Provider Resource
If you need to transfer a patient to the Orlando Health Warden Burn Center, call the Patient Transfer Center (407) 649-6838 or (800) 895-4614.
If you need to transfer a patient to Orlando Health Orlando Regional Medical Center, call the Physician Only Transfer Line: (407) 649-6838.
- Partial thickness burns greater than 10 percent Total Body Surface Area (TBSA)
- Burns that involve the face, hands, feet, genitalia, perineum or major joints
- Third degree burns in any age group
- Electrical burns, including lightning injury
- Chemical burns
- Inhalation burns
- Burn injury in patients with preexisting medical disorders that could complicate management, prolong recovery or affect mortality
- Any patient with burns and concomitant trauma in which the burn injury poses the greatest risk of morbidity or mortality
- Burned children in hospitals without qualified personnel or equipment for the care of children
- Burn injury in patients who will require special social, emotional or rehabilitative intervention
Reference: American Burn Association (2018). Advanced Burn Life Support: Provider manual 2018 update.
Burn First Aid
First Aid for Burns
How do I Treat a Burn at Home?
When a burn occurs, it is natural to attempt to treat it immediately. However, some first aid decisions can actually harm the victim and complicate the burn injury. Here’s what to do:
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Call 911 Immediately if:
- It is a severe or extensive burn.
- It is a chemical or electrical burn.
- You see signs of shock, such as pale and clammy skin.
- An airway burn has occurred.
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Don’t – first aid tips for serious burns:
- Do not apply ointment, butter, ice, medications, fluffy cotton, adhesive bandages, cream, or oil spray. These can interfere with the healing process.
- Do not allow the burn to become contaminated. Avoid coughing or breathing on the burn.
- Do not touch or peel blistered and dead skin.
- Do not immerse a severe burn in cold water or apply cold compresses. This may decrease much needed circulation to the injury.
- For chemical burns, first brush off any dry particles then wash the surface of the wound with large amounts of water to remove the damaging substance.
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Treatment of Minor Burns:
- Run lukewarm water, not ice water, over the areas where the skin is unbroken.
- Cover the burn with a sterile bandage or clean cloth and protect it from contamination.
- Use over-the-counter medications to reduce inflammation, swelling, and pain.
- Minor burns will usually heal within one week.
The burn degree isn’t the only factor that determines if it is serious.
A burn is an injury to tissues of the body caused by heat, electricity, chemicals or radiation. Each year, more than one million people in the U.S. have a serious burn, which are a leading cause of accidental death. Burns are classified by degree – first, second, or third.
Third-degree / Full Thickness Burns
- The most serious injuries are third-degree burns, which destroy all the layers of skin, and may damage the underlying tissue.
- Third-degree burns are typically caused by contact with hot liquid, flames, or electricity. The wounds may appear white, dry or leathery.
- The skin must be replaced by grafting. Treating third-degree burns usually involves debridement, which is the removal of dead skin, and surgical skin grafting. All third-degree burns require immediate medical care, as well as follow-up medical care.
First-Degree Burns
- First-degree or superficial burns affect the outer layer of skin, called the epidermis, and cause pain, redness, and swelling. A sunburn is an example of a first-degree burn. Most of these burns heal on their own. However, some first-degree burns require medical treatment.
Symptoms of First-degree burns are:
- Pink to red in color
- May have superficial dry peeling, but no significant blisters
- May be tender to touch
- Symptoms usually resolve in 48-72 hours
Second Degree Burns
Second-degree or partial thickness burns are more serious and cause pain, blisters, and dry, white skin. Second-degree burns are usually treated without surgery, but sometimes need skin grafting or other wound treatment.
Second-degree burns are:
- Blistering with loss of skin/epidermis
- Open, moist, and blanches with pressure
- Painful
- Usually close within 7 – 10 days
Other types of Burns
- Thermal burns are caused by home fires, automobile accidents, playing with matches, improperly stored gasoline, space heaters, electrical malfunctions, or arson.
- Chemical burns are caused by exposure to a strong acid or substances such as mustard gas or phosphorus.
- Electrical burns occur when current runs through the body, creating high heat.
- The points of entrance and exit on the skin are burned, along with the muscles and underlying tissues.
- Grease, chemical and electrical burns (including lightning injury) always require medical treatment.
The severity of burns is determined by extent and depth. There are three levels of burns: Superficial (first-degree) burns affect only the outer layer of the skin. They cause pain, redness, and swelling. Partial thickness (second-degree) burns affect both the outer and underlying layer of skin. They cause pain, redness, swelling, and blistering. Full thickness (third degree) burns extend into deeper tissues. They cause white or blackened, charred skin that may be numb.
Burns are also classified by size in relation to the entire body. There are formulas used to determine the percentage of the body burned. Generally speaking, the palm (including the fingers) of the burn-injured patient’s hand is equal to 1% of their body surface area.
Burn Treatment and Recovery
Treating the Burn Patient
- A minor, first-degree burn may only require simple at-home treatment, but burns that are severe or are located in sensitive areas of the body typically require specialized treatment at a burn center. The Warden Burn Center at Orlando Health Orlando Regional Medical Center is one of only five hospitals in Florida to have earned the Burn Center Verification by the American Burn Association. This distinction means that the Warden Burn Center meets strict guidelines regarding our facilities, patient care, procedures performed and staff members. Additionally, our surgeons make it a priority to stay up-to-date on the latest treatments for burn patients, ensuring that our patients receive the most comprehensive and advanced care possible.
- Treatment at the Warden Burn Center begins by cleaning the skin to remove blisters and applying medication and dressings over the burn(s).
- All burn patients are cared for by an expertly trained multidisciplinary team that includes surgeons, nurse practitioners, nurses, physical and occupational therapists, respiratory therapists, clinical nutritionists, social workers, psychologists and recreational therapists specializing in burn treatment and recovery.
Skin Grafts
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Burns that will not heal on their own require surgical placement of skin grafts. Skin grafting is a surgical procedure during which skin is moved from one area of the body to another that has sustained a burn. There are several types of skin grafts:
- Allograft: Allograft or cadaver skin is used as a temporary biological dressing over a cleansed (excised) wound. These are held in place with surgical staples.
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Autograft: Autograft is the skin taken from an unburned area of the burn patient. It is a permanent replacement. The autograft is removed with a tool called a dermatome, which slices an extremely thin layer of skin from the burned person’s body.
- The two types of autografts are “sheet” and “mesh.” Sheet grafts are taken from an unburned area of the person’s body. The sheet graft contains no holes or stretching, so it takes a larger donor site to cover the same amount of burned area. The advantage of sheet grafts is flexibility and improved cosmetic appearance. The disadvantage is the possibility of loss due to fluid building up beneath the graft.
- Mesh grafts cover more area. The skin is taken from the donor site, then perforated. These perforations allow the skin to be stretched, thereby covering more area. The disadvantage is that the perforations leave more noticeable scarring.
Patience and careful treatment are necessary to heal burns and other skin wounds.
Serious burns and other skin wounds take time – and careful management – to heal correctly. In general, burns that go deep into the tissues or cover a large area of skin require the most attention and professional care. Many serious burns require weeks or months of ongoing care because the skin heals from the bottom up and from the edges inward.
Burn-injured patients require close follow up after hospital discharge. Pain management and burn monitoring often means weekly appointments at the outpatient burn clinic for at least the first months.
Return to usual daily activities is based on functional mobility, pain, and burn healing. This will be assessed at each follow up appointment.
After receiving inpatient treatment in the Warden Burn Center, patients may continue with rehabilitation services on an outpatient basis. The Orlando Health has a specialized team of occupational and physical therapists who help burn survivors complete a variety of therapies, including range of motion, scar management, and the fitting of pressure garments to reduce scarring. Specialized burn rehab therapists are available at the outpatient burn clinic for consultation, evaluation, and treatment.
Burn Survivor Group
Burn survivors and caregivers will have an opportunity to meet and engage with other survivors in a safe, supportive and caring environment. In this bi-monthly group, participants will have the opportunity to engage in informative conversations with the burn team and hear speakers on meaningful topics such as nutrition and scar management, along with periodic interaction with a physician or ARNP. Meetings are held virtually the first Tuesday of every other month.
Time: 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Location: Orlando Health – Warden Burn Center (Virtual via Microsoft Teams)
These support group meetings take place virtually using Microsoft Teams. Please RSVP to receive the meeting link via email.
- October 5, 2021
- December 7, 2021
- February 1, 2022
- April 5, 2022
- June 7, 2022
- August 2, 2022
- October 4, 2022
- December 6, 2022
Attendance is free and open to burn survivors and caregivers in Central Florida.
To RSVP or for more information, contact us at BurnSurvivorGroup@OrlandoHealth.com
Burn Prevention
Burns can occur anywhere: Home, work, or play. Common causes of burns included cooking, bathing, and burning yard debris. Arm yourself with knowledge and practice safe habits to avoid injury. Check out the resources below to learn everything you need to know about preventing burns.
- Be Halloween Safe
- Candle Safety
- Carbon Monoxide Safety
- Christmas Tree Safety
- Cooking Safety
- Electrical Safety
- Escape Planning
- Fire pit and grill safety
- Fireworks Safety
- Gasoline Safety
- Home Oxygen Safety
- Heating Safety
- Scald Prevention
- Smoke Alarms
- Smoking and Home Fire Safety
- Sun Safety
- Thanksgiving Safety
- Vaping Safety
