What is the Health Impact of a Burn Scar Contracture?

WHAT IS THE HEALTH burn scar contracture noun. 1. A preventable condition created when second or third degree burned skin thickens and tightens up to close a wound. IMPACT OF A BURN SCAR CONTRACTURE? 95% of severe burn injuries occur in developing countries. FACE Facial burns can strip survivors of their ability to speak and eat normally. Scar tissue can pull at their eyes, nose and mouth. Without proper medical care, burn scars can cause lifelong disabilities. Disfigurement can leave individuals stigmatized and ostracized. NECK HAND A burned hand will Survivors of neck burns cannot turn their head. Scar contractures can permanently ball up into a tight fist. Survivors lose the critical use of their tighten and pull the jaw down to the chest making it impossible to look up at the sky. fingers. Writing is not possible.Children are forced to leave school and adults often cannot work. LEG ARM When a leg is severely burned, it can draw up and fuse to itself or fuse to the other leg. In both instances, survivors can lose the ability to run, work or even walk. Survivors of arm burns often lose the use of their arms completely. The entire arm can fuse to the torso or the forearm to the bicep. When manual labor provides a livelihood, survivors often become beggars. Mothers cannot pick up their children or care for their homes. FOOT If badly burned, the top of the foot will draw up and fuse to the shin creating a club foot. Walking is often extremely difficult or impossible. ReSurge International helps burn survivors by providing reconstructive surgery to repair burn scar disabilities and by building surgical capacity in developing countries. resurge.org/burns ReSurge INTERNATIONAL