Burns are easily among the most devastating injuries, as not only is the victim's body damaged, but their emotional and psychological well-being is injured as well.
With that being said, it’s important to understand just how common burn injuries are by way of discussing how often they typically occur and the severity at which they do. Knowing these details can help keep you from experiencing a burn injury yourself or accidentally causing one in the future.
Types of Burn Injuries
Though people most often associate burns with fires, given that those caused by heat or flame are the most common of them all, burn injuries can be produced in various ways that do not involve fire at all.
Thermal Burns
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), thermal burns account for well over 80% of burns suffered by patients needing admission to a burn treatment facility. They can be caused in various ways, including contact with the following:
Steam
Hot liquids
Flames
Burners
Electricity
Additionally, the NIH has stated that the three primary factors that cause the most risk of experiencing a thermal burn are being a minor, male, and in a place without a functioning smoke detector.
Radiation Burns
Radiation burns are produced by exposure to radiation, such as from the sun, which leads to sunburns. Certain medical treatments and equipment can also lead to radiation burns.
Cold Burns
The cold can indeed burn by causing the water in your skin cells to freeze and subsequently burst or withstand major damage. The result is typically red, blistering, and waxy skin, along with pain and itchiness.
Friction Burns
Friction burns occur when the body scrapes against a hard surface, causing the removal of the skin, followed by intense pain and a risk of later infection. Motorcycle riders are at a heightened risk of experiencing friction burns, given that they are often thrown from the vehicle and scrape against the road in the event of a crash.
Burn Injury Statistics
A quick look at some of the burn statistics available demonstrates that these injuries occur rather frequently and that many of them are preventable simply by exercising reasonable care:
Around 450,000 victims are treated for burns every year
Around 68% of all burn injuries occur at home
Roughly 25% of all burns classified as serious also take place at home
Roughly 10% of all burn injuries take place at work
Around 6.5% of burn injuries require some sort of specialized treatment
Around 3,400 people die each year due to burns or burn-related injuries, such as carbon monoxide poisoning, smoke inhalation, and cyanide poisoning
The overall survival rate for all burns in the U.S. is 97%
Burn injuries are the fourth leading cause of death due to trauma
Burn injury victims are more often male (70%) than female (30%), partially due to male-dominated employment sectors in which the risk of burn injuries is higher
Nearly 60,000 burn injuries in one year were caused by heating equipment, such as space heaters
Stoves and ovens caused 17,300 burns that same year
Despite their avoidability, burn injuries are but a portion of the types of injuries people suffer, as the world is filled with negligent behaviors that lead to these kinds of accidents, and when it comes to children, the statistics paint a significantly bleak picture.
As mentioned earlier, minors are at a higher risk of suffering a burn injury, in large part due to a lack of knowledge combined with curiosity, which leads children to explore dangerous items and situations.
Other sobering statistics relating to children and burns include the following:
Fires and burns are the third leading causes of unintentional death for children under 14 years of age
One year, fireworks led to the treatment of over 3,800 children for related burns
Every year, more than 1,200 children below the age of four are hospitalized for burn injuries
20% of all burn injuries are experienced by children who are under five years old
Other unfortunate reasons for the high rate of child burns are child abuse and negligence, the latter typically occurring when children are left unattended or allowed to use dangerous appliances or equipment without proper adult supervision. If you suspect that a child’s burn is the result of abuse, it is important to notify the relevant authorities to put an end to the mistreatment right away.
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