Burns are common injuries faced by almost everyone at some point of their life. Most burns are recoverable without serious health consequences depending on the degree of injury. However, some burns can be more dangerous as they might lead to excess damage of the skin cells. Such cases would require immediate emergency medical care to prevent further complications that might lead to an excessive damage of the body part or death.

So what are the degrees of burn and what to do when you have them?

First Degree: Skin turns red without blisters.

First degree burns affect the outermost layer of the skin and cause negligible damage to the skin. They can normally be treated under minimal home care such as applying cold water.

Second Degree: Skin thickens along with blisters.

They are more serious than first degrees. Some blisters might pop, giving the skin a wet appearance. When you do experience a second degree burn, you immediately put the affected skin under cold water for 10-15 minutes.

Third Degree: Skin thickens throughout the damaged part with a white leathery appearance. Third degree burns can be extremely serious and therefore it is advised never to self-treat cases of third degree burns. Call or visit a doctor immediately.

Fourth Degree: An extension of the third degree along with the injury reaching up to the tendons and bones. Emergency medical supervision is essential for fourth degree burns.

Causes of Burns: There can be several causes of burn injuries rather than just touching hot objects accidentally. Such causes can be classified as under-

A. Thermal Burns: Results from explosions, hot liquids, flame or contact with hot materials like coal or glass.

B. Chemical Burns: Results from strongly acidic or alkaline chemicals.

C. Electrical Burns: Results from electricity such as electric wires, electric meters, etc.

D. Radiological Burns: Results from radiation.

Overall Prevention of Burns – The best method of fighting burns is to stop them from occurring. Certain jobs can put you at greater risks of burns. Nevertheless, it is always better to take preventive care to avoid them. Preventive care includes the following:

• Keep children away from kitchen

• Install fire extinguisher in or near kitchen or near vulnerable areas in workplace.

• Replace smoke detectors on time

• Cover electric outlets

• Discard electric cords with exposed wires

• Wear gloves while handling chemicals.

An abscess is a tender, swollen area within the body tissue that contains pus and debris. Pus is a thick fluid comprising of white blood cells, bacteria and dead tissue. It is painful to touch and can appear anywhere in your body such as your groin, your armpits (axillae), around your tooth (dental abscess), anus and vagina (Bartholin gland abscess) or at the base of your spine (pilonidal abscess).

There are three different ways to treat an abscess depending upon the size and type of abscess. Sometimes, skin abscesses can get better and drain naturally without medical treatment through self-care measures such as hot compresses for half an hour, four times a day. The three ways to remove abscesses thought medical treatment are-

1. Antibiotics- An abscess is caused by staph bacteria that is unaffected by most antibiotics. Initially, prescribed antibiotics can only cure common infections since the bacteria are not identified. However, once the identification from a pus sample is done, the antibiotics prescribed are for a more focused type of bacteria. However, sometimes antibiotics are not enough to clear skin abscesses completely and they may keep growing or reoccur.

2. Incision and Drainage– A small operation needs to be carried out by the doctor during the incision and drainage treatment. Local anaesthesia is administered to the patient to numb the area around the abscess. Firstly the doctor cuts the abscess, draining out the pus. The pus may be used for testing. Following this, the wound is cleaned by a sterile saline solution and is then covered in wound dressing, allowing any newly formed pus to drain away.

3. Surgery– You may also need to undergo surgery if the drainage treatment has not been able to remove all the pus. The type of surgery, however, depends upon the size and location of the abscess and may require creation of a bigger incision in your body to wash the pus out completely.