Strict diet and nutritional supplements are paramount for people suffering severe burns over significant portions of their bodies. Without proper diet, including boosts to the normal intake of certain nutrients, the healing process of severe burn victims fails as skin and muscle tissue lack the building blocks of recovery.
Who is Effected and Why
Patients suffering burns over 20 percent or more of their body surfaces require special diets during the healing process, according to the Journal of Nutrition. Such severe burning significantly boosts the rate at which bodies metabolize nutrients, creating a risk of malnutrition. The earliest days following severe body burns are the most crucial, according to the Journal of Nutrition, as energy requirements exceed normal levels by as much as 100 percent.
Considering the Nutrients
Among the key nutritional considerations for severe burn victims are increased protein and high-calorie diets, according to the Burn Survivor Resource Center. Burn victims lose protein through their wounds as body systems attempt to regenerate skin and muscle tissues. And extra carbohydrates and fat in burn victims' diets keep energy levels high -- a key ingredient to recovery. Burn Injury Online notes severe burn victims often require up to two extra servings of protein per day through lean meat, fish or dairy. And consuming extra carbohydrates keeps enough body fuel on board, channeling proteins to the process of skin and tissue repair. Fat also provides needed calories for fueling the bodies of burn victims. Doctors often recommend that burn patients receive up to 30 percent of their calories from fat.
Signficance of Dietary Supplements
Food alone often falls short of sustaining the extra energy and healing nutrients burn victims require. Burn specialists largely agree bodies require extra vitamin and mineral intake during recovery from burns, according to Burn Injury Online. Infusions of extra vitamins C and E as well as zinc promote wound healing, and a supplement known as Coenzym Q10 boosts immunity to fight off infections, Burn Injury Online says.
Function of Weight Loss
Weight loss remains both a symptom and exacerbating factor for most severe burn victims. Patients suffering such burns often lose proteins at a rate 10 times higher than a normal protein-starved person, according to the Journal of Nutrition. As the body burns through proteins and other fuels for healing, weight loss follows. The threat of weight loss in burn victims highlights the need for specialized diets.
Treatments Beyond Diet
In addition to specialized diets, burn victims often require surgical options, such as skin grafts, to fully heal, according to the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford. Skin grafts entail replacing damaged skin tissue with healthy skin taken from another part of a patient's body or from a skin donor. Lucile Packard Children's Hospital says third-degree burns -- those that destroy the outer layer of skin and the layers of tissue beneath -- often require grafts for full healing.
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