One of the most painful injuries that one can ever experience is a burn injury. When a burn occurs to the skin, nerve endings are damaged causing the intense feelings of pain.

Burn injuries, have reached epidemic proportions in recent years and are considered a health care problem that is more serious than the polio epidemic when it was at its peak. It has only been in the past several years that the medical profession has begun to recognize and understand the problems associated with burns. Burn accident statistics show that at least 50% of all burn accidents can be prevented. Across the world approximately 4.8 million burn injuries are reported per year. Between 18,000 and 22,000 patients with burns die, and approximately one million will sustain substantial or permanent disabilities resulting from their burn injury.

The kitchen is the most frequent area within the home where burn injuries occur for children newborn to four years in age. The second most frequent area in which burns occur is in the bathroom.

Burns can be of two kinds based on the extent of damage:

Partial Thickness Burns.
In partial thickness burns, there may be redness due to capillary dilatation but the underlying germinal layer is intact.

Full Thickness Burns.
In full thickness burns, the skin is completely destroyed.