Radiation burn appears under the influence of radiation therapy and manifestations are very similar to sunburn. The severity and severity of the lesion is affected by the strength of ion radiation, how often such procedures and the patient's condition are carried out.
The danger of getting deep burns is especially great with neutron, X-ray and gamma radiation. The first two forms of radiation burn are usually provoked by low-energy beta-particles, since they are not able to penetrate deeply into tissues. Today we will consider first aid for radiation burns of the skin, treatment after them, therapy in hospital, and useful recommendations will also be given.
Features of injury
The risk of burns is great if a person quickly burns in the sun. In such cases, even exposure to low intensity leads to injury to the skin. People with diabetes mellitus or low immunity suffer a particularly difficult procedure.
Burns after radiation therapy( photo)
Classification of radiation burns
Radiation burn can be divided into 4 stages according to the degree of symptoms:
- Early reaction. Usually it is erythema, which appears after several days, and sometimes even hours after injury.
- The second stage of takes place secretly. It lasts up to several weeks. The sooner there are any signs of injury, the more dangerous the burn. In the most severe damages, the stage begins several hours later.
- Acute inflammation of is the third stage in which ulcers, external injuries and blisters occur. Duration of the flow is determined individually, sometimes inflammation takes place only after a few months.
- Recovery of .
Burns of this form have a traditional subdivision into 4 kinds:
- 1, the form of burn is easily transferred even by patients with weakened immunity. Irradiation in this case is no more than 1200 rad. All symptoms appear only after a couple of weeks.
- 2 form differs by the presence of edema, which sometimes spreads over a vast area. The dose of irradiation is up to 2000 rad. The latent period can also last 2 weeks, but it takes a longer time to restore the burn to this severity.
- When 3 form , ulcers occur and not too deep and extensive necrotic tissue areas. The latent period is short, not more than 3 days.
- With 4 degrees of , the upper skin layer and muscles are destroyed, down to charring. The most dangerous stage.
The reasons for the radiation burns of the eyes, mucous membranes and other parts of the body are described below.
Causes of
The skin that is unstable to damage is considered to be the main cause of the trauma. Under the influence of radiotherapy, it becomes particularly sensitive.
The cause of the injury may be radioactive isotopes or accidents at nuclear power plants. In such cases, the burn is also accompanied by signs of radiation sickness.
On what symptoms are typical for radiation burns, read below.
Symptoms of
For convenience, the symptoms are also subdivided according to the degrees of radiation burn.
1 and 2 degrees
So, for the easiest, the first form, characterized by burning, itching, flaking, swelling. Sometimes there is alopecia in the place of injury, as well as pigmentation.
The second degree has much more symptoms:
- nausea,
- erythema,
- headache,
- small blisters,
- weakness,
- pain.
Blisters gradually merge, forming larger ones. After their self-opening, pain can increase, the temperature becomes higher. Gradually epithelization occurs, but the skin in the area of damage remains thinned, with a noticeable vascular network.
3 and 4 degrees
3 degree very quickly gives the first symptoms. It is accompanied by such signs:
- painful erythema,
- bleeding in the blisters,
- edema,
- decrease in sensitivity,
- ulcer,
- high leukocytosis,
- foci of necrosis,
- fever.
Scars gradually form. In an unfavorable course, they become ulcers that risk developing into cancerous lesions. Due to the death of the subcutaneous layer, the risk of vein thrombosis is very high.
With the fourth form of radiation burn, the skin on the wound surface is not crimson, but often black. It is good to see the border of dead tissue.
Diagnosis
With certain degrees of burn, erythema occurs almost immediately, it passes with time. The doctor pays special attention to this sign during examination. Additionally, he interrogates the victim to determine the symptoms and circumstances of the burn. If radiotherapy was performed, then the data is taken from an individual medical record, which gives information on the strength of ion radiation, periods of irradiation and general health.
After injury, there is a high probability of occurrence of violations in the endocrine or cardiovascular sphere. To identify such abnormalities, it is possible to conduct a number of specific studies( MRI, ECG, etc.), and sometimes a consultation of relevant specialists is required.
About therapy, treatment of radiation burn 1, 2, 3, 4 degrees read below.
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Treatment of
Therapeutic way of
The first two degrees of burns do not pose a serious danger for the victim, they pass gradually on their own. With competent therapy, this happens more quickly, and surgical treatment is not used at all.
- Throughout the treatment, the patient must comply with rational nutrition, drink abundantly.
- Active agents are used to help the healing of the skin, especially with sea buckthorn and aloe.
- Individually select and other ointments for radiation burns. From the action should be directed not only to the improvement of skin regeneration, but also to reduce burning, hyperemia, itching.
All these measures help stabilize the overall health of the victim.
On what to treat and how to choose therapy for radiation burns, we will tell below.
By the medicamentous method
Injured area is regularly bandaged by wetting the bandage in an antiseptic solution. If infection of the wound does occur, antibiotics and sulfonamide drugs are individually prescribed. Antihistamines and even hormones are selected with persistent edema, and with severe pain, analgesics are used. The course of vitamin therapy with radiation burn must be carried out necessarily.
Sometimes a conservative technique of therapy does not bring results and then resort to an operative intervention. The need for a surgical method of treatment can arise even at the 2nd degree of a burn.
Operation
Surgical treatment is the excision of the necrosis site. Such intervention can be planned for a different period of time, depending on the condition of the victim himself.
Prevention of disease
There are no special preventive measures to prevent radiation burn.
- It is important for the treating doctor to observe the individual characteristics of the body when calculating the dosage of ionizing radiation.
- The irradiation sites themselves should be lubricated regularly with ointments with a healing effect. Do this immediately before the procedure, and it is best to apply medication at night.
Complications of
The condition of the victim can be exacerbated by complications caused not so much by a burn as by radiation itself. However, the body after the injury gets a lot of stress, which leads to an even worse deterioration of well-being. The most important complications are the risk of infection of the injury and the development of bleeding.
With deep burns, the state of health is very difficult, and complications can affect a wide variety of organs, depending on the area of the body where the irradiation was carried out.
Forecast
Very favorable is the prognosis for the first two stages of radiation burn. With severe lesions, when the radiation affects deep layers of the skin and muscles, the prognosis is less favorable. Much depends in this case on the treatment, the general condition of the victim and other individual factors.
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