Visit an Emergency Room Instead of Urgent Care Clinic : Severe Burns
If you think you might have a burn injury, then visit your local emergency room right away. These injuries need immediate medical care and can be very serious even if you don’t feel pain at first. Scalding from hot liquids or steam is a common cause of severe burns and can happen just about anywhere in your home. Shower scalds, for example, are often underestimated because most people think burns aren’t possible unless there is direct contact with a flame; but hot water can get as high as 212 degrees F—which means it takes just seconds for a burn to occur.
The first thing you want to do with a severe burn is remove any clothing or jewelry from near it. After that, immediately submerge it in cold water for 15 minutes. Keep an eye on how hot your burn is—you’ll want it cooled until it’s no longer painful and has lost its bright red color. Burns should always be taken care of by a medical professional as soon as possible, but there are some temporary remedies you can try before heading to an ER; every mom needs a bottle of aloe vera gel in her medicine cabinet. When you get home from running errands or chores and notice your skin starting to get irritated, apply some aloe vera and give it time to work its magic on your skin.
Burns are an acute medical emergency and most can be considered a medical emergency. They don’t always seem like one, but some burns are serious, even life-threatening. The severity of burns depends on how much body surface area is affected. More than 15% of your body with second-degree burns can cause damage beyond just pain and discomfort; it can cause tissue death from dehydration and infection. For that reason, you should always seek immediate attention for second-degree burns greater than 5% of your body, or if you have third-degree burns—the more severe burn classification—of any size, regardless of your body area covered.
