Which feature best distinguishes a burn from temporary erythema?

• A. A burn shows blistering, increased pain, and focal skin damage; erythema is mild redness with normal warmth.
• B. A burn is always red, while erythema is purple.
• C. Erythema always blister; burns never blister.
• D. Both are indistinguishable.

Answer: (A)

The key idea is that the level of skin injury shows up in the signs you observe. A burn typically involves actual tissue damage and often blistering, with increased pain and a focal area of skin injury. Temporary erythema, on the other hand, is just mild redness from superficial blood vessel dilation and does not involve blistering or deep tissue damage; warmth is usually normal or only mildly increased.

That combination—blistering with focal damage and more pronounced pain—best distinguishes a burn from erythema. Color alone isn’t reliable, and erythema does not blister, so the other statements don’t fit the typical differences.