Burn Injuries and Relationships

After a burn injury, many survivors whether they are single, dating or married will start thinking about the effect of their injuries on different aspects of their lives. Intimacy, love and sexuality will concern many survivors. Dealing with scars and disfigurement varies among survivors, while disfiguring scaring in some survivors may not have a devastating influence on their lives; others with minor scars may not be able to live a rewarding live and may be devastated for a long time. Some survivors will isolate themselves from the community because of their scars, others think that it’s hard to be loved and have an intimate relationship. Married survivors may fear the loss of their partners due to their scars. Survivors of burn injuries, no matter how severe their scarring, must always try to find positive meaning in their experience and try to find the good things that came out of that experience. They should focus on things that they can do and not things that they can’t do.

Dennis J. Stouffer states in his book Journeys Through Hell that with virtually all the survivors who were interviewed, where there was minimally one lesion, they left the hospital knowing that they survived something they never imagined they could have survived. Except those who were burned as children, all survivors discovered that they were stronger than they thought they were. They were surprised by their endurance. That endurance to each patient represented fortitude and strength which none had anticipated.

Despite the fact that survivors differ with respect to their reaction to their injury, support from family and friends played a role in helping survivors adjust to their new life. Isolation will not do any good, instead being proactive in social situations, having confidence, trying to take a role in the society and making new friends will all help survivors return back to their normal life.

This information is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice; it should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. Call 911 for all medical emergencies.