Burnt Mark

Burnt Mark

In the first Special Effects lesson, we were introduced to our brief, Brave New World. In the first part of this unit, we are paired up, and given a type of wound which we are to create on our partners. We are only given the type of wound, the placement, design, and cause is up to us. In my pairing with Lucy, we were given the 'Burnt Mark'. I began by creating a spider-diagram, with sub-categories of how, where, size, seriousness, look and treatments of the burn. Each sub-category corresponds to each other, such as if I chose a burn that was caused by an iron, it could be on the hands/arms whilst ironing, or the iron could have been dropped and landed on the legs. The seriousness of the burn would be indicated by how long the iron was left on the skin, which would then correspond to what the burn looked like. What we also have to take into consideration is the age of the burn, is it fresh, or has this happened a long time ago, and is now a scar? There are so many things that need to be thought about when creating my burns, so a spider diagram helped me organise my thoughts. 

Burns are one of the most common household injuries, having detrimental effects on the human body. They need to be treated quickly and properly, some even seeking professional medical help depending on the severity of the wound. They are categorised into first, second and third degrees, which is a scale used by professionals to mark their severity. From a personal insight, burns can cause scarring on the body for years, which will become less visible over time. When my mother was younger, she ran into an ironing board, and consequently the iron fell onto her. She was left with a burn mark that has scarred over, and still has it on her shoulder to this day. She uses Bio-Oil daily to reduce the appearance of her scar.

First degree burns are the least worrying in the categories, but still can become a medical issue. They will result in a redness of the skin, often swelling of the area, and maybe the person feeling feverish. Sunburn is a prime example of first degree burns, which can be treated at home with products such as Aloe Vera, and cold compresses.

Sunburn
'Fruit Acid Can Soothe Sunburns'
http://www.vsparussellville.com/fruit-acid-can-soothe-sunburns/

Second degree burns can be further split into two sub-categories; Superficial Partial-Thickness Burns, and Deep Partial-Thickness Burns. 

A Superficial Second Degree Burn can damage the top layer (epidermis) and sometimes a small area of tissue (dermis) under the skin. This results in a blister on the top layer of the skin, and when popped, can give a wet appearance to the burn. A Deep Second Degree Burn damages both the top layer of skin and the tissue beneath severely. Second degree burns can take up to three weeks to heal, and will need frequent changes of bandaging to keep any infection away. If you do not use the right recovery process in treating burns, it can hinder the recovery of the wound, and become more prone to infection happening. In some severe cases, skin grafting is needed to help aid the healing process. Skin grafting is where surgeons take healthy skin from other parts of the body, such as the legs, and stitches it into the burnt area. Boiling water would be an example of causes of a second degree burn.

Superficial Partial-Thickness Burn
Healthwise Staff
Primary Medical ReviewerWilliam H. Blahd, Jr., MD, FACEP - Emergency Medicine
Specialist Medical ReviewerH. Michael O'Connor, MD - Emergency Medicine
webmd.com

Second Degree Burn of the hand.
Kronoman, 2008

Deep Partial Thickness Burn
Illustration copyright 2000 by Nucleus Communications, Inc.
All rights reserved. http://www.nucleusinc.com

Third Degree burns are the most severe. They damage every layer of skin, past the bloodstream, and can damage internal organs and even bone structure. There is a misconception that third degree is most painful, and it does seem to be, but some third degree burns burn through the nerve endings, which means you cannot feel a thing. You cannot treat a third degree burn, and must seek medical attention immediately. Third degree burns can lead to many complications, not only the burn itself, but other factors such as infection, blood loss and shock can cause death. Third degree burns will scar, and will need skin grafting to heal. Examples of third degree burns include chemical burns, fire burns and hot-oil burns. Below I have found images of a burn victim, who had photographs taken on the day of a house fire, 3 months after and 1 year after. (GRAPHIC)

Body immediately after a house fire. 

3 Months following a house fire 

1 Year after a house fire.
http://www.mountcastleplasticsurgery.com/photogallery/burns-extremely-graphic-viewer-discretion-advised-11240/upper-chest-third-degree-burns-43574

Burns can be caused by a huge range of incidents, but can be once again categorised.

Heat Burns: Any burns that are caused by heat, such as steam, fire, hot objects and hot liquids.
Cold temperature Burns: skin exposed to cold, wet and windy conditions.
Electrical Burns: Contact between skin and electrical sources, or lightning.
Chemical Burns: Skin contact with industrial or household chemicals, in liquid, gas or solid form. For example bleach etc.
Radiation Burns: Radiation onto the skin caused by the sun, UV light.
Friction Burns: Contact between the skin and hard surfaces, such as falling over on tarmac, or motorcyclists falling onto tarmac.

(Source:  http://www.webmd.com/first-aid/tc/burns-topic-overview)





Bibliography
Burns: Types, Treatments, and More (2014) Available at: http://www.healthline.com/health/burns#Overview1 (Accessed: 4 October 2015).
Burns and Electric Shock-Topic Overview (no date) WebMD, .
Fruit Acid Can Soothe Sunburns (2015) Available at: http://www.vsparussellville.com/fruit-acid-can-soothe-sunburns/ (Accessed: 4 October 2015).
Kamolz, L.-P. (2014) Handbook of burns. Vienna: SpringerWienNewYork.