Most burns happen in the home. Simple safety measures might prevent accidents in your home and decrease the chances of anyone getting burned.

Home safety measures

• Do not smoke in bed.
• Place smoke alarms and other fire safety devices in strategic locations in your home, such as in the kitchen and bedrooms and near fireplaces or stoves. Smoke detectors need to be checked and to have the batteries replaced regularly. A good way to remember to do this is to check smoke detectors twice a year when daylight savings and standard time change.
• Make a fire escape plan, and make sure the family knows it (babysitters, too).
• Keep a fire extinguisher near the kitchen and have it checked yearly. Learn how to use it. Put out food or grease fires in a pan with a lid or another pot.
• Set your water heater at 120 F or lower. Always test the temperature of bath water.
• Store cleaning solutions and paints in containers in well-ventilated areas.
• Use proper fuses in electrical boxes, do not overload outlets, and use insulated and grounded electrical cords.
• Keep trash cleaned up in attics, basements, and garages.
• Be careful with gas equipment such as lawn mowers, snow blowers, and chain saws.
• Avoid fireworks. Think of safety first when dealing with fireworks.

Your local fire department is a good resource for more information on how to prevent fires, make a fire escape plan, use fire safety devices, and provide first-aid treatment for burns.

Child safety

Teach children safety rules for matches, fires, electrical outlets, electrical cords, stoves, and chemicals. Keep in mind child safety considerations. Prevention tips for children include the following:

• Keep matches and flames, such as candles or lanterns, out of the reach of children. Keep small children away from stoves and ovens when you are cooking, and do not place pot handles where a child can reach them. Do not let children play with any small appliances such as curling irons, hair dryers, toasters, or heating pads.
• Never hold a child while smoking or drinking a hot liquid, because any sudden movement by the child could cause an accident that causes a burn.
• Never leave hot foods or liquids within reach of children, such as on the edges of tables or counters. Also, be cautious about leaving hot liquids on a table with a tablecloth that young children can reach and pull down.
• Keep electrical cords away from a child's reach. A child chewing on a cord could cause an electrical burn of the mouth. Cover electrical outlets so children will not stick items in the outlet.
• Do not allow children to remove hot items from the oven or microwave. Use caution whenever heating baby bottles in the microwave so that the liquid does not get too hot. A liner may burst or a lid may not be secure, and when the bottle is tipped for feeding, the hot contents may burn the baby. For this reason, most health professionals recommend that bottles not be heated in the microwave.
• Teach children who are old enough to understand to stop, drop, and roll if their clothing catches on fire so they can help put out the flame and prevent getting burned more.
• Buy children's sleepwear made of flame-retardant fabric. Dress children in flame- and fire-retardant clothing. Older adults need to be careful about wearing clothing with loose material that could catch on fire.
• Keep wood stoves and fireplaces in good working condition, and use screens to keep children a safe distance away. Keep portable heaters, furnaces, water heaters, and small appliances in good working condition.
• Store cleaning solutions and chemicals out of the reach of children.

Reduce the risk of a lightning strike

In general, avoid placing camping tents under tall trees, near bodies of water, or on the highest hill in an area. Seek shelter in a covered area, such as a car, if you get caught outdoors in bad weather. If no shelter is available, lie on the ground in a ditch or take cover in a thick grove of trees, where lightning striking a single tree is unlikely.

• Avoid handling metal or electrical objects.
• Avoid or stop using any machines outdoors.
• Get out of water and off of boats.

Burns  Reduce the risk of a lightning strike  how to prevent burns 

Most burns are minor injuries that occur at home or work. It is common to get a minor burn from hot water, a curling iron, or touching a hot stove. Home treatment is usually all that is needed for healing and to prevent other problems, such as infection.

There are many types of burns.

• Heat burns (thermal burns) are caused by fire, steam, hot objects, or hot liquids. Scald burns with hot liquid are the most common burns to children and older adults.
• Electrical burns are caused by contact with electrical sources or by lightning.
• Chemical burns are caused by contact with household or industrial chemicals in a liquid, solid, or gas form. Natural foods such as chili peppers, which contain a substance irritating to the skin, can cause a burning sensation.
• Radiation burns are caused by the sun, tanning booths, sunlamps, X-rays, or radiation therapy for cancer treatment.
• Friction burns are caused by contact with any hard surface such as roads ("road rash"), carpets, or gym floor surfaces. They are usually both a scrape (abrasion) and a heat burn. Friction burns to the skin are seen in athletes who fall on floors, courts, or tracks. Motorcycle or bicycle riders who have road accidents while not wearing protective clothing might get friction burns. For information on treatment for friction burns, see the topic Scrapes.

Breathing in hot air or gases can cause injury your lungs (inhalation injuries). Breathing in toxic gases, such as carbon monoxide, can cause poisoning.

Burns injure the skin layers and can also injure other parts of the body, such as muscles, nerves, lungs, and eyes. Burns are defined as first-, second-, third-, or fourth-degree, depending on how many layers of skin and tissue are burned. The deeper the burn and the larger the burned area, the more serious the burn is.

• First-degree burns are burns of the first layer of skin. See an illustration of a first-degree burn.
• There are two types of second-degree burns:
  • Superficial partial-thickness burns injure the first and second layers of skin. See an illustration of this type of second-degree burn.
  • Deep partial-thickness burns injure deeper skin layers. See an illustration of this type of deep second-degree burn.
• Third-degree burns (full-thickness burns) injure all the skin layers and tissue under the skin. See an illustration of a third-degree burn.
• Fourth-degree burns extend through the skin to injure muscle, ligaments, tendons, nerves, blood vessels, and bones. These burns always require medical treatment.

The seriousness of a burn is determined by several factors, including:

• The depth, size, cause, affected body area, age, and health of the burn victim.
• Any other injuries that occurred, and the need for follow-up care.

Burns affect people of all ages, though some are at higher risk than others.

• About 20% of burns occur in children younger than age 5, and most of these are scald burns from hot liquids.
• About 60% of burns occur in the 18- to 64-year-old age group.
• About 10% of burns occur in older adults, mostly scald burns from hot liquids.
• Men are twice as likely to have burn injuries as women.

Burns in children

Please call 911 immediately if you are having chest pain, difficulty breathing, severe bleeding, sudden weakness or numbness, or if you think you have a medical emergency.

Thermal Burns Treatment

Self-Care at Home

The most important first step is to stop the burning process.

• Put out any fire or flames (the common advice is to 'stop, drop, and roll' to put out flames on your clothing). Remove hot or burned clothing, if possible, or stop contact with the hot steam, liquid, or a hot object.

• Cool the injured area with water (not ice) within 30 seconds. This may limit the extent and severity of the burn. Run your burned hand or finger, for example, immediately under cool tap water for several minutes.

Control the pain.

• Apply a cool wet compress for pain relief. Do not use ice. This may worsen the injury to the skin.

• Other common remedies, such as butter or mayonnaise have not been proven to work; and may increase the chance of infection.

• You may also use acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil) for pain as directed on the bottle.

Begin the healing process.

• For small burns and burns that are superficial in nature, you may use a triple antibiotic ointment. This will aid in healing and limit the chance of infection.

• Do not remove blisters at home, especially those on the palms of the hands or on the soles of the feet.

Medical Treatment

Depending on the nature and severity of the burned area, these treatments may be given.

• Gentle cleansing may be performed of the burned area.

• Blisters will be cared for. Some doctors may debride blisters (cut away dead tissue). Others may leave them intact. There is no right or wrong approach. Blisters on the soles of the feet or palms of the hands will usually be left intact.

• Depending on the extent of the burn, the doctor may order fluids to be taken by mouth or to be administered by IV.

Also, depending on the severity and extent of the burn, the doctor may advise or request that care be continued at a special Burn Center. Specific criteria exist for such cases and have been established by the American Burn Association. Criteria may include any full thickness burn greater than 5%; partial thickness burn greater than 20% in people between ages 10–50; any partial thickness burn greater than 10% in children younger than 10 years and older than 50 years of age; any significant burns to the ears, eyes, hands, feet, or genitals.

Burn Treatments  Burns  Thermal Burns Treatment