Doctors classify burns as first degree, second degree, or third degree.
In a first-degree burn, the skin is red and painful. In a slightly deeper second-degree burn, the skin will blister and hurt more. In a third degree burn, the nerve fibers are damaged and though the injury is more severe, initially the burn may not be equally painful. The location of a burn also significantly influences the amount of pain. Burns on the fingers and hands are very painful because of the large number of pain fibers.