How to Know if Your Burns Are Healing Properly
Written on June 14, 2022
Burns can be some of the most traumatic injuries to recover from because every burn is different. Burns are complex and require special attention no matter the degree of your wound, and understanding the burn healing process, in general, can help you more readily recognize if your burns are healing properly and when it might be appropriate to seek medical treatment.
Understanding the Degree of Your Injury
There are three degrees of burns—first, second, and third—and they fall into one of two categories: minor and major. A minor burn is generally the first-degree burn anywhere on your body or a second-degree burn that is less than 2-3 inches wide. Anything larger graduates the injury into the major category of third-degree burns.
First-degree burns are the most superficial, affecting only the outermost layer of your skin. Although painful, a first-degree burn causes the least amount of damage, limited primarily to redness and swelling. Second-degree burns generally cause redness, swelling, and blistering, and third-degree burns cause the most damage: a white, leathery appearance to the skin, sometimes blackened as well, that requires surgery and skin grafts to treat.
How Burns, Skin Grafts, and Scars Heal
First-degree burns rarely leave a scar, but a second-degree burn may scar depending on how large it is and if you sought medical care and followed a healing protocol as directed by a doctor. Third-degree burns almost always result in some type of scarring because of the damage inflicted on the affected skin.
Contraction is a normal part of the healing process whenever your skin suffers trauma, but for burn victims, it can hinder the burn healing process, especially over and around joints. Serious burns also damage the tiny glands under our skin that produce sweat and help regulate our body temperatures. Conversely, as your burns heal, you may find yourself sweating excessively.
As you heal, raised areas of lighter-colored skin replace the damaged tissue, and over time, they become more in tune with your natural skin tone. Severe burns can result in scars that remain a brighter shade than your undamaged skin. If you have a more fair complexion, this might not be an issue, but if you have a darker skin tone, the appearance of your healed skin could be more noticeable.
What Is Normal to Experience When It Comes to Burn Healing?
Blisters, tearing skin, and ulcerations are all normal during the healing process and typically result from rubbing, bumping, or stretching the burned area through normal activity. Clothes that quite literally rub you the wrong way, bumping into furniture, and exercise can all cause new blisters, small lacerations, and cracks in your healing skin. You should be able to treat any of these conditions yourself, but if your efforts aren’t enough, you will need to reach out to your doctor.
Another normal part of the burn healing process is itching. You may experience itching on and around the burn, graft, or donor site, but it is important not to scratch to avoid causing additional damage. If your itching is too distracting in any way, your doctor can help find a treatment plan.
Discomfort beyond itching, unfortunately, should be expected as well when you’re healing from a burn, but it can sharpen into neuropathic pain—the result of damaged nerve endings—depending on the severity of the trauma site. First-degree burns and smaller second-degree burns may require little or no pain management. More severe second-and third-degree burns will almost certainly result in more assertive measures both while you’re in the hospital and after you return home.
What Isn’t Normal When It Comes to Burn Healing?
If your burn isn’t healing properly, the signs will be fairly obvious that you have an infection, including:
Any change in color of the burnt area or the skin surrounding it, including red streaks that radiate from the wound itself
Swelling with purplish discoloration
Increased thickness of the burn with it extending deep into the skin
Green discharge or pus that may or may not have an odor
Presence of a fever
Should you experience any of these symptoms, call your health provider immediately.
Aftercare Support at Home and with Peers
Once you start rehabilitating at home, make sure anyone helping you with wound care knows what to look for to measure both a properly healing wound and a potential infection. Additionally, make sure you schedule and attend regular check-ins with your doctor.
If you require assistance from a home healthcare agency, be sure you talk with them about caregiver experience with burn patients and wound care. Be specific about your needs based on the wound management plan devised by you and your doctor, and don’t hesitate to speak with several agencies to find the one that can provide caregivers who will help you maintain successful wound recovery.
Connecting with other burn survivors can make you feel less isolated during your healing journey. Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors is not a healthcare provider but does offer a virtual support group as well as a Facebook community where you can contribute to and receive support.