What Are First Degree Burns?

Burns to the skin can be very dangerous; the severity of a burn is graded and described as either first degree, second degree or third degree.

A first degree burn is relatively minor ~ the burn does not penetrate the full thickness of the skin, it only affects the epidermis, and it usually does not cover a large part of the body. Most first degree burns are caused by scalding ~ tipping a drink just made of boiling water from the kettle over your hand, for example, or severe sunburn caused by falling asleep on the sunbed.

Second degree burns are more serious and are partial thickness burns that penetrate deeper into the skin and the dermis as well as the epidermis is damaged. These are usually caused by contact with flames.

A third degree burn can be life threatening/ The burns are severe and affect the full thickness of the skin, completely destroying the skin structure and affecting some of the underlying fat, muscle and bone. Third degree burns are caused by flames and, if they cover a large part of the body, the affected person can die from shock, loss of fluid or infection.