2.2 In New Zealand, most burn injuries occur at home. The Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) stated in a 2007 article that children aged less than five years are at the greatest risk of injury. They …show more content…
It is currently unknown why Maori and Pacific Islanders are burning themselves more often than other ethnicities. Scalding is by far the most common burn type with 43% of wounds recorded being associated with it. Second and third most common types are explosion and flame respectively causing around 15 percent of the burns each (Skinner & Peat, 2002). With these types of injuries occurring so often, it is important that paramedics understand the pathophysiology of these wounds.
2.3 A burn is tissue damage caused by thermal or non-thermal sources including chemical, electrical, radioactive sources and cold thermal injuries. The largest and most vulnerable organ of the human body is the skin as it performs a variety of functions to protect against the environment such as microorganisms, bacteria, UV radiation and harmful chemicals. It also provides sensory information and consists of three layers, the epidermis, dermis and the subcutaneous (hypodermis) layers (Marieb & Hoehn, 2007). The epidermis layer is a superficial layer of the skin and is the most important. It consists of dead cells on the surface