system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Is a rug burn a "real burn"?

Me and my boyfriend don't agree one says it's not the other thinks it is.  I say since friction causes it, it's a burn.  We googled it and still cannot come to an agreement.  Please help us figure this out Reddit, we need your help!!!
gpt
Good question, but it's not. Rug burn is more similar to road rash. In a thermal burn, your skin's epithelial cells die and eventually slough themselves off (that's why your skin waits a few days to peel off after a sunburn.)
In rug burn, the cells are being mechanically separated from their attachments to the basement membrane. Of course friction could also cause some heating, but not enough to cause even a first degree burn.