Fluids and burns

Burns area (Lund and Browder)

Percentage of body surface burned, adjusted for age.

For education. Check against your unit's guidance and a second clinician before use.

Age

Head and trunk

For each area, how much of it is burned (front and back together)?

Head

Neck

Front of trunk

Back of trunk

Right buttock

Left buttock

Genitalia

Right upper arm

Left upper arm

Right forearm

Left forearm

Right hand

Left hand

Right thigh

Left thigh

Right lower leg

Left lower leg

Right foot

Left foot

Choose how much of each area is burned.

Count partial- and full-thickness burns only. Do not count simple redness (erythema).
For small or scattered burns, the child's own palm and fingers is about 1% of their body surface.
Estimates are often too high at first. Re-estimate once the burn is cleaned.

Age	Head	One thigh	One lower leg
Under 1 year	19	5.5	5
1 to 4 years	17	6.5	5
5 to 9 years	13	8	5.5
10 to 14 years	11	8.5	6
15 years	9	9	6.5
Adult	7	9.5	7

Each body area is worth a set percentage of the body surface. In children the head is a bigger share, and the thighs and lower legs a smaller share, so these change with age.
Burn area = the sum of (portion of each area burned × that area's percentage).

Lund CC, Browder NC. The estimation of areas of burns. Surg Gynecol Obstet 1944;79:352–8.

Checked by PICUlearn, 21 Sept 2026.