Is pediatric burn care an emergency?
Sometimes. A child's burn is an emergency if it blisters and is larger than the child's palm, sits on the face, hands, feet, genitals, or a joint, or is deep, electrical, or chemical. Call 911 for any burn from a house fire, smoke, or with trouble breathing.
Yes for these burns — treat them as emergencies
A child’s burn is a true emergency, needing an ER right away, when any of the following is true:
- It blisters and is larger than the child’s own palm. Palm size roughly equals about 1% of body surface; blistering burns bigger than that are too large to manage safely at home in a child.
- It is on the face, eyes, ears, hands, feet, genitals, or over a major joint. Burns in these areas threaten function, vision, breathing, or lasting scarring and need in-person care.
- The skin looks white, brown, leathery, or charred, or the area is numb. This points to a deep (third-degree) burn that has destroyed nerve endings and is always an emergency.
- It is an electrical burn from an outlet, cord, or appliance. These are often far deeper than the small surface mark suggests and can affect the heart.
- It is a chemical burn from a household cleaner or other substance. Chemicals keep injuring tissue until the area is thoroughly irrigated.
- Your child is an infant under one year. A burn that would be minor in an older child should be seen promptly at this age.
Call 911 — do not drive — for these
Call 911 immediately if your child was in a house fire or exposed to smoke, or has any trouble breathing, coughing, hoarse voice, singed nose hairs, or soot around the nose or mouth. These signs can mean the airway is burned, which is life-threatening even when the skin looks fine. Also call 911 for a high-voltage electrical injury or a burn covering a large part of the body.
When it is likely not an emergency
A small, red, dry burn with no blisters (first-degree, like a mild sunburn), or a single tiny blister smaller than the child’s palm on an arm or leg, is usually not an emergency. These can often be cooled under cool running water and cared for at home. When you are unsure, err toward being seen — in a young child, burns that look minor can be deeper than they appear.
For a complete guide, see our pediatric burn care page. Bellaire ER at 5302 Bellaire Blvd is open 24/7 — walk in any time or call (713) 660-0001 for guidance.