A male patient, 16 years old, comes to the emergency department (ED) after burning his right hand and arm while working on a friend's car. The injury is determined to be a superficial burn and it is treated
What would the nurse teach the patient before discharging him home to return on a daily basis for dressing changes?
A) "As your arm swells, push on your fingernails. If it takes longer than 5 seconds for them to get pink come back to the ED."
B) "You should be fine until you come back tomorrow for your dressing change."
C) "Drink lots of fluids and elevate the arm."
D) "The burned area will start to swell in about 4 hours and blisters will form. If you think the dressing is too tight come back to the ED."
Ans: D
Feedback: In a superficial burn there is loss of capillary integrity and fluid is localized to the burn itself, resulting in blister formation and edema only in the area of injury. Capillary refill should be 3 seconds or less. Options B and C are distracters for this question.
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