Condition

It is inevitable for animals to have that fear of fire. Sad to say most cases of pet burns are because of man’s negligence. Usually, burns affect the paws as a result of stepping on chemicals or contact burns. Cats also have pad burns when they land on a hot stove plate. It is better to keep these pets away from the areas of cooing, cleaning, and any household chores which may have undue risks on the house pets. Just like humans, pets sometimes get caught up with scald or hot water burns or get burnt by hair dryers. Electric injuries also can greatly affect pets as when they chew on electrical cables or get a taste of scathing chemicals.

There are types of burns such as electricity, heat, radiation, and chemicals which could result in deep tissue burns. While first-degree or superficial burns are not considered serious, the first stage can somehow inflict some pain. Severe burns can pose a life-threatening condition to pets and may be preceded by infection, shock, or loss of body fluids.

Due to the thick fur on a pet’s body, detecting burns can be pretty difficult. The hair coat may cover the underlying damage of the tissues caused by the burn. But superficial burns can be determined through basic characteristics such as singed hair that cannot be easily pulled out, pain, and skin redness.

Severe or deep burns tend to be less painful or begin to be numb. This is because of damaged nerve endings. The patient may also experience a sense of depression or may be in shock. In severe burns, the skin appears to be normal but once it changes into grayish color, the hair can be easily pulled out.

Symptoms

Thermal Burns

Stages of Burns:

• First-Degree Burns – Also known as superficial burns, this initial stage will cause the skin to appear red, be painful, and may even cause blistering.

• Second-Degree Burns – In this next stage, the pet may experience pain and its skin may appear to be tan in color, dry, and may even develop swelling.

• Third-Degree Burns – Severe or deep burns will cause the fur or the coat to pull out easily. The skin may look charred or may be in color black or pure white. As previously mentioned, the burned area may not be as painful because of destroyed nerve endings.

Whether or not the symptoms of the burns are serious or mild, all cases should be considered severe. This means that once the pet has acquired signs of burns, immediate medical assistance should be rendered. This is to avoid further infection, shock, and dehydration.

Chemical Burns

Although rare, a pet may acquire chemical burns through licking or taking in corrosive or caustic chemicals found in common household products such as disinfectants or detergents. Chemical burns through ingestion usually affect the tongue or the upper esophagus.

Symptoms may not immediately show up but may take a couple of hours before in can be noticed. The pet may show signs of excessive swallowing, drooling, or no interest in eating. It may consistently paw at its mouth and may result to a swollen tongue.

Electrical Burns

Electric Shock or electric injuries can damage the nerve cells and extreme heat can even pass though the tissues of the body. The main source of electrical injuries for pets is the biting of electrical cords at home. The voltages of household currents are enough to bring shock into the pets. In severe cases, the pet may die as a result of substantial internal damage.

Electrical burns may usually appear around the tongue, mouth, or the lips. Common symptoms of electric injuries include mouth burns, difficulty in breathing, seizures, and death due to cardiac arrest.

Diagnosis

Thermal Burns

When veterinarians diagnose common thermal burns, they usually look into the history of thermal burn injuries of the pet. If the burning incident has not been witnessed by anyone, the diagnosis may be done through physical examination of any skin damage. This is usually done by experienced animal doctors.

The veterinarians will need to know the period, home treatments of applied, length of exposure, and the cause of the burn.

The core objective in diagnosing thermal burns is to establish the depth of the burn. Usually thermal burns are treated the same way whether or not they have the same causes.

Chemical Burns

Veterinarians look into the significant changes in the possible affected areas such as the tongue. Diagnosis should rely on the corresponding reactions the chemical may cause to the pet in ingestion. There are no basic procedures required such as blood tests. However, endoscopy and sedation may be needed in extreme cases to determine the severity of the burn.

When the pet has really taken in caustic chemicals, its tongue may appear to be whitened and the borders of the tongue may become raw and red. Eventually the white surface of the tongue will be marsh and the affected tissue will now be visible.

Endoscopy is done through inserting a thin flexible tube into the mouth, passing through the esophagus and into the stomach. This procedure helps in visualizing inside the surfaces of both the esophagus and the stomach. After proceeding with endoscopy, the doctor can now determine the severity of the burn and can appropriate immediate treatment.

Electrical Burns

Just like thermal burns, electrical burns are diagnosed according to possible histories of electrical injuries. Veterinarians look into the symptoms developed by the pet to exclude other possible causes of injuries. X-rays would be a basic medical procedure to ensure that the lungs might not be entirely filled with fluids because of the injury.

Treatment

Thermal Burns

The very basic of treatments in any burns is cooling. Be sure to cool the burned area of the pet for 30-40 minutes. But don’t over do it because there are certain dangers to it such as lowering the body temperature and frostbite. The amount of treatment should correspond to the severity of the burn.

Topical treatments with antibiotic creams are effective in curing superficial partial thickness burns.

For the last stage or the third-degree burns, long-term and extensive treatment is required. It might be expensive but the severity of the injury calls for such measures. Sadly some pet owners would rather choose euthanasia than undergoing the prolonged and costly recovery.

Treatments of severe burns include:

• Antibiotics

• Pain medication

• Intravenous fluids

• Hospitalization

• Feeding Tubes

• Plasma or Blood transfusions

• Multiple skin graft surgeries

• Daily bandage changes

• Extensive nursing care

Chemical Burns

Immediately flush the chemicals out of the mouth with considerable amounts of water. This can prevent the chemicals from entering further into the esophagus and stomach. Frequent visits to the veterinarian will help in monitoring any further complications by the injury.

When your pet does not have the desire to eat due to the chemical burn, pet owners still has to maintain nutritional diet. This will help in the recovery process of the pet. Under certain circumstances, pets may have to be administered temporary feeding tubes.

Usually chemical burns heal after 1-2 weeks.

Electrical Burns

Due to the possible injuries electrical burns may cause, it is required that you call your veterinarian immediately after the incident or when signs from your pets have manifested. Antibiotics will then be given to cleanse the mouth if the burns were acquired by the chewing of electrical cords. However, if the lungs are filled with fluids, diuretics may be needed such as furosemide.