Burn Awareness Week – February 2-8, 2025

History of Burn Awareness Week

Burn Awareness Week is sponsored by the American Burn Association (AMA). AMA is a non-profit organization whose aim is to stimulate and advance burn-related research, education, care, prevention, and rehabilitation.

Burn treatments can be traced back to 1500 B.C. A five-day treatment regimen was found documented in the Egyptian “Ebers Papyrus”, which involved a mixture of cattle dung, beeswax, ram’s horn, and barley porridge. In 600 B.C China, extracts from tea leaves were used to treat burn injuries.

In 1828, a French surgeon known as Guillaume Dupuytren carried out a review of fifty burn patients, from which he developed a burn depth classification that remains relevant today. In addition to this, he was the first to recognize gastric and duodenal ulceration as a consequence of severe burns.

In the 20th century, the occurrences of major fires inspired and drove research that gave birth to a better understanding of the pathophysiology of burns. These fires include the Rialto Theatre House Fire of 1921 and the Cocoanut Grove Fire of 1942.

In the United States, one person sustains a burn every sixty seconds. In fact, every year, about 400,000 people receive medical treatment for burns. Though most burns occur at home, 10% happen in the workplace.

There are three major types of burns, which are thermal or contact burns, electrical burns, and chemical burns. Thermal burns are burns caused by contact with hot objects or liquids, including fires and explosions. Electrical burns can occur through direct or non-direct contact with electrical currents. Chemical burns are brought on by exposure to corrosive materials or acids, such as industrial cleaners.