Lasting effects of severe burns
She sat nervously on the edge of the bed while Mom and Grandma got the equipment ready. Scissors, tweezers, bacitracin, Q-tips, and gauze. Her face went from concerned to upset as she started to whimper. They approached with caution and heavy hearts. “OK Madi are you ready?” Mom asked. A few tears fell as she nodded.
According the American Burn Association nearly 30,000 People are hospitalized each year with burn injuries. Nearly 2/3rds of the 30,000 are pediatric patients. We all know that kids are sensitive; they are very impressionable. They are also very smart and very aware what is happening to and around them. Many kids start to show stress signs and fear of either the accident itself or the treatment afterwards. If the burn is 50% exhibited they are significantly more likely to develop internalizing behavior problems and show signs of PTSD (Post traumatic stress disorder). Not only does the child show signs of PTSD, also many studies suggest it’s just as hard, if not harder, for the parents and close relatives to witness the struggles and trials the child must go through during the recovery process.
One study shows that nearly 73% of pediatric burn patients will show re-experiencing while 64% showed avoidance and emotional numbing. The re-experiencing and emotional numbing/avoidance was more related to treatment rather than to the injury itself. Kids would become more stressed out and upset over seeing people in white, being touched in that area of the body, etc.; than the actual cause of their injury I.E. fire, scalding water, etc.
Noun 1. re-experiencing – a recurrence of a prior experience (thefreedictionary.com)
In full blown tears she lays on her side with a death grip on the bed sheets. Her eyes dart between everyone in the room. They start by cutting some of the excess scab off of the still healing wound. The snipping noise sets her off. Her eyes widen. She screams as hard as any three year old can. Even though there is absolute no feeling in her side she still tries to break free of their grip. They firmly hold her tighter and keep going as best they can. “Daddy, Mommy, Kaite, Papa!” She cries. “Sydie, Mitch, Melly!” Mom and Grandma literally choke back tears while they finish.
Kids aren’t the only ones who experience trauma
Parents and close family members also showed very surprising results when it came to their child being severely injured in a traumatic event. About 47% had clinical PTSS (post traumatic stress symptoms) at 3 months after the burn incident, and about 16% of parents showed an average of 7 years of PTSD post burn.
In longer term the parents showed more guilt than anger. Although the role of anger in parents was not explored they noted signs were seen among parents. While both parents exhibited signs of stress, mothers more often showed higher signs of stress and guilt than fathers. About half of the mothers experienced significant stress in relations to one month after the burn incident; compared to only ¼ of fathers.
Posttraumatic Stress and Behavior Problems in Infants and Toddlers With Burns
Spearman Correlation Coefficients Between the Total Number of PTSD Symptoms, Behavior Problems, and Individual, Injury-Related, and Family-Related Variables
| Number of PTSD symptoms | CBCL Total behavior problems T-score | |||
| r | p | r | p | |
| Individual variables | ||||
| Age at assessment | .13 | .282 | −.06 | .653 |
| Age at burn injury | .15 | .211 | −.19 | .149 |
| Injury-related variables | ||||
| Place of burn injury at home | −.12 | .302 | −.07 | .624 |
| Time lapse post-burn | .01 | .977 | .13 | .323 |
| Trauma severity score (α = .70) | .23 | .048 | −.02 | .867 |
| Family-related variables | ||||
| SES (sum score) | .11 | .397 | .01 | .929 |
| Preceding life events | .08 | .544 | .15 | .268 |
| Number of PTSD symptoms, mother | .39 | .002# | .29 | .029 |
| Number of PTSD symptoms, father | .19 | .172 | .26 | .063 |
| Family relationship index | −.41 | .001# | −.43 | .001# |
- Note. #significant at the p < 0.05 level after Holm-Bonferroni correction.
An hour later the dressing change is over and Madi is jumping on the tramp outside very carefully. Only a few spots on her cheeks are tear streaked. Playing with her beloved uncle you would never be able to tell that just an hour ago she was screaming. They watch that contagious smile shine bright from the window. Her mom’s face still down. Her thoughts still lingering on the past hour. Grandma sits next to her still unsettled. She looks at her daughter, smiles, and says, “She’s a tough kid, she won’t let it hold her down”.
The effects of a serious burn could have a lifelong effect on kids if it goes untreated. Many will have lifelong battles with scaring, limitations, and compression garments. It is important for kids to get help and appropriate attention they need to help them move on in their life and physical development.
Sources:
American Burn Association. American Burn Association, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. <http://www.ameriburn.org/resources_factsheet.php>.
“Posttraumatic Stress and Behavior Problems in Infants and Toddlers With Burns.” 13 Mar. 2011. Web. 6 Oct. 2014. <http://jpepsy.oxfordjournals.org/content/36/8/923.full>.
“Acute Stress Reactions in Couples After a Burn Event to Their Young Child.” 6 June 2012. Web. 6 Oct. 2014. <http://jpepsy.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2012/07/26/jpepsy.jss083.full#sec-1>.
Bakker, Anne. “Beyond Pediatric Burns.” 1 Jan. 2013. Web. 6 Oct. 2014. <http://brandwondenstichting.nl/_downloads/onderzoek/Bakker_Beyond_Pediatric_Burns_proefschrift_Anne_Bakker.pdf#page=19>.
Kaitlin Weyland 