Le centre Thermal sera ouvert du 1er Avril au 9 novembre 2024.

The degrees of burns

brûlure sur le bras

First degree is superficial

and manifests as simple redness and heals without scarring.

The second degree

combines redness with blisters

The third degree

is skin necrosis.

Deep second degree and third degree burns leave scars, often with poor healing. If over 20% of the body surface area is affected, this considered to be serious and potentially life-threatening. Other factors for severe burns are locations such as the face, hands and genitals, occurrence at the extremes of the age spectrum and association with other trauma.

How should burns be managed ?

There are two components to the treatment of burns: immediate treatment and the treatment of secondary scarring.

personne n'ettoyant sa brûlure au bras sous l'eau

First and superficial second degree burns

Faced with a superficial first or second degree burn, the first thing to do is to cool down the area with cold but non-iced water and take analgesics if the pain is significant.

bras avec un bandage

Deep second and third degree

A deep second degree or third degree burn warrants hospitalisation and if it covers a wide area, transfer to a specialised burn centre is required.

photo de Avene

Deep burns

With deep burns, hypertrophic scars or even keloid scars are common. They can be prevented by compression using specific clothing and/or filiform showers and massage that is best delivered during hydrotherapy. Hydrotherapy treatment will reduce the retraction of the tissues linked to scarring, allowing for a better range of motion. Major burns mean that two intensive hydrotherapy treatments lasting 3 weeks per calendar year can be claimed from health insurance.