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Burn
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A burn is what happens to the skin when it is exposed to heat or to other agents capable of damaging it: fire, hot objects, hot liquids, chemicals or electricity.
What matters most in classifying a burn is not its size but its depth, that is, how far inward it goes. The skin has two layers: the epidermis, the outer one, and the dermis, the one below. Damage is measured downward, not across: each degree is one more layer.
That rule makes the degrees easy to follow. A first-degree burn involves only the epidermis. A second-degree burn, also called a superficial partial-thickness burn, reaches the superficial layer of the dermis. A third-degree burn, or full-thickness burn, is the most serious: it goes through both layers of the skin. At that depth the nerves are damaged as well, which is why the person feels no pain in the area.
In brief
A burn happens when the skin is exposed to fire, hot objects, hot liquids, chemicals or electricity.
It is classified mainly by depth: how far it goes into the skin's two layers, the epidermis on the outside and the dermis underneath.
Damage is measured downward, not across: each degree is one more layer.
A first-degree burn involves only the epidermis; a second-degree burn reaches the superficial dermis; a third-degree burn goes through both and damages the nerves, so there is no pain.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingBurn Classification, StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
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