Burn Injuries Treatment in Chicago & Naperville

Burn Urgent Care Near You: Quick Relief in Chicago & Naperville

When a burn happens, knowing what to do can make all the difference.

Whether it’s a minor kitchen mishap, kids playing, or a more serious burn, prompt medical attention is essential to ensure proper healing and prevent complications.

Burn Injuries Treatment in Chicago & Naperville

Our walk-in clinics in Naperville & Chicago provide:

  • same-day evaluations
  • on-site testing
  • and personalised treatment plans. 

You do not need a prior appointment, so you can count on us for fast, effective relief when you need it most.

What Everyone Should Know About Burns?

A burn is an injury to the skin or deeper tissues caused by heat, chemicals, electricity, sunlight, or radiation.

The damage occurs when these elements destroy or damage skin cells, leading to pain, redness, swelling, and, in severe cases, blistering or charring of the skin.

Types of Burns

Burns are classified into three main categories based on their severity:

First-Degree Burns

Affects only the outer layer of the skin (epidermis).

Symptoms: Redness, mild swelling, and pain (e.g., sunburn).

Second-Degree Burns

Extend to the second layer of skin (dermis).

Symptoms: Blisters, severe pain, and swelling.

Third-degree burns

Damage all layers of skin and underlying tissues.

Symptoms: Charred or white skin, numbness (due to nerve damage).

Common Causes of Burns

Thermal Burns: Contact with fire, hot objects, or boiling liquids.

Chemical Burns: Exposure to harsh chemicals like acids or alkalis.

Electrical Burns: Resulting from electrical currents or lightning strikes.

Radiation Burns: Caused by prolonged exposure to UV rays or radiation treatments.

Immediate Steps to Take After a Burn Injury

Cool the Burn: 

Run the area under lukewarm (not cold) water for 10–20 minutes. Avoid using ice, as it can worsen tissue damage.

Protect the Burn: 

Cover the burn with a clean, dry cloth or non-stick dressing to prevent infection.

Avoid Home Remedies

Do not apply butter, oils, or ointments, as they can trap heat and delay healing.

Seek Immediate Care: 

Visit our urgent care clinic if the burn is:

  • larger than 3 inches
  • is on sensitive areas (like the face, hands, or feet)
  • or shows signs of infection.

What to Expect During Your Visit?

Evaluation: A thorough examination of the burn’s severity.

Treatment: Cleaning, dressing, and pain management to promote healing.

On-Site Testing: If needed, we provide same-day lab tests to rule out infections or complications.

Follow-Up Care: Guidance on recovery and wound care at home.

Immediate Steps to Take After a Burn Injury

Why Choose Our Urgent Care for Burns?

Quick Relief Without the Wait

Skip the hassle of ER. Our immediate care clinic is designed for fast service so you can walk in and get treated promptly.

Comprehensive Burn Treatment

We handle all types of burns, including:

  • Thermal burns (caused by heat or fire)
  • Chemical burns
  • Electrical burns
  • Scalds from hot liquids

All Ages Welcome

We treat everyone, from infants to seniors. Our skilled medical team ensures every patient gets the care they deserve.

Affordable and Transparent Care

Get professional treatment without breaking the bank. We offer cost-effective solutions suitable to your needs.

When Should You Visit Us for a Burn?

Seek immediate care if you experience:

  • Blistering or peeling skin.
  • Burns larger than 3 inches.
  • Burns on the face, hands, feet, or joints.
  • Signs of infection like redness, swelling, or pus.

Key Facts About Burns

Minor burns can often be treated at home, but more severe burns require medical attention. Prompt care helps prevent:

  • Infection
  • Reduce Pain
  • And Minimize Scarring.

Burns on sensitive areas like the face, hands, feet, or joints should always be evaluated by a healthcare professional.

Explore More Services at First Choice Immediate Care

We also offer other immediate medical care treatment besides burn injuries. 

  • Lab Testing: On-site testing for infections and other complications.
  • Vaccinations: Stay protected year-round with our vaccination services.
  • Occupational Health Services: Comprehensive care for workplace injuries and screenings.
All About Burns

What Is A Burn?

A burn can be defined as an injury where damage is caused to the body’s tissue by heat, chemicals, electricity, sunlight or radiation.  Scalds resulting from steam, hot liquid, building fires, use of flammable liquids and gasses are the most common causes of burns.  Another type of burn that is internal is known as inhalation injury, and this is a result of smoke inhalation.

How Can Burns Be Treated?

As can be seen, burns result in blistering, swelling, scarring, and, in the most severe cases, shock or death.  Furthermore, a burn can result in infections due to the fact that it destroys the skin’s protective barrier.  Treatment for burns will depend entirely on the cause of the burn, the type of burn (depth of the burn), and how much of the skin has been burned.  Typically, antibiotic creams can be used to treat and prevent infections; however, for third-degree burns, treatment will be needed to clean the wound, replace the skin and ensure the patient has fluids and nutrition.

According to statistics, approximately 4,000 individuals die on an annual basis from burn injuries in the United States.  Burns are the leading type of childhood injury, with causes ranging from scalding from hot liquids or steam to overexposure to sunlight.  Burns can also be electrical or chemical, with some cases having burns caused by spilling bleach on the individual’s skin.

• Minor Burns

When treating minor burns, the individual must be removed from the source of the burn and any burned clothing. Clothing embedded in the burn should be left alone because removal could cause further injury.

Contrary to popular belief, cool water must be poured over the burn, not cold water. A cold compress is also beneficial for minor burns, but do not use ice or butter, as this can cause more pain.

When treating a minor burn, it is important to remove all jewellery and tight clothing from around the burned areas before applying clean bandages. Antibiotic creams can also be applied, but this needs to be done with caution to avoid causing allergic reactions.

While minor burns can be treated without medical assistance, it is recommended that you seek emergency assistance if the burn is serious or the person has been burned on a sensitive part of the body (eyes, mouth, hands, or genitalia). Furthermore, if the burn covers a large area, it would be best to contact emergency care. If you or the burn victim displays the following symptoms, it would also be recommended that you contact medical care immediately.

– fever

– excessive inflammation or swelling

– redness appearance of the skin

– blister filled with brown or green fluid

– foul-smelling or pus-like drainage from a blister

It is important to remember that blisters from burns should not be broken or popped. Removing clothing stuck to burned skin is also not recommended, as this can further injure the burn area. If you are assisting a person who has suffered from a severe burn, it is advised to keep the burned areas raised to reduce inflammation. Burns can result from scalding, chemical burns, electrical burns, fires, and excessive exposure to sunlight.

In addition, knowing what to do should you or your clothing catch alight can be helpful.  This is where the “stop, drop and roll” technique comes in useful.  Stop means you stop running.  Drop refers to dropping to the floor immediately.  Roll refers to rolling back and forth while covering your face and hands in order to smother the flames.  If you are assisting a person who has been burned, remove the individual from danger first, unless this action will place you in danger of being burned as well.

• Chemical And Electrical Burns

When dealing with chemical and electrical burns, it is recommended that you contact your local medical emergency facility or 911.  Always assess the situation to ensure that you and the burn victim will not be in contact with the source of the burn.  For electrical burn cases, do not approach the victim until you are certain the electrical power source has been shut off.  If you approach them beforehand, you will put both you and the individual in danger of further burns.

A chemical burn can be best treated depending on the type of chemical causing the burn.  Dry chemicals can be brushed from the skin by gloves. In contrast, wet chemicals will need to be cleaned off the affected areas with cool running water for approximately twenty minutes (or more) until medical assistance arrives.  Removing the individual’s clothing and jewellery is necessary before rinsing off the chemicals.  It is essential that you protect your face and the victim’s face because chemicals can still affect the eyes, nose and mouth when being cleared off.

If you have swallowed a chemical substance, contact poison control (1-800-222-1222) and emergency medical services. You must also know what the product is and take it with you to the hospital.

A minor electrical burn is typically treated with a cool compress. Once cleaned, an antibiotic lotion can be applied with clean bandages. Tetanus shots are also recommended to avoid infection, particularly if the person has not received one in the past ten years.

If the electrical burn is more severe, it is necessary first to check that the person is breathing correctly.  If there is no sign of breathing, begin rescue breathing or CPR if you know of it.  When breathing has returned, raise the burned arms and legs above the individual’s heart and place cool, wet cloths on the burned areas.  Remember, do not remove any burned skin or pop any blisters.  Sunburn with excessive blistering may require medical assistance with physician evaluation.

• Skin Grafting

Inflammation and blistering characteristics of burns are a result of damaged blood vessels and the loss of fluid from this damage.  In third-degree burn cases, the fluid loss can bring about shock in the victim, and an immediate blood transfusion with extra fluids is required to assist in maintaining blood pressure.  Burns can also result in different types of infections because the skin’s protective barrier is now destroyed.  Typically, topical antibiotics are used to prevent the infection, but they need to be added quickly and persistently to have any effect.  It has been found that grafting with natural materials can quicken the post-burn healing procedure.

There are two different types of skin grafts: autologous and allograft. The autologous skin graft involves transferring skin from one part of the individual’s body to the burned area. In contrast, the allograft skin graft involves transferring skin from one person to the affected burned area of another person. Allograft skin grafts use cadavers as the skin graft base.

To perform a skin graft, the scientist will take cells from the epidermal layer of skin and grow them into larger sheets of cells in a laboratory.  Unfortunately, no knowledge of how to grow lower layers of skin is available; therefore, surgeons need to cover the affected area with artificial material after removing the burned skin and then add the developed cell sheets.  This process assists in encouraging the development of new skin.

Final Words On Burns

Burns are arguably one of the most common types of household injuries, particularly among children.  The term refers to more than the burning sensation associated with the injury; it refers to the skin damage caused by the burn, resulting in skin cells being destroyed.  The majority of people are able to recover from burns without any severe health consequences; however, this is highly dependent on the type of burn and its cause.  A more serious type of burn will require immediate medical care to avoid any further health complications or potentially death.

A burn is defined as damage to the skin and other skin tissues.  While the majority of burns are caused by heat from hot liquids or solids, some burns result from electricity or chemicals.  Statistics show that females present with a higher risk of burns because of the frequent use of cooking fires or unsafe cooking appliances.  Burns are also high-risk accidents among people who smoke and drink excessive amounts of alcohol.  Furthermore, burns occur as a result of violent relationships and self-harm.

Burns affecting the upper layer of skin are relatively superficial and are known as first-degree burns.  They will appear red without any blisters and can be painful to touch for approximately three days.  Of course, if the injury reaches the underlying skin layers, it can be considered a second-degree burn.  Second-degree burns will present with blisters, which can be painful to the touch and will require at least 8-10 weeks to heal.  Furthermore, this type of burn can cause scarring.

If, however, the burn extends to all layers of skin, it can be considered a third-degree burn.  This type of burn does not present with any pain and is white.  Healing is not possible without medical assistance, and severe scarring can be experienced.  A fourth-degree burn type can occur when muscles, tendons and bones experience injury.  In this case, the burn is black and will typically result in loss of the burned area.

Urgent Care Services in Naperville & Chicago

Conveniently located in Naperville and Chicago, our walk-in medical clinic is here to serve your community. We’re open seven days a week with extended hours, so you can get care when you need it.

FAQs About Burn Urgent Care

How do you know if you need urgent care for a burn?

Seek care if the burn is:

  • Large
  • Deep
  • or located in sensitive areas like the face, hands, or joints. 

Also, visit us if you notice signs of infection like swelling, redness, or pus.

How do we treat burns at your clinic?

We clean and dress the wound, manage pain, and provide follow-up care to ensure proper healing.

Do you treat children with burns?

Absolutely. Our team is experienced in treating burns in patients of all ages, including infants and young children.

What should you do before coming in for a burn?

Cool the burn with lukewarm water and cover it with a clean, dry cloth. Do not apply creams or ointments.

Is your care more affordable than the ER?

Yes, our services are cost-effective, making us a great alternative to the emergency room for non-life-threatening burns.

Partner with First Choice Immediate Care Today

Visit us today for fast, effective, and professional treatment.

Along with other medical expertise, First Choice Immediate Care is skilled at retreating burns with speed and accuracy, and care is what we at “First Choice Immediate Care” are good at.

For immediate treatment and expert care, visit First Choice Immediate Care in Chicago or Naperville; no appointment is required!

When it comes to burn injuries, fast and professional care is key. Walk into First Choice Immediate Care in Chicago or Naperville and experience high-quality, same-day medical attention. 

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We are your trusted partner in keeping your workforce healthy and your business compliant in Chicago & Naperville.

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