They receive this classification according to the severity and depth of the wound. The deeper the burn, the greater the damage. The first degree is superficial and only causes redness on the skin, the result of the dilation of the veins – which usually happens when we take a lot of sun. In the second degree, the vessels dilate more and part of the liquid inside escapes, causing bubbles. Boiling water or fat on the skin – or even many hours of exposure to the sun – can cause this type of burn.
In the third degree, part of the tissue is destroyed and the layer of fat just below the skin is also affected: the hypodermis. There are still fourth-degree burns, which attack the bones and usually happen in serious accidents such as fires and explosions, which leave the victim charred.
“But the severity of a burn does not depend only on the depth, but also on the extension”, says dermatologist Luiz Carlos Cucê, from the Hospital das Clínicas in São Paulo. A second-degree burn that covers the whole body can therefore be much worse than a third-degree burn located on the hand.
The deeper the wound, the greater the degree
First degree burns only cause redness. Fourth degree go down to the bone
First degree
They are the least problematic burns. The blood vessels supplying the surface dilate, turning the skin red.
High school
As the veins dilate, a clear liquid part of the blood plasma overflows, forming bubbles.
Third degree
Severe injury, which causes the destruction of part of the skin and its lower layer – the hypodermis – reaching the adipose tissue (fat)
fourth degree
Very serious injury: it destroys almost all the skin, leaving it charred. It damages even the bones, possibly causing death.
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