Burn Injury Resource Center

Published on: August 2, 2010

The Effect of Sun on the Skin

The sun plays an important role in the manufacture of vitamin D. The sun has ultraviolet rays which can be harmful to the skin. There are three types of rays, Ultraviolet A, B and C. Ultraviolet A rays penetrate the skin more deeply than ultraviolet B. it’s responsible for wrinkles, skin tanning and premature aging of the skin. Ultraviolet B rays affect the epidermis which is the outer layer of the skin and is responsible for sunburns. Ultraviolet C rays are absorbed almost completely by the ozone layer. Both A and B rays can harm the skin and can cause skin cancer.

Wrinkles:

The skin is held together in a smooth and a firm way by a protein called collagen. UVA rays damage collagen leading to the formation of wrinkles.

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Published on: July 30, 2010

Having a Burn Injury Lawyer

By Larry Kramer

Burn injury is one of the most painful experiences that a person can ever encounter. As some of these injuries result in scarring, it will remind the person of that painful experience for a long time. Some people lose their lives as a result of their injuries while for others; their lives will be changed forever.
Due to the length of the recovery process and rehabilitation, the cost of treatment, the loss of earnings and belongings and the emotional trauma, burn victims have to go through a lot. Some burn injuries are the result of negligence. Negligence is the failure to do something, or doing something in a substandard manner. The basis of a lawsuit may be a landlord’s failure to provide tenants with a reasonably safe hot water delivery system, open and accessible egress from an apartment to allow escape during a fire, proper installation of gas burning appliances, as well as many other theories. It’s important to consult with a burn injury lawyer as soon as possible. You may be entitled to compensation depending on the cause, severity and the extent of the injury. Hiring an experienced lawyer is important as this lawyer will explain to you your legal options and your rights.
Kramer and Pollack, LLP: (see the link) are VERY well versed in all aspects of representing burn injury victims. They have handled a multitude of burn injury cases ranging from hot water scald burns, to stove tipping cases to explosion cases. They are competent, experienced and very thorough.

Published on: July 29, 2010

Home Burn Remedies

By Larry Kramer

First degree burns part I, II are minor burns and can be treated with home remedies. Second degree burns and third degree burns part I, II. need medical attention.

The first step is washing the burned area with cool water. Avoid using ice as it can cause further damage.

Home remedies include:

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Published on: July 28, 2010

Survivor Story

By Larry Kramer

From burn survivors throughout the world

Survivor X was living happily with his wife and his three boys. On one day in May while he was alone at home, he was trying to clean his yard and garage from the litter that had accumulated during the winter. He lived in a rural area that allowed to incinerators to burn trash. He started a fire with trash from the yard and as he started to clean the garage, he collected boxes and papers and placed them in the fire for destruction, there were several empty oil containers, somehow he picked a full container of injector cleaner and as he placed it in the incinerator it exploded in his face.

He remembers seeing the skin melt from his fingers as he was trying to put down the fire from his face. When the fire was out, he went inside the house and called 911, they arrived after 5-10 minutes. He was taken by an ambulance were he passed out. In August he was brought out of the drug induced coma and he was allowed to go home at the end of September.

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Published on: July 23, 2010

Choose Life

By Larry Kramer

From the book I Will Not Be Broken by Jerry White.

After a major trauma, many think that it’s the end of the world, that everything has gone and that there is no point of living anymore. Life will continue. Choosing life means trying to forget about the past and deciding that you will not to be held hostage. Life has many good things to offer and all bad things will be memories. Willing to try, thinking positively and looking always forward toward the future will give you the strength to move forward. Taking small steps at a time are key and results will be amazing. Every survivor can be an inspiration to others of what can be accomplished if you set your mind to it and never give up. Most burn survivors can return to a productive and healthy life.

A woman whose husband was disabled in a civil war, as he was trying to help a fellow friend, although living in extreme poverty, and her husband’s difficulty finding work, still she sees that they are living a happy life. She says “I am here living. We are missing a lot of things, yes, but we can live like that.. What belongs to love is love and whatever this poverty in our house, we are living according to our means with our three children here at home”.

Published on: July 16, 2010

Discharge

By Larry Kramer

Some patients when burned will need to be admitted to the hospital while others don’t. When a patient with burns is admitted to the hospital, he/she will be assessed in the burn unit by a team called the burn team. According to the assessment, treatment will be provided to the patient. With time, most patients will improve and at some point a discharge plan will be set for the patient. The patient will be examined by the treating physicians and other members of the burn team before the patient is discharged. In almost all cases, the burn team makes the right decision.

In some cases:

If the burn team decided to discharge you from the hospital but you think that you are no ready to be discharged, (either you are not feeling well or for some reason you think that you shouldn’t be discharged) and you disagree with the decision to discharge you have to tell the team that there is something wrong with you, and you are not feeling well enough to be discharged. If the team still thinks that you should be discharged you can contact the patient’s services representative or anyone who you think can help. Tell them that you disagree with the burn team’s decision to discharge.

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Published on: July 14, 2010

Face Facts

By Larry Kramer

From the book “I Will Not Be Broken” by Jerry White

No matter what trauma you are exposed to, you have to face the fact that it happened, that it is in the past and you can’t change it but what can be change is the future.

When the writer was in the hospital after losing his right leg in a landmine explosion, when he had to wheel himself down to the lunch hall during the recovery time, at the beginning he didn’t appreciate that he was the one who is doing that. He would think to himself “don’t they see the bloody stump?”. But he did it and wheeled himself. When he reached the lunch hall he met a lot of people who were exposed to a different kind of trauma. He remembers an old guy who had been in the hospital for months going through rehabilitation having a prosthesis above his knee, telling him “don’t worry you’ll have your own fake leg one day”. These people helped him to get through a very difficult time.

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Published on: July 13, 2010

Reaching Out

By Larry Kramer

From the book I Will Not Be Broken by Jerry White.

Humans are social in nature and can’t survive without communication and socializing with others. Some people isolate themselves and retreat into a shell after being exposed to trauma thinking that they are protecting themselves. Reaching out to others and finding people who can understand what you are going through is essential. Surprisingly strangers that we don’t know can be of great help and support to us while people we are close to may disappoint us. There will always be people who are willing to help and support us and they are always there when we need them.

The writer benefited a lot from social support while he was in the hospital in Israel after stepping on a landmine. This accident led him to lose one of his legs; he said “with so many people coming and going, it was clear that social support-a primary integrant for overcoming crises-was not missing from my life”. Most survivors’ testimonies that the writer interviewed were “I would never have made it through without my family. They saved me during the darkest moments. I am closer to my family now, after my accident, than before”.

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Published on: July 9, 2010

Escaping Victimhood

By Larry Kramer

From the book I Will Not Be Broken by Jerry white.

Some people stay victims which is a type of defense mechanism that follows trauma. Sympathy is welcomed at time of need but some people continue to invite that sympathy because it is comfortable. Every survivor eventually has to take responsibility for his/her life and break this habit of victimhood.

Saying things like “if only I return back to the past to make this right” or “if I didn’t drive the car on that time”, if only so and so hadn’t happen and so on will not change anything and will keep you attached to thoughts that will pull you in the darkness of the past. People who can’t let go of their Victimhood will not be able to think positively, take positive actions or relate in a healthy way to others. They will not participate in daily life in an effective way.

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Published on: July 8, 2010

Survivor Story

By Larry Kramer

From the book I Will Not Be Broken by Jerry white.

A burn survivor who was a passenger in a car when it was rear-ended woke up in the burn unit without knowing that she was burned, she doesn’t remember the treatment given to her in the emergency room or at the site of accident. Waking up in the burn center and being told that she was burned gave her the impression that she was burned in a war, she asked “Oh, there was a war”. Amputation of part of her right hand is one of the first things she recalls after the passage of two to three weeks of being in the burn center. Her memory of what happened in the first few weeks was vague. On the first day in the burn unit, she remembers that she kept asking for her best friend who came and was beside her although that she couldn’t see because her eyes were swollen as a result of the burn. She remembers later on how she was in pain and how it was painful especially after the removal of the bandages. She remembers the nurse feeding her and brushing her teeth as she couldn’t do anything with her hands. Morphine injection was given to her by the nurse to be followed within 20 minutes by removing the bandages. Despite Morphine injection, the pain persisted. Taking the bandages off in the morning, putting a sheet around her that could not touch her burned head as it causes pain and then wheeling her to the hydro room, returning to the burn unit and putting the bandages again, all caused her pain that she doesn’t want to remember. During her hospitalization, she had visitors that provided her with support during this critical period, as she says “I would have died without them”. She firmly believes that she would never have been able to go through this experience without the help and support of her friends and visitors as her family was abroad.

She had to wear a face mask as a result of her facial burns, she wore it and it became routine over time. When the time came to permanently remove the mask, she was afraid that people would see her scars and reject her. With time she was able return back to the community and find positive meaning in her injury that allowed her to continue living and thriving.