It makes sense to me that the burn itself still feels warm/painful, but why is it that when touching/being near the burn with a non burned area such as your hand the burned skin stills feels warmer than it should?
In: Biology
2 things: humans are really good insulators so the heat tends to get trapped and will stay there way longer than you’d think. That’s why you should run burns under cold water. The other thing is repairing the body takes a lot of energy which can come out as heat.
Increased blood flow. Your body has dilated all the capillaries (tiny blood vessels) for maximum blood flow to the damaged area. Burns damage a lot more cells than cuts, since they affect a whole area. Your body needs to bring in a bunch of white blood cells to fight infection, building materials for repairs, and to carry away the remains of millions of dead and damaged cells. Flushing the area with blood flow is how all this gets done. All that extra blood near the surface makes the area feel warm.
It’s the same reason a flushed red face after drinking feels warm. Open capillaries and high surface blood flow.
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