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CareersTo distinguish a minor burn from a serious burn, the first step is to determine the extent of damage to body tissues. If your burn is indeed minor, then a trip to urgent care can help relieve your pain and get you feeling better, sooner.
Types of Burns
The three burn classifications of first-degree burn, second-degree burn and third-degree burn will help you determine emergency care.
First-degree Burns
First-degree burns are the least serious of burns and are those in which only the outer layer of skin is burned, but not all the way through. An accidental touch to the stove or curling iron can result in a minor burn. The skin is usually red, often there is swelling, and pain sometimes is present. Treat a first-degree burn as a minor burn unless it involves substantial portions of the hands, feet, face, groin or buttocks, or a major joint, which requires emergency medical attention.
Treating burns that are very minor can be simple. Running water or cool water can provide burn relief, minor burn care or minor burn treatment on burned skin if you believe you have a first-degree burn.
Second-degree Burns
A second-degree burn is when the first layer of skin has been burned through and the second layer of skin (dermis) also is burned. In second-degree burns blisters develop, skin takes on an intensely reddened splotchy appearance, and there is severe pain and swelling. If the second-degree burn is no larger than 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) in diameter, treat it as a minor burn. If the burned area is larger or if the burn is on the hands, feet, face, groin or buttocks, or over a major joint, treat it as a major burn and get medical help immediately.
Treatment for minor burns includes: cooling the burn, covering the burn with sterile gauze, and pain relief. A topical cream silver sulfadiazine may be used to treat minor burns and works by stopping the growth of bacteria that may infect a burn as well as providing pain relief.
If you have been severely burned, please call 9-1-1 or go to the emergency room for care for your burn and immediate medical attention. Severe burns require medical treatment.
Urgent Care for Burns
An urgent care center is the best place to accurately diagnose your minor burn and learn about the best way to treat your injury. If the injury is minor, then you may have concrete instructions on how to start feeling better, sooner. If the problem is worse, a trip to an urgent care center can help with the pain and get your injury in front of the right specialist so that your injury does not become a much longer one.
It’s also crucial to not let the burn area get infected as the skin around a burn can cause blisters and fill with fluid — thus becoming vulnerable to infection. If an infection occurs, it can cause long-term skin damage. By getting treatment immediately at an urgent care center, a medical professional can help minor burns not turn into an infection.
Contact Us Now
Manatee Urgent Care, located in Bradenton, Florida, is open seven days a week with convenient daytime and evening hours for patients needing urgent care treatment. Manatee Urgent Care’s team of medical professionals is here to help with your minor burn.
