When skin is damaged, it can no longer assist the body in protecting against infection, prevention of body fluid loss, manufacturing vitamin D, or regulating body temperature. Therefore, burn injuries are extremely threatening to the young child’s fragile, developing body. Weeks or months of painful, invasive treatment and recovery place much stress on pediatric burn victims. Resulting scars lead to significant anxieties about appearance and social acceptance through which support from family and friends is imperative.
Measuring and Assessing a Pediatric Burn
A burn is categorized based on the layers of skin that it impacts. The superficial integumentary layer is known as the epidermis and the inner, thicker layer is the dermis. First degree burns impact only the epidermis while second degree burns extend to the dermis. A third degree, or full thickness burn, destroys both layers of skin. The damage of fourth degree burns reaches all the way to the underlying muscle and bone. For the purposes of this paper, third degree burns are the focus. Some of the most likely causes of these full thickness burns are scalding liquids, extended contact with hot objects, flames, as well as electrical and chemical sources. They are dry, leathery, and may be deep red, white, yellow, black, or brown in appearance. Initially, the patient will feel little pain as nerve fibers may be damaged (Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters [CHKD], 2007).
The extent of a burn wound is also noted by its coverage of the victim’s total body surface area (TBSA). In adults this is usually referred to as the ‘rule of nines,’ meaning the body is divided into parts equaling approximately nine percent of TBSA. However, because of the cephalocaudal and proximodist...
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...ic burns from a child and family perspective: A review of the empirical literature. Clinical Psychology Review, 33(3), 361-371. Doi: 10.1016/j. cpr.2012.12.006
Charis, Kelly. (2013). Burn Injury: Information for Parents with a Child Staying at the Hospital. Retrieved from http://www.aboutkidshealth.ca/En/HealthAZ/Conditionsand Diseases/Injuries/Pages/burn-injury-hospital-information.aspx
Chemical Hazards Emergency Medical Management. (2011). Burn Triage and Treatment-Thermal Injuries. Retrieved from http://chemm.nlm.nih.gov/burns.htm
Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters. (2007). Burns. Retrieved from http://www.chkd. org/ healthlibrary/facts/content.aspx?pageid=0160
De Sousa, A. (2010). Psychological Aspects of Paediatric Burns (A Clinical Review). Ann Burns Fire Disasters. 23(3): 155–159. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/ articles/PMC3188258/
However, it is uncertain the time span of PTSD in children following the natural disaster.
N.p., n.d. Web. The Web. The Web. 05 Dec. 2013. http://www2.lhric.org/pocantico/womenenc/burns.htm>.
Determining the seriousness and appropriate treatment of a burn requires its classification. Burns are classified according to three factors, the depth and number of affected tissue layers, the total percentage of the body surface that is involved, and the presence of homeostasis disruption or destruction such as respiratory distress, fluid loss, or loss of blood pressure control (Patton & Thibodeau, 2014). According to Mr. MacPherson’s appearance and symptoms, his burns are classified as second-degree or partial-thickness burns. The evidence for this diagnosis according to Patton and Thibodeau (2014), are his presenting symptoms of severe pain and the appearance of blisters, edema, and fluid loss. This type of bur...
Using the Skin Safety Model (SSM), prevention of pressure ulcers can be shifted to a more holistic patient-centered approach. The SSM comprises of four sections, potential contributing factors to skin injury, exacerbating elements, potential skin injury, and potential outcomes of skin injury. Each section then has subcategories of determinants that can change depending on the patient’s specific circumstance. The SSM helps the caregiver look at the patient as a whole and incorporate all of the patient’s risk factors that could potentially lead to impaired skin integrity or pressure ulcers (Campbell, Coyer, & Osborne,
A pressure ulcer is an area of skin with unrelieved pressure resulting in ischemia, cell death, and necrotic tissue. The constant external pressure or rubbing that exceeds the arterial capillary pressure (32mmHg) and impairs local normal blood flow to tissue for an extended period of time, results in pressure ulcer (Smeltzer et. Al., 2013). According to National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel, 2014, pressure ulcers are a major burden to the society, as it approaches $11billion annually, with a cost range from $500 to $70,000 per individual pressure ulcer. It is a significant healthcare problem despite considerable investment in education, training, and prevention equipment. This paper includes two different studies to link cause-effect
In Corsicana, Texas, Cameron Willingham and his family’s home was burned down the twenty-third of December 1991. According to the report, Cameron was asleep when the fire started and survived the accident with only a few injuries, as for his children they were not so lucky, they lost their lives to the tragic accident. At the time of the accident, Cameron’s wife was buying presents for their children for Christmas. According to a witness, her daughter Diane and Buffie from a few houses down went outside and saw Cameron screaming, “My babies are burning up!” Diane and Cameron tried countless attempts to rescue the girls from their room until the fire department could get there.
What happens during a child’s first years can be very crucial in how this individual turns out in adulthood. “Recurrence of episodes involving physical, emotional, or sexual abuse in the childhood.” (Diseases 1: Pais 3) Which means when a child experiences one of these traumatic events constantly they try to seek comfort. This is wher...
The normal wound healing process mainly consists of four main stages being haemostasis, inflammation, proliferation or new tissue formation, and tissue remodeling or resolution. For a wound to heal well the above mentioned stages should occur in a sequential and orderly manner. Disturbances, abnormalities and delays in any of the above stages may lead to impaired healing or even chronic wounds. In adults, this process of normal healing takes place in the following steps (1)rapid haemostasis (2)appropriate inflammation (3)mesenchymal cell differentiation, proliferation, and migration to the wound site (4)suitable angiogenesis (5)prompt re-epithelialization and (6) proper synthesis, cross-linking, and alignment of collagen to provide strength to the healing tissue.
Childhood Trauma is defined as “The experience of an event by a child that is emotionally painful or distressful, which often results in lasting mental and physical effects.” (The National Institute of Mental Health). Childhood trauma is an epidemic that seems to be running its way throughout the world. Childhood trauma is a worldwide problem that can affect anyone and everyone. People tend to just try and help the problems that occur due to the childhood trauma, but not the problem itself. Many of these issues will also follow the child into their adult years and will cause negative effects. This paper will discuss the negative outcomes for a child who suffers from childhood trauma, and the negative outcomes that can follow them into adulthood.
In the past years, researchers have conducted many studies about how a child is affected
A child who is suffering from this much pain needs to be of concern. Anything that makes a child unhappy, such as being unpopular, not feeling comfortable around peers, and not being able to communicate thoughts or feelings directly, is hazardous to a person’s psychological well being (Kemple, 1995).
Mulryan, Kathleen., et al. “How to Recognize and Respond to Child Abuse.” Nursing 2014. Web. 13 Feb. 2015.
When a wound is determined as non-healable, as described by Sibbald et al (1), it should not be treated with a moist treatment and should be kept dry in order to reduce the risk of infection that would compromise the limb. It is also important to consider the patient 's preferences and try to control his pain, his discomfort in activities of daily living and the odour that their wound may produce. In this case, special attention must be given to infection prevention and control. Some charcoal dressing would be interesting in the care of our non-healable wounds at St. Mary 's Hospital.
Mersch, John. “How Is Child Abuse Treated?” MedicineNet.com. MedicineNet, Inc, 1996-2011. Web. 3 Mar. 2011.
...bruising or cuts on the child’s face, the caregiver might keep them at home in order to hide it from the public.