leathery. Various things can cause third degree burns such as clothing on fire, immersion in hot water, contact with flames, hot objects or electricity, and acidic chemicals.
If your clothes catch on fire, you don’t need to run. Running can cause the flames to rise, get bigger, and cause more damage. To get rid of the flames, you need to smoother the flames with a rag, rug, or roll the person on the ground. You should not remove the clothing where the burn is or put anything on the burn.
For chemical burns, you should remove any jewelry or clothing where the chemical has spilt and flush the chemical fluids from the skin with running water. Make sure you avoid all chemicals from splashing in the eye. You shouldn’t try to neutralize a chemical because it will increase the burn.
On the surface of a third degree burn, it usually appears white, black, and leathery. Because the nerve endings in the skin are destroyed, the burn area may not be painful. Also where the burn is, you may lose most feeling in that spot.
The treatment of third degree burns may require the process of skin grafting or the use of synthetic skin. Severe burns covering large parts of the body may need more serious treatments such as I.V. antibiotics to prevent infection or fluids to replace fluids lost when skin was burned. It will depend on the harshness of the burn. Burn harshness is determined by the amount of body surface area that has been affected. The burn harshness will be determined by the doctor.
Example:
My older sister Emilee at work was cleaning the bathroom floors with bun water, and her shoes lost grip of the floor and she slipped and fell. The bun water burned her hand and caused her to get third degree burn. During her first visit to the Doctor, he...