A burn is an injury to the skin or other tissues, typically caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, friction, or radiation. These injuries vary in severity, damaging skin cells and underlying tissues.
Normal Burn Healing Progression
The body initiates a multi-phase process to repair burned tissue. The initial inflammatory phase, lasting several days, involves increased blood flow to the affected area, leading to redness and swelling. White blood cells migrate to the site to clear damaged tissue and ward off potential infections. This natural inflammation helps prepare the wound for subsequent repair.
Following the inflammatory stage, the proliferative phase begins, typically a few days after the injury and lasting several weeks. During this period, new tissue and blood vessels form, with fibroblasts producing collagen to rebuild the damaged area. The wound may appear pink or red with bumpy clusters as granulation tissue forms. The final remodeling phase, which can extend for months to years, strengthens and refines the newly formed tissue, causing scars to gradually flatten and soften.
Key Indicators of Burn Infection
While some redness, swelling, and pain are normal during burn healing, specific changes signal infection. A primary indicator is increasing redness that spreads beyond the original burn margins, often with heightened warmth in the surrounding skin. Pain may also worsen significantly or persist beyond the expected healing timeline.
Another clear sign of infection is abnormal discharge or pus from the burn site. This fluid may be green, yellow, or cloudy, differing from the clear fluid sometimes found in uninfected blisters. A foul odor from the wound also indicates bacterial activity.
Systemic symptoms can also point to an infected burn. The development of a fever, a body temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) or higher, often signals an infection. Chills may accompany the fever, and red streaking may appear on the skin, extending away from the burn site. This streaking can suggest a spreading bacterial infection, such as cellulitis.
When to Seek Medical Attention
Prompt medical evaluation is important if a burn shows any signs of infection, such as increasing pain, spreading redness, worsening swelling, or a foul odor. Any discharge of pus from the wound also warrants professional assessment. Additionally, the presence of a fever or red streaking extending from the burn should prompt immediate medical consultation.
Beyond signs of infection, several other burn characteristics necessitate professional medical care. Burns that are large, exceeding three inches in diameter, or those that affect sensitive areas like the face, hands, feet, genitals, or major joints, require urgent attention. Any burn that appears deep, with white, charred, or leathery skin, regardless of size, also requires immediate medical care. Chemical or electrical burns always warrant professional evaluation due to potential hidden internal damage. Finally, very young children, older adults, or individuals with weakened immune systems should seek medical attention for any burn beyond a minor superficial injury, as they are at higher risk for complications.