treating burnsOne of the most common household injuries is burned skin caused by fire, cooking, hot water, chemicals, or electricity. According to the American Burn Association, over 450,000 burns are treated each year at emergency rooms. As urgent care centers become more common, many people will head there for help with burns instead. M.D. Express Urgent Care is an excellent treatment option for some types of burns. Knowing when medical intervention is needed will help you prevent infection, skin damage, and more severe scarring.

Does Your Burn Need Urgent Care?

When you accidentally touch a log in the fireplace, spill boiling water, or get splashed by bleach you feel some degree of shock and pain. Your first response includes running cool water over the affected body part. For some minor burns, this will alleviate the pain and stop the burning. Basic first aid and bandaging are enough to help the damaged skin heal.

What do you do with severe burns that cause more than just red skin and discomfort? M.D. Express Urgent Care centers are an excellent option for burn treatment. First, determine if your burn requires urgent care, emergency treatment, or if at-home first aid is sufficient.

First Degree Burns

The lowest rank of burns causes reddened skin, some slight pain, and minor damage that will probably make the skin peel as it heals. Common causes are sunburn, splashes of hot water, small flames, and caustic chemicals that are quickly washed off. First aid at home is fine for these if they are small. Larger burns should be examined at M.D. Express Urgent Care.

Second Degree Burns

Prolonged contact with fire, chemicals, or hot items burns skin more severely. Besides redness, these burns also cause blisters and more extensive skin damage. To alleviate pain and stave off injection, a trip to urgent care or your primary care doctor is recommended.

Third Degree Burns

This classification causes severe skin damage, charring, and nerve death. Call 911 or head to the emergency room right away.

M.D. Express Urgent Care provides more than basic first aid. For burns, these centers have 6 convenient locations to provide pain relief and treatment to prevent more serious problems.  If you have doubts about the degree of your burn or if your home first aid is not treating the pain, seek medical attention immediately.