Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Burns
A burn is damage to your body's tissues caused by heat, chemicals, electricity, sunlight, or radiation. Scalds from hot liquids and steam, building fires and flammable liquids and gases are the most common causes of burns. Another kind is an inhalation injury, caused by breathing smoke.
There are three types of burns:
- First-degree burns damage only the outer layer of skin
- Second-degree burns damage the outer layer and the layer underneath
- Third-degree burns damage or destroy the deepest layer of skin and tissues underneath
Burns can cause swelling, blistering, scarring and, in serious cases, shock, and even death. They also can lead to infections because they damage your skin's protective barrier. Treatment for burns depends on the cause of the burn, how deep it is, and how much of the body it covers. Antibiotic creams can prevent or treat infections. For more serious burns, treatment may be needed to clean the wound, replace the skin, and make sure the patient has enough fluids and nutrition.
It sits within Skin, Hair and Nails and Injuries and Wounds.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Burns
1,206 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Pilot Studies Blocking Injury-Induced MVP Release in Skin Using Topical AmitriptylineWright State University
- Undergraduate Skin Cancer Prevention TrialUniversity of Utah
- Hologram Burn Dressing on Pain, Anxiety, Fear, Patient Satisfaction, and Physiological ParametersGamze BULUT
- Autologous Point-of-Care Adipose Therapy: Recent InjuryUniversity of Pittsburgh
- Tele-Exercise for MERPVA Office of Research and Development
- Autologous Point-of-Care Adipose Therapy: Delayed Injury/ScarUniversity of Pittsburgh
Research already completed
- A Pilot of Pediatric/Adult Study of Gene Expression Profiling and Clinical Characterization of PhototoxicityNational Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
- Safety, Tolerability and Efficacy of Nefopam Cream in Burn PatientsUniversity of Alberta
- A Clinical Trial to Compare the Photoprotective Effects of Cucumber Seed Extract vs Placebo in Filipino Adults by Measurement of Minimal Erythema DoseDOH - Tondo Medical Center
- Effectiveness of Alovera Gel vs 1% Silver Sulfadiazine in Superficial Partial Thickness Burn Patients in Pediatric Population.University of Child Health Sciences and Children's Hospital, Lahore
- Gaming Based PNF on Spatiotemporal Parameters in Upper Limb Burned PatientsMTI University
- Vitamin E Supplementation in Burned PatientsThe University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- BurnsAmerican College of Emergency Physicians
Diagnosis and Tests
- Burn EvaluationNational Library of Medicine
Treatments and Therapies
- Aloe VeraNational Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
- Blisters: First AidMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
- Hyperbaric Oxygen TherapyMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
- Skin graft - seriesMedical Encyclopedia
- What Do I Need in My First Aid Kit?American Academy of Family Physicians
Prevention and Risk Factors
- Burn and Scald PreventionUnited States Fire Administration
Related Issues
- How to Help a Person with a Serious Burn InjuryPhoenix Society for Burn Survivors
Statistics and Research
- Burn Incidence and Treatment in the U.S.American Burn Association
- Fire and Burn Injuries among Children in 2023Safe Kids Worldwide
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: BurnsNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Burns. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Burns, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.