Welcome
Thank you for visiting. First, let me explain who I am and why this blog exists. I am a University of Washington nursing student tasked with the job of creating a blog on burns as part of a class assignment. Additionally, I am a nursing technician on an Burn ICU/Pediatric ICU in a Seattle area hospital. Hopefully, this blog will be informational for all those interested in burns. Please feel free to comment and add your knowledge/experience in the comment section.Second, please note that burns can be pretty brutal. I don't intend to censor or mask pictures of burns so proceed with the understanding that I will be posting pictures that some may find difficult to view.
(For professors and classmates)
Lastly, burns do not simply fit into one of the four categories that we have been instructed to pick from (Pain, Cancer, Infectious Disease, GI/Fluids and electrolytes). Therefore, with the approval from my professors, I will attempt to address pain, associated infectious disease/infections, and GI/fluids and electrolyte imbalances associated with burns. For logistical reasons, however, you will find my blog in the pain blog group within canvas.
Defining burns
According to the World Health Orginization, a burn is "an injury to the skin or other organic tissue primarily caused by heat or due to radiation, radioactivity, electricity, friction or contact with chemicals." The causes of burns will be discussed in my third post titled "Burn Epidemiology."Jackson's burn wound model is a helpful tool in understanding what happens when an individual is burned. The site of the primary injury is called the zone of coagulation. Typically, the zone of coagulation will have tissue necrosis (death) that is irreversible. Burns denature the proteins in this zone causing cell death. Surrounding the zone of coagulation is the zone of ischemia/stasis. In this zone, dermal circulation is reduced because of vascular constriction and platelet aggregation. Tissues in the ischemic/stasis zone may recover or die depending the wound care/resuscitation. If the tissue is not resuscitated and cared for it will surely die and the depth of the burn will increase. On the periphery of the burn, surrounding the zone of ischemia/stasis, is the zone of hyperaemia. The zone of hyperaemia will have an increase of blood flow and inflammation. This increase blood flow and inflammation is a result of the inflammatory cascade which is activated by tissue damage seen in burns. With the proper care, the zone of hyperaemia tissue should recover over time.
Degree of Burns
As you may know, burns are also characterized by degree and depth. This will be covered in depth in the fourth blog posting titled "Diagnosis/Classification of Burns" but here is a graphic to get you excited.
Burns. World Health Organization, 2015. Web. 22 Apr. 2015. <http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/other_injury/burns/en/>.
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