Title: Common causes of burns
Course: Non-Communicable Diseases, Emergency Care and Mental Health Part 1 - Ethiopia (Full)

Common causes of burns

What are the common causes of burns in your village? Do they include the situations listed in Box 7.4, which are common all over the world?

Box 7.4 Common causes of burns

- Fire and flame
- Boiling fluid (scald injury)
- Acid (chemical burn)
- Electrical burn from faulty electrical equipment.

All these causes of burns result in destruction of the skin and varying layers of the soft tissue underneath. In burns injuries, the depth of the burn depends upon the temperature of the heat source and how long the body was in contact with it. The most common sites of a burn are the hands, arms, legs and feet.

Other important burns-related conditions that you should know about are burns involving the chest, face and inhalation (breathing in) of a large amount of smoke and heat. These conditions require urgent special attention at a health facility due to the risk that they will interfere with breathing. You should suspect a respiratory tract burn when the person inhales a large amount of smoke and heat as a result of being trapped in a closed space during a fire.