Types of Burn Injuries

Thermal Burns: Can be caused by flame, heat or contact with a hot object.
Chemical Burns: These burns most often occur in industrial settings; however, they can also be caused by common household cleaners and swimming pool chemicals. Many times, chemical burns do not appear serious at first, but become worse as they continue to react with the exposed tissue.
Scald Burns: Scalds are produced by hot liquids such as water or cooking oil. These are the most common burns seen in children. Elderly persons are also at risk especially when their sensitivity to heat or cold is diminished.
Electrical Burns: In addition to the actual burn, electricity can cause serious internal injuries that are not immediately visible to emergency personnel or other healthcare providers. Electrical burns can cause everything from heart attack and neurological damage to broken bones and ruptured ear drums. Electrical current can cause either a flash of flame or electrocution. Electrocution injuries are always much worse than they appear. With electrocution, even a small dime-sized burn can place a person at risk for loosing a limb.

Click to View NIH Study:  Amniotic Fluid-Derived Stem Cells Accelerate Healing of Large Skin Wounds

What is a second-degree burn?

This is also called a partial thickness burn injury. It’s called a partial thickness injury, because in addition to the outer skin layer (epidermis), part of the inner skin layer (dermis) has also been damaged. Second degree burns are bright red (like the color of red meat), moist, and painful to the touch. Many times they will also blister and look like an open wound. They generally take two to three weeks to heal.

What is a third-degree burn?

A third-degree burn is referred to as a full thickness burn. This type of burn destroys the outer layer of skin (epidermis) and the entire layer beneath (or dermis). The color of third degree burns may vary: They look like an open wound that may be dark red (like the color of red wine), white, brown and leathery or charred in appearance. They are less painful to the touch because the nerve endings have been damaged. Seek medical care for any third degree burn.

Click to View NIH Study:  Burn Wound Dressing with Human Amniotic Membrane

Click to View NIH Study:  Human Amniotic Membrane: A Versatile Wound Dressing

Improving Outcomes with Amnio Technology

Amnion-derived allografts have been extremely effective in burn management.  Amnio therapy works by releasing essential Growth Factors as well as recruiting stem cells to the site of damage to promote tissue regeneration.  Stem cells are primitive cells that can undergo differentiation to form different types of cells in the body, such as bone, blood, cartilage, tendon, ligaments, and especially soft tissue like skin. These cells are responsible for healing tissue damages by generating new healthy cells. However, with age, the body loses its ability to attract enough stem cells to the site of injury. In this regard, amnio therapy delivers a high concentration of proteins, carbohydrates, cytokines, keratinocytes and growth factors to feed stem cells at the affected area to promote rapid, natural healing and tissue regeneration.