Summary
Most people have had burn wounds on their skin in their life, to varying degrees. In severe cases, burn wounds can fail to repair. This can lead to chronic pain, heightened susceptibility to skin infections, serious permanent injury or even death. Studies show that DHA and EPA can aid in the recovery from burn wounds, reducing pain and promoting the process of healing.
 
Introduction
Burn wounds of the skin can occur in various ways such as exposure to chemicals, electricity, radiation, or direct heat sources like fire and hot liquids. The most well-recognized cause of burn wounds is excessive thermal exposure, accounting for the vast majority of burn cases worldwide. Acute phases of the burn are associated with extreme pain, swelling, and tissue damage. If the person affected by the burn survives (which often depends on the area covered by the burn and the severity of the burn itself), the recovery phase is characterized by pain (chronic in approximately 60% of burn survivors), irritation, increased risk of skin infection, delayed tissue regeneration, and the formation of scar tissue. A major factor determining the efficacy and speed of recovery is the process of inflammation. Excessive inflammation can impair wound healing, promote tissue breakdown, and increase the risk of systemic complications like sepsis, which can be deadly in its own right.
Omega-3 fatty acids, particularly EPA and DHA, have drawn attention as potential supportive treatments for burn recovery because of their ability to modulate inflammation and promote tissue repair. These long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids are known to produce specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs) that help the body clear cellular debris and restore tissue homeostasis. Clinical and experimental studies suggest that incorporating Omega-3s into nutritional or topical therapies may reduce pain, accelerate wound closure, and decrease infectious complications in burn patients.
 
Research findings
An observational study was set up by Mauck and colleagues to assess the relationship between Omega-3 fatty acids and pain severity during burn injury recovery (Mauck et al. 2022). In 77 burn survivors undergoing skin graft treatment, circulating levels of Omega-3 fatty acids in the blood plasma were measured shortly after the burn injury occurred. During the year following the sustained burn injury, severity of pain related to the burn injury was assessed using a scale from 1-10. This data was then compared to the circulating levels of Omega-3 fatty acids shortly after the burn via a repeated-measures linear regression statistical test. An inverse relationship between circulating levels of Omega-3 fatty acids and pain severity was discovered. This means that burn patients with higher levels of Omega-3 in their blood reported lower levels of burn injury-related pain in the year after the burn occurred.
 
In order to investigate suspected clinical benefits of Omega-3 fatty acids for burn patients, Tihista and Echavarría set up a randomized controlled trial (Tihista and Echavarría 2018). A total of 92 adult burn patients with over 15% of their body surface area covered by burns and requiring >6 days of mechanical ventilation and tube feeding were divided in two intervention groups: one receiving a low-fat diet (18% of energy derived from fat), and one receiving a fish oil-rich diet (identical to the other diet, but with 50% of the fats derived from fish oil rich in Omega-3 fatty acids). Study participants were given this diet for the duration of their period in the hospital when they received tube feeding. During this time, infectious and other complications associated with burn injury were monitored; a follow up after the hospital stay was conducted as well. When comparing the health outcomes between the supplementation and control group, the authors found that the group receiving fish oil showed less complications in various ways. First, the supplementation group had a significantly lower incidence of severe sepsis and septic shock, as well as fewer non-infectious complications. Moreover, a trend was observed for a shorter requirement of mechanical ventilation in the fish oil group (22 days on average) compared to the control group (26 days on average). No difference was noted for mortality rate between the groups. Finally, it was found that the fish oil-rich diet group had fewer gastrointestinal complications than the low fat diet group. The authors noted the relevance of this in clinical context, as gastrointestinal complications are associated with worse burn wound outcome and longer stay in the hospital. The authors concluded that supplementation with Omega-3 rich fish oil can offer significant reductions in the risk of certain complications during the recovery phase of after severe burns.
 
Recently, Heitzmann and fellow scientists published a study wherein they compared the efficacy of treating burns with wound dressing incorporated with or without Omega-3 fatty acids (Heitzmann et al. 2025). In their study, they included 22 adults with deep skin burn wounds, dividing them into two areas per patient that were treated by the respective two wound dressings. Dressing changes were conducted on days 2, 4, 8, 12, 24 and 48 after the initial dressing application or until wound closure was achieved. During each dressing change the wound severity, infection incidence and pain burden was assessed. The authors reported that the group treated with the Omega-3 enriched wound dressing had a significantly shorter mean healing time, of 17 days in the Omega-3 group versus 23 days in the control group. No differences were found between these groups in pain burden. The authors concluded that the addition of Omega-3 in the wound dressings accelerated burn wound healing.
 
Conclusion
Omega-3 fatty acids, specifically EPA and DHA, may support the recovery process following burn injuries in multiple ways. Higher circulating Omega-3 levels correlate with lower chronic pain after burns, suggesting a role in decreasing the post-burn pain burden. In clinical settings, supplementing burn patients’ nutrition with fish oil–derived Omega-3 fatty acids has been associated with fewer severe infections, reduced septic complications, and better gastrointestinal tolerance during critical care. Topical applications of Omega-3–rich materials, such as Kerecis Omega3 Wound® used in the study by Heitzmann and colleagues, show promise in accelerating the healing of deep dermal burns. These benefits likely stem from Omega-3s’ anti-inflammatory and pro-resolving properties, which can help limit excessive inflammatory responses, protect tissue, and promote tissue repair. Taken together, research suggests that Omega-3 fatty acids such as DHA and EPA can be effective adjunctive treatments following burn injury to promote recovery and reduce pain.
 
 
References
Heitzmann, Wolfram, Julia Enzmann, Maria von Kohout, Maximilian Maria Mattern, Jan Akkan, Paul Christian Fuchs, and Jennifer Lynn Schiefer. 2025. “Accelerated Wound Healing of Enzymatically Debrided Deep Dermal Burn Wounds after the Use of Fish Skin (Kerecis Omega3 Wound®) in Comparison to Suprathel®.” Burns 51(5):107471. doi:10.1016/j.burns.2025.107471.
 
Mauck, Matthew C., Chloe E. Barton, Andrew S. Tungate, Jeffrey W. Shupp, Rachel Karlnoski, David J. Smith, Felicia N. Williams, Samuel W. Jones, Christopher Sefton, Kyle McGrath, Bruce A. Cairns, and Samuel A. McLean. 2022. “Peritraumatic Plasma Omega-3 Fatty Acid Concentration Predicts Chronic Pain Severity Following Thermal Burn Injury.” Journal of Burn Care & Research 43(1):109–14. doi:10.1093/jbcr/irab071.
 
Tihista, Serrana, and Estrella Echavarría. 2018. “Effect of Omega 3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Derived from Fish Oil in Major Burn Patients: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial.” Clinical Nutrition 37(1):107–12. doi:10.1016/j.clnu.2017.01.002.