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The Treatment of Critical Burns at the Hospital

The Burn Survivor Resource Center reports that about 2.4 million people suffer from burns every year. Often burns cause only minor injuries and do not require treatment in a hospital, but severe burns do require expert medical care.

  1. Fluid Replacement

    • According to Web MD, patients with burns over a large portion of their bodies often lose significant amounts of fluid through their wounds. Doctors replace lost fluids with intravenous fluids.

    Infection Control

    • Severe burns can easily become infected. Doctors may prescribe oral or intravenous antibiotics to prevent infection. However, they generally hospitalize patients requiring IV antibiotics.

    Debridement

    • Doctors debride severe burns to remove damaged or contaminated tissue. This helps prevent infections and facilitates healing. Aurora Health Care explains that burns can be debrided surgically, using scalpels. Special debriding medications and dressings can also be used to debride wounds.

    Skin Grafts

    • Patients with third degree burns may require skin grafts. Skin grafts involve taking skin from an area of the body that has not been burned and transplanting it to the area that has been burned.

    Pain Management

    • Patients often experience severe pain after serious burns. According to the University of Iowa, the injuries themselves cause pain, but many burn treatments like debridement and skin graft surgery also cause pain. Doctors often prescribe intravenous morphine for the first 24 to 48 hours after admission or surgery and then prescribe oral narcotic medication.

    Physical and Occupational Therapy

    • Hospitals provide physical therapy for burn patients that have difficulty with large motor tasks such as walking due to burn injuries. They provide occupational therapy for patients that have difficulty with activities of daily living and small motor tasks like using their hands.

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