Child Physical Abuse
What follows is a brief overview of the different categories of burns. Note that the categories are based upon the mechanism of the burn:
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Brush: These are caused by a combination of abrasions due to friction being applied to the skin and the heat that is produced by the friction.
Chemical: Such burns are caused by acidic or alkaline liquids being thrown on a child’s skin. These are usually deeper than other types of burns and can continue to destroy tissue for several weeks after the initial burn.
Contact: These burns are essentially brandings of the skin by a hot instrument. Contact burns are uniformly thick and take on the shape of the object used to burn the skin, such as a cigarette, curling iron, space heater grills, etc…
Flame: These are burns sustained from open flame, whether it be a gas-burning stove, a candle, or a cigarette lighter, for example.
