Assessing the depth of a burn
To make an accurate assessment of the depth of a burn, skin needs to be cleaned, blisters removed (except for small non-tense blisters [<6mm]) and capillary refill time tested.
Guidance on which blisters to de-roof and how to do it by the London and South East of England Burn Network (LSEBN) can be found here.
The depth of the burn can be classified into 1 of 4 types. The British Burn Association (BBA) accepted definition has replaced the older 1st, 2nd and 3rd degree classification.