Burns can happen in different places like your home or place of work, or due to an automobile accident. Some burns only require home treatment, but more severe burns can do a lot of damage. In addition to the pain and disfigurement, a high degree burn can inflict on your body, a serious burn may produce dangerous health complications.
Healthline describes a variety of health problems that, if not treated, could degrade your health, result in disability, or even cause your death.
Blood loss
A serious burn can cause bleeding. If not treated, your blood loss may become dangerous. When you lose too much blood, you may experience hypovolemia. Symptoms can include an increased heart rate to compensate for the diminished blood supply, but with the continued loss of blood, you may start to experience low blood pressure. From there, your organs may fail and you may experience shock.
Hypothermia
A severe burn can actually cause your body’s temperature to drop. This could happen because the burn damages your skin to such an extent that you lose some of your body’s internal heat. If the loss is severe enough, you may experience hypothermia. This condition can cause shallow breathing, convulsions, drowsiness, and confusion. Eventually, it may turn fatal.
Infections and sepsis
Since a burn breaks your skin, you risk an infection entering your body. A bacterial infection could cause you serious problems. For example, you might contract tetanus, a bacterial infection that causes problems with your muscles, including spasms and the locking of your jaw.
An infection may also lead to sepsis. This occurs when the body overreacts to an infection and causes damage to healthy tissue and organs. This may progress to severe sepsis and septic shock, which can be deadly.
Breathing problems
If you suffer a burn from a nearby fire, your lungs could also suffer if you spent too much time inhaling smoke or hot air. Possible complications include respiratory arrest or failure. You may also experience blockage in your throat that cuts off your ability to breathe. This is a dangerous situation that will require emergency medical assistance.
The variety of burn complications means a burn injury can have serious ramifications for the rest of your life. These effects will likely factor into any damages you decide to pursue in a personal injury case.