Third Degree Burn Treatment
Third degree burn treatment should be left in the hands of medical professionals. Third degree burns are most severe type of skin burn, because these burns penetrate through all of the layers of skin. The outer layer, epidermis, and the inner layer, dermis, are both destroyed. The symptoms of a third-degree burn are swelling, black, white, brown, or yellow skin, dry and leathery skin, and little or no pain. There is usually no pain from a third-degree burn because nerve endings are damaged.
If a doctor does not administer the third degree burn treatment, it will heal very slowly and poorly. Anyone who has a third degree burn should be rushed to the hospital for immediate care.
There are only a few steps that you can take to assist third degree burn treatment, and several things that you should not do. First, stop the source of the burn and call an ambulance. Second, remove tight clothing only if it is not stuck to the burn. If clothing is stuck to the burn, leave it alone. Also, remove any tight jewelry from the area, as there will be swelling. Use a clean cold rag to cool down the area. You should not soak the area too long, and reduce the body temperature too much. Do not put ice, oil, lotions, sprays or any ointments on the burn. Home remedies are not effective against third degree burns. You may loosely wrap a sheet around the burned area. If possible, slightly elevate the affected area to reduce pressure and swelling.
In the early stages of third degree burn treatment, doctors will often remove the dead cells and tissue. They might use hydrotherapy or surgical lasers to do so. On a rare occasion, a doctor might allow the dead cells and tissue to fall off naturally. A process called excision is sometimes used to prepare the affected area for skin replacement.
Skin grafting is an important part of third degree burn treatment, because skin normally does not otherwise grow back on its own. This procedure is actually done by taking skin from another area that was not burned and placing over the wounded area. The skin will attach itself to living tissue and seal the wound. As long as there is no infection, and the graft is not somehow detached from the area, skin grafting is an effective form of third degree burn treatment. It does leave some scarring.
