Question

The Waldorf family was caught in a fire but escaped. Unfortunately, the father and daughter suffered burns. The father had second-degree burns on his entire chest, abdomen, and both arms, and third-degree burns on his entire left lower extremity. The daughter suffered first-degree burns on her whole head and neck and second-degree burns throughout both lower extremities.
a. What percentage of the father's body was covered by burns?
b. What percentage of the daughter's body received first-degree burns?
c. What part of the daughter's body has both the dermis and epidermis involved?
d. The father experiences a good deal of pain in the area of the chest and abdomen, but little pain in the leg. Why?

Answer 1

Answer and Explanation:

The father had 54% of the body covered by burns, since a little more than half of his body was burned. In addition, to calculate the percentage of body burn, the following values are considered: head, arms and legs - 9% torso front - 18% torso back - 18%. In addition, the father feels little pain in his legs (which had worse burns) because the third degree burn destroys the nerve endings, while the second degree burn only damages these endings promoting intense pain.

The daughter had 9% of her body burned by first degree burns, which corresponds to her lower limbs. These burns involve the skin and the epidermis, for this reason, we can say that the legs are the part of the daughter's body that has compromised hair and epidermis.