Symptoms of Burns

List of symptoms of Burns:

The list of signs and symptoms mentioned in various sources for Burns includes the 10 symptoms listed below:

• Symptoms of minor burns:
  • Local burn pain
  • Reddening skin
  • Skin blistering
  • Skin peeling
• Symptoms of severe burns:
  • Burn pain
  • Open wounds
  • Skin loss
  • Fluid loss

Note that Burns symptoms usually refers to various symptoms known to a patient, but the phrase Burns signs may refer to those signs only noticable by a doctor.

More ways to research these symptoms: To research other symptoms use the symptom center, or to research causes of more than one symptom in combination, try our multi-symptom search.

Research More About Burns

Do I have Burns?

• Burns: Introduction
• Treatments for Burns
• More about Burns

More about symptoms of Burns:

More information about symptoms of Burns and related conditions:

• Other diseases with similar symptoms and common misdiagnoses
• Symptoms that may be caused by complications of Burns
• Associated conditions for Burns
• Risk factors for Burns

Other Possible Causes of these Symptoms

Click on any of the symptoms below to see a full list of other causes including diseases, medical conditions, toxins, drug interactions, or drug side effect causes of that symptom.

• Burn pain - see all causes of Pain
• Local burn pain - see all causes of Pain
• Open wounds - see all causes of Sores
• Reddening skin - see all causes of Rash
• Skin blistering - see all causes of Skin blistering
• Skin loss - see all causes of Skin symptoms
• Skin peeling - see all causes of Skin peeling

Medical Books Online about Burns

Medical Books Excerpts Excerpts of published medical book chapters related to Burns are available from published medical books for more detailed information about Burns.

Copyright notice for book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

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Symptoms of Burns: Online Medical Books

16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE! Review excerpts from medical books online, free, without registration, for more information about the symptoms of Burns.

Burns: Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

One goal of assessment is to determine the depth of skin and tissue damage. A partial-thickness burn damages the epidermis and part of the dermis, whereas a full-thickness burn affects the full dermis and, possibly, subcutaneous tissue. A more traditional method gauges burn depth by degrees. However, most burns are a combination of different degrees and thicknesses. (See Gauging burn depth.)

Burn degrees are classified as follows:

❑ First degree — Damage is limited to the epidermis, causing erythema and pain.

❑ Second degree — The epidermis and part of the dermis are damaged, producing blisters and mild to moderate edema and pain.

❑ Third degree — The epidermis and the dermis are damaged. No blisters appear, but white, brown, or black leathery tissue and thrombosed vessels are visible.

❑ Fourth degree — Damage extends through deeply charred subcutaneous tissue to muscle and bone.

Another assessment goal is to estimate the size of a burn, which is usually expressed as the percentage of body surface area (BSA) covered by the burn. The Rule of Nines chart usually provides this estimate, but the Lund and Browder chart is more accurate because it allows for BSA changes with age.

A correlation of the burn’s depth and size permits an estimate of its severity as follows:

❑ major — third-degree burns on more than 10% of BSA; second-degree burns on more than 25% of adult BSA (more than 20% in children); burns of hands, face, feet, or genitalia; burns complicated by fractures or respiratory damage; electrical burns; all burns in poor-risk patients

❑ moderate — third-degree burns on 2% to 10% of BSA; second-degree burns on 15% to 25% of adult BSA (10% to 20% in children)

❑ minor — third-degree burns on less than 2% of BSA; second-degree burns on less than 15% of adult BSA (10% in children).

Here are other important factors in assessing burns:

❑ Location — Burns on the face, hands, feet, and genitalia are the most serious because of possible function loss.

❑ Configuration — Circumferential burns can cause total occlusion of circulation in an extremity as a result of edema. Burns on the neck can produce airway obstruction, whereas burns on the chest can lead to restricted respiratory expansion.

❑ History of complicating medical problems — Note any disorders that impair peripheral circulation, especially diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, and chronic alcohol abuse.

❑ Patient age — Victims younger than age 4 or older than age 60 have a higher incidence of complications and, consequently, a higher mortality.

❑ Smoke inhalation — This can result in pulmonary injury. Inhalation injury should be suspected if the victim was in an enclosed space.

❑ Other injuries sustained at the time of the burn — Explosion and blast injuries can be caused by the person being thrown or falling from a height, resulting in other traumatic injuries.

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Burns: Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)

Symptoms will vary depending on the degree of burn. Suspect burn injury when the patient presents with blisters, pain, peeling skin, red skin, edema, white or charred skin, or signs of shock. Suspect an airway burn if you see charred mouth, burned lips, burns on the head, neck, or face; wheezing, change in voice, difficulty breathing and coughing; singed nose hairs or eyebrows; or dark carbon-stained mucous.

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Article Excerpts About Symptoms of Burns:

Burn pain can be profound and poses an extreme challenge to the medical community. First-degree burns are the least severe; with third-degree burns, the skin is lost. Depending on the injury, pain accompanying burns can be excruciating, and even after the wound has healed patients may have chronic pain at the burn site. (Source: excerpt from Pain - Hope Through Research: NINDS)

Burns as a Cause of Symptoms or Medical Conditions

When considering symptoms of Burns, it is also important to consider Burns as a possible cause of other medical conditions. The Disease Database lists the following medical conditions that Burns may cause:

• Acute lung syndrome
• Burr cells
• Complement C3 levels low (serum)
• Curling's ulcers
• Erythema ab igne
• Gastroduodenal ulcers
• Heterotopic ossification
• Hyperkalaemia
• Hypernatraemia
• Hypomagnesemia
• Hyponatraemia
• Hypophosphataemia
• Hypovolaemic shock
• Ileus
• Methaemoglobinaemia
• Myoglobinuria
• Red cell fragmentation
• Renal failure
• Rhabdomyolysis
• Sodium levels low (urine)
• Spherocytosis
• Vesiculo-bullous rash

Medical articles and books on symptoms:

These general reference articles may be of interest in relation to medical signs and symptoms of disease in general:

• More about Burns
• Online Diagnosis
• Self Diagnosis Pitfalls
• Pitfalls of Online Diagnosis
• Symptoms of the Silent Killer Diseases
• Lesser known silent killer diseases
• Books on signs and symptoms

Full list of premium articles on symptoms and diagnosis

About signs and symptoms of Burns:

The symptom information on this page attempts to provide a list of some possible signs and symptoms of Burns. This signs and symptoms information for Burns has been gathered from various sources, may not be fully accurate, and may not be the full list of Burns signs or Burns symptoms. Furthermore, signs and symptoms of Burns may vary on an individual basis for each patient. Only your doctor can provide adequate diagnosis of any signs or symptoms and whether they are indeed Burns symptoms.