Burns are very common injuries. They can happen in a split second, but the damage from burns can take weeks or even months to heal from. Understanding proper safety precautions around flames or hot surfaces can save you from experiencing a burn. Cooking is one of the most common causes of minor burns. Learn more about how to avoid getting burned while cooking and what to do if you do get a burn while in the kitchen. Visit AFC Urgent Care Linden for same-day minor burn treatment available without an appointment in Linden, NJ.
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Common Causes of Burns
Burning yourself can happen in a split second. If you’re dealing with hot surfaces in a kitchen, like a pan fresh out of the oven or an open flame, you’re at risk for burning yourself. Even the most cautious person can accidentally suffer a burn in the kitchen. All it takes is a small slip to accidentally touch something that is hot. Although burns are very common injuries, they still are very serious injuries that need to be taken seriously.
Burns occur when you touch a hot surface and it sears the skin. The severity of a burn can vary depending on how the burn happened. In most kitchen accidents, burns are minor because they happen very quickly and don’t affect a large portion of the body. However, severe burns in the kitchen are certainly possible in rare cases.
What To Do If You Suffer a Burn
If you are spending time in the kitchen and accidentally touch a hot surface, it may be difficult to determine how severely you have burned yourself. The first thing that you should do is run your burn under cold water. The cool water will help reduce pain and swelling by cooling off the affected area. Burns can continue to progress and worsen if they are not immediately cooled down.
Once you have cooled the affected area off, you will need to determine how severe your burn is. There are three main categories of burns. First-degree burns are the most mild category of a burn. A common example of a first-degree burn is a sunburn. First-degree burns often cause redness and discomfort but do not require medical care. Second-degree burns are identifiable by the surface-level blistering that they cause on the surface of the skin. These burns are extremely prone to infection and should be evaluated by a medical professional. Third-degree burns require immediate medical treatment by a burn specialist and commonly are numb in the affected area due to nerve damage.
Getting Burn Treatment at Urgent Care
If you have suffered a burn, it is important that you seek medical care. In many cases, burns require professional treatment to ensure proper healing. Depending on the severity of the burn and how it happened, burns can require careful cleaning and management to heal correctly without developing an infection. Urgent care centers are the ideal location to get fast and reliable medical care for minor burns, without the long wait times and high costs of the emergency room.
If your burn is less than 3” long, the medical staff at urgent care can help treat your burn. Your medical provider will evaluate your burn and ask you how it happened. Chemical burns or burns that have been exposed to food require extra careful treatment to ensure that an infection does not occur. After cleaning your burn, your medical provider will provide you with at-home care instructions for your burn. Depending on the severity of the burn, your healthcare provider may prescribe antibiotics to help prevent infection. Burns can take weeks to heal, however, proper care can help reduce scarring and ensure a smooth recovery.
Visit AFC Urgent Care Linden for Walk-In Minor Burn Care in Linden, NJ
At AFC Urgent Care Linden, our board-certified medical staff is highly experienced in providing top-notch care for minor burns. Our staff will carefully treat your burn and provide at-home care instructions so that your injury heals correctly and quickly. We provide injury treatment for patients in Linden, NJ at our walk-in clinic seven days a week. We never require that you schedule an appointment in advance to get rapid injury treatment. Simply walk into the clinic when it’s convenient for you. Our clinic accepts most major medical insurance plans and offers affordable care. For additional information, call the clinic directly at (908) 275-5922.
