What happens if a person is hit by 10,000 volts. Electric shock
Electrical injury– damage to organs and body systems under the influence of electric current.
- The first mention of death from electric current was registered in 1879 in France, Lyon, a carpenter died from an alternating current generator.
- In developed countries, the incidence of electric shock is on average about 2-3 cases per hundred thousand population.
- Most often, young people of working age suffer from electric shock.
- The mortality rate for men from electrical injuries is 4 times higher than for women.
The effect of electric current on the human body
Electric current has thermal, electrochemical and biological effects on humans.- Thermal impact: Electrical energy, encountering resistance from body tissues, turns into thermal energy and causes electrical burns. Mostly, burns occur at the point of entry and exit of current, that is, in places of greatest resistance. As a result, the so-called current marks or signs. Thermal energy, converted from electrical energy, destroys and changes tissue along its path.
- Electrochemical effect:“gluing”, thickening of blood cells (platelets and leukocytes), movement of ions, change in protein charges, formation of steam and gas, giving tissues a cellular appearance, etc.
- Biological action: disruption of the nervous system, disruption of cardiac conduction, contraction of the skeletal muscles of the heart, etc.
What determines the severity and nature of electrical injury?
Factors of electric shock:- Type, strength and voltage
- Alternating current is more dangerous than direct current. At the same time, low-frequency currents (about 50-60 Hz) are more dangerous than high-frequency ones. The frequency of the current used in everyday life is 60 Hz. As the frequency increases, the current flows across the surface of the skin, causing burns, but not death.
- The most significant is the strength and voltage of the electric current.
| The body's response to the passage of alternating current | |
| Current strength | How does the victim feel? |
| 0.9-1.2 mA | The current is barely noticeable |
| 1.2-1.6 mA | Feeling of "goosebumps" or tingling |
| 1.6-2.8 mA | Feeling of heaviness in the wrist |
| 2.8-4.5 mA | Stiffness in the forearm |
| 4.5-5.0 mA | Convulsive contraction of the forearm |
| 5.0-7.0 mA | Convulsive contraction of the shoulder muscles |
| 15.0-20 mA | It's impossible to take your hand off the wire |
| 20-40 mA | Very painful muscle cramps |
| 50-100 mA | Heart failure |
| More than 200 mA | Very deep burns |
- High voltage current (over 1000 volts) causes more severe damage. High voltage electric shock can occur even when one step away from the current source (“voltaic arc”). As a rule, deaths occur as a result of high-voltage injuries. Low-voltage electric shocks are mostly common in households, and fortunately, the percentage of deaths from low-voltage electric shocks is lower than from high-voltage injuries.
- The path of current through the body
- The path that current takes through the body is called a current loop. The most dangerous is a full loop (2 arms - 2 legs), in which the current passes through the heart, causing disruptions in its functioning until it stops completely. The following loops are also considered dangerous: hand-head, hand-hand.
- Current duration
- The longer the contact with the current source, the more pronounced the damage and the higher the likelihood of death. When exposed to high voltage current, due to a sharp muscle contraction, the victim can be immediately thrown away from the current source. At lower voltages, muscle spasm may cause prolonged hand gripping of the conductor. As the time of exposure to current increases, the resistance of the skin decreases, so the victim’s contact with the current source should be stopped as soon as possible.
- Environmental factors
The risk of electric shock increases in damp and damp rooms (bathrooms, bathhouses, dugouts, etc.). - The outcome of electrical injury also largely depends on age and body condition at the moment of defeat
- The severity of the lesion increases: childhood and old age, fatigue, exhaustion, chronic diseases, alcohol intoxication.
Degrees of electric shock
Electric Shock Hazard or consequences of electric shock
| System | Consequences |
Nervous system
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The cardiovascular system
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Respiratory system
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| Sense organs
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Striated and smooth muscles
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Causes of death:
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Long-term complications:
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Electric shock sign or electrotag
| Electric tag– areas of tissue necrosis at the points of entry and exit of electric current. They arise due to the transition of electrical energy into thermal energy. | |||
| Form | Color | Characteristic signs | Photo |
| Round or oval, but can also be linear. Often there is a ridge-like elevation along the edges of the damaged skin, while the middle of the mark appears slightly sunken. Sometimes the top layer of skin may peel away in the form of blisters, but without fluid inside, unlike thermal burns. | Usually lighter than surrounding tissue - pale yellow or grayish white. | The marks are completely painless due to damage to the nerve endings. Deposition of conductor metal particles on the skin (copper - blue-green, iron-brown, etc.). When exposed to a low voltage current, metal particles are located on the surface of the skin, and when exposed to a high voltage current, they spread deep into the skin. The hair in the area of the marks is twisted into a spiral, maintaining its structure. | 
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| Electrical burns are not always limited to marks on the skin. Quite often, damage to deeper tissues occurs: muscles, tendons, bones. Sometimes the lesions are located under apparently healthy skin. | |||
Help with electric shock
The consequences of electric shock largely depend on the provision of timely assistance.Should I call an ambulance?
There are cases of sudden death a few hours after electric shock. Based on this, any victim of an electric shock must be taken to a specialized hospital, where, if necessary, emergency assistance can be provided. Steps to help with electric shock
- Stop the impact of the current on the victim, following the established rules. Open the electrical circuit using a circuit breaker or switch, or unplug the plug from the outlet. Remove the current source from the victim using insulating objects (wooden stick, chair, clothing, rope, rubber gloves, dry towel, etc.). You should approach the victim wearing rubber or leather shoes on a dry surface or placing a rubber mat or dry boards under your feet.
If necessary, drag the victim away from the zone of action of the “step voltage” (at a distance of up to 10 m), holding him by a belt or dry clothing, without touching open parts of the body.
- Determine the presence of consciousness
- Take them by the shoulders, shake them (do not do this if you suspect a spinal injury), and ask loudly: What’s wrong with you? Do you need help?
- Assess the state of cardiac and respiratory activity. And if necessary, carry out resuscitation measures according to the ABC algorithm (closed cardiac massage, artificial ventilation (mouth-to-mouth breathing)).
| ABC algorithm | What to do? | How to do? |
A | Clear the airways | It is necessary to perform a number of techniques to move the root of the tongue away from the back wall and thus remove the obstacle to the air flow.
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IN | Check if there is breathing | Lean towards the victim’s chest and determine whether there is breathing movement in the chest. If it is visually difficult to determine whether there is breathing or not. You can bring a mirror to your mouth or nose, which will fog up if there is breathing, or you can bring a thin thread, which will deflect if there is breathing. |
WITH | Determine if pulse | The pulse is determined on the carotid artery, with the fingers bent at the phalanges. |
| At the present stage of medicine, it is recommended to begin resuscitation actions from point C - indirect cardiac massage, then A - release of the airways and B - artificial respiration. | ||
If breathing and pulse are not detected, you need to start resuscitation measures:
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| Drug treatment. If measures are unsuccessful within 2-3 minutes, 1 ml of 0.1% adrenaline is administered (intravenously, intramuscularly or intracardially), a solution of calcium chloride 10% - 10 ml, a solution of strophanthin 0.05% - 1 ml diluted in 20 ml of a 40% solution glucose. | ||
| If there is breathing, the victim must be placed in a stable lateral position and wait for the ambulance to arrive.
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4. Dry gauze or contour bandages should be applied to the burned surfaces. The application of ointment dressings is contraindicated. 5. If the victim is conscious, before the ambulance arrives, if necessary, you can give painkillers (analgin, ibuprofen, etc.) and/or a sedative (tincture of valerian, persen, ankylosing spondylitis, etc.).
6. The victim should be transported only in a lying position and covered warmly. 
Treatment in hospital
- All victims with symptoms of shock are hospitalized in the intensive care unit.
- Victims without signs of electrical or burn shock with limited electrical burns are hospitalized in surgical wards. According to indications, burn wounds are cleaned, bandaged, and medicated (cardiac and antiarrhythmic drugs, vitamins, etc.). If necessary, complex surgical interventions are performed to restore the integrity and functional capacity of damaged tissues and organs.
- Victims without local lesions, even in satisfactory condition, require hospitalization in the therapeutic department for further observation and examination. Since there are known cases of delayed complications, both from the cardiovascular system (cardiac arrest, cardiac arrhythmia, etc.), and from other systems (nervous, respiratory, etc.).
- People who have suffered an electrical injury often require long-term rehabilitation. Since the effect of electric current can cause long-term complications. Such complications include: damage to the central and peripheral nervous system (inflammation of the nerves - neuritis, trophic ulcers, encephalopathy), the cardiovascular system (disturbances in heart rhythm and conduction of nerve impulses, pathological changes in the heart muscle), the appearance of cataracts, hearing impairment, as well as functions of other organs and systems.
Protection against electric shock
The best protection against electric shock is to keep your head on your shoulders. It is necessary to clearly know all the requirements and safety rules when working with electric current, use the necessary personal protective equipment and be extremely careful when performing any work with electrical installations. Means of protection:
- Insulating pads and supports;
- Dielectric carpets, gloves, galoshes, caps;
- Portable grounding;
- Tools with insulated handles;
- Use of screens, partitions, chambers for protection against electric current;
- Use of special protective clothing (type Ep1-4);
- Reduce the time spent in the danger zone;
- Safety posters and signs.
- You should only approach live parts at a distance equal to the length of the insulating part of the electrical protective equipment.
- It is mandatory to use an individual shielding set of clothing when working in open switchgear with voltages of 330 kV and above.
- In electrical installations with voltages above 1000V, using a voltage indicator requires the use of dielectric gloves when working in electrical devices above 1000V.
- When a thunderstorm is approaching, all work on switchgear must be stopped.
The thirst for life awakened in Zhenya a sociability that had not been noticed in him before
Mommy, scratch my right hand,” Zhenya asked, not suspecting that his hands were amputated on the second day after the accident happened to him. The boy's head is a complete wound, his hands are in bandages, and at first he does not understand what happened.
You don't have a right hand, son. They cut it off,” says Svetlana Evgenievna, holding back tears.
What about the left?
And the left one too, son.
Zhenya has been in the children's department of the capital's burn center at Clinical Hospital N2 for the fifth month now and is now awaiting the next - 17th (!) operation. The exposed skull (the affected area is 20 centimeters in diameter) needs to be “covered” with skin taken from other parts of the boy’s body. And although Zhenya, as they say, no longer has a living place on him, the skin for transplantation will certainly have to be his own: someone else’s will not take root.
Having pushed Zhenya onto the transformer, the friend got scared and ran away
Zhenya's accident happened in early August. He and his friend rode their bikes to the farm, and then it started to rain. The boys decided to hide in a nearby house. Did they know that this house was a transformer booth? For sure. But children are children. Everything that is not locked is open to them. But the booth was not locked. Inside, coming closer to the transformer, the boys threw a wet stick at it: they wondered whether it would throw it away or not? Thrown away! And suddenly, out of the blue, a friend pushed Zhenya in the back - and the boy literally ran into a transformer! Zhenya was shocked by a current of 10,000 volts! What did the boy feel at that moment? Surprisingly, the memory retained many details.
“It became clearer than ever before,” Zhenya conveys his feelings. “Then I felt a strong push, and I was thrown somewhere.” And then I felt very cold. I was lying on the floor, and there was emptiness all around. Only in one corner is my cap, in the other are sneakers. How did they get there? I looked at the ceiling and wanted only one thing - to hide.
It is not known how long Zhenya lay in the transformer booth. Maybe two, maybe three hours. His friend, who was responsible for what happened, did not say anything to anyone: apparently he was scared. Fortunately, fellow villager Evgeniy Velichenko was driving a cow to pasture and noticed Zhenya’s bicycle next to the transformer booth. Suspecting something was wrong, the man rushed inside, where he found the boy. “Just don’t tell your parents,” Zhenya whispered, as if in a dream. “I’ll lie down a little longer and go home.”
The garage where Zhenya’s father, Bogdan Stepanovich, worked was located about five hundred meters from the ill-fated booth, and Evgeny Fedorovich first rushed there. But before Zhenya’s father heard the terrible news, the head of the garage. “Bogdan! Get in the car and let’s go!” - That’s all he said to his subordinate. And a few minutes later the car was already rushing towards the regional center. “Just don’t sleep!” - Zhenya’s father begged him while they were driving to the hospital. Most of all, he was afraid that the child would close his eyes and never open them again.
Zhenya's amputated arms were buried in a rural cemetery
Svetlana Evgenievna saw her son already in the hospital and almost fainted. And then “Amputate the arms”, “Take the limbs from the morgue” - these terrible phrases pierced my consciousness, but it refused to perceive them.
Through tears, Zhenya’s mother tells me how she “died” with her son when two operating teams simultaneously amputated both of his arms for several hours. How she kissed Zhenya’s hands in the morgue, which they gave her in plastic bags, how she sobbed inconsolably over them
They decided to bury the amputated arms in a rural cemetery, next to the grave of Zhenya’s grandmother. Moreover, this had to be done immediately, since it was hot outside. But how can you leave your son alone? Svetlana Evgenievna called a relative and asked her to put the bag with her hands in the refrigerator, but she refused: she would have been happy to help, but she couldn’t cross the psychological barrier. Fortunately, the car from the village arrived earlier than expected, and the packages were sent with it.
To this day, Svetlana Evgenievna still has Zhenya’s hands before her eyes: on her right hand there was virtually no palm left - it was burnt, on the left hand, on the contrary, it was almost normal, but further, up to the elbow, it was just a solid piece of coal. Zhenya himself even now feels both palms and elbows that are not there. Neurosurgeons say that this indicates the possibility of so-called phantom pain, the “signals” of which are formed in the parts of the brain that control pain sensations. To prevent phantom pain, long-term and expensive treatment is needed.
Svetlana Evgenievna is next to her son all the time. During the first weeks, doctors could not even guarantee that the boy would survive. But one crisis passed, then another - and the doctors breathed a sigh of relief. At some point, Zhenya suddenly said that it would be better if he died. But the thirst for life turned out to be stronger. The boy learned to overcome the pain, and today, talking about his feelings, Zhenya is amazingly calm. He doesn't complain or go into detail. As if it wasn’t his body where flaps of skin were cut off for transplantation, as if islands of healing flesh weren’t turning purple on him. I’m scared to look at this, but how does he feel?
Zhenya can only look at the fluffy toy lion
And Zhenya craves activity. He reads and prays a lot, asking God for a speedy recovery. And on New Year’s Eve the boy “ordered” health for Santa Claus. And the only gift I wanted was a soft toy - definitely a lion. Why a lion? Because this is Zhenya's zodiac sign. Horoscopes say that people born under this sign must control the situation. And Zhenya succeeds in this so far. And the toy lion he received as a gift strengthens his faith in his own strength. There is only one thing that upsets the boy - that he cannot pet Leva, pat him on the back of the neck, or hold him close.
Zhenya receives letters every week from her home village - from classmates and teachers. The kids report: “They have already introduced a twelve-point system in us. And there’s a club in the village” “Our classy kerivnika Daria Petrivna is gone now - she broke her collarbone and is now at home”, “At class we started working on the style” And Zhenya, out of habit, wants to grab a pen and write an answer. The next second he thinks about how beautiful his handwriting was. Yes, and I could tell the kids a lot: how I went to the festive Khreshchatyk with my parents, how big and beautiful the Christmas tree was in the capital, how they took pictures next to it with the real Snow Maiden and Father Frost But Zhenya cannot write. Mom reports the news to her grandmother on the phone, and she tells it to her fellow villagers.
Zhenya is drawn home, to Kotsyubinchiki, to school, say the boy’s parents. - Most of all he misses physical education, labor and Christian ethics - he always went to these lessons with pleasure. And the strangest thing is that he desperately lacks communication. Before the accident, it used to be that you couldn’t get a word out of him, but now he’s ready to talk about everything day and night.
Zhenya regularly asks doctors about the specifics of each procedure, and the doctors privately call him “professor.” And he had already told his mother about those moments of his life that she had never hoped to find out about: Zhenya was always eager for pranks, but he never told what he came up with and created. “They didn’t recognize” their granddaughter and grandparents, who came to visit him in Kyiv. The boy chatted incessantly, asking about everything. He also shared his anxiety: I used to dream of following in my father’s footsteps - becoming a driver or tractor driver, but now without arms - how?
The parents promised to buy prosthetics, but Zhenya knows: they are very expensive, and the family has no money. And the treatment would have been much more difficult if not for the help of the People’s Deputy of Ukraine Rostislav Schiller. The 7,000 hryvnia that he gave the boy for treatment is a fantastic amount for the Klopotyuks, and they thank God that they “got” such a sensitive person. The Klopotyuk family and fellow villagers did not remain indifferent to the misfortune: they donated as much as they could to Zhenya “to the hospital.” Financial support was provided by both the district and all village councils in the district.
The Klopotyuks hoped to get insurance for their son (this summer, when he was vacationing in a sanatorium, Zhenya was insured), but a problem arose. The prosecutor's office requested a certificate from the local RES (district power grid). And they answered that RES had nothing to do with Zhenya’s injury: they say, the booth was closed, and if the boy broke the lock, then no one is to blame. This is the story.
The management of the Distribution Zone is not yet willing to take responsibility for what happened.
But Svetlana Evgenievna and Bogdan Stepanovich are immensely grateful to the doctors. Ternopil and Kyiv doctors Vladimir Bigunyak, Petr Komar, Ivan Murovany, Nikolai Povstyany, Sergei Staskevich and others have done and continue to do everything possible and even impossible so that the boy can sit at his desk again next September. But what will it be like for him to study?
Functional changes in Zhenya’s brain that arose as a result of injury and manifested in an increase in the child’s contact ability allow us to hope that the boy will be socially adapted, says Georgiy Koverkov, head of the department of urgent pediatric neurosurgery at the Institute of Neurosurgery of the Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine. - However, for this, the boy needs full-fledged functional, and not “cosmetic” prostheses - “new” hands, thanks to which he could be able to serve himself and realize himself in some profession.
The head of the burn department of the Kyiv City Burn Center of Clinical Hospital N2, where Zhenya is currently being treated, Lyudmila Sochienkova, shares the same opinion. For the socio-psychological rehabilitation of a boy, she believes, it is necessary, above all, the sensitive attitude of others and the help of a professional psychologist. But, unfortunately, a psychologist in public hospitals is not yet included in the staffing table. And Zhenya needs him so much! After all, constructive changes in the child’s psyche - love of life, sociability, openness, positive emotions - are nothing more than the result of the attention and kind attitude towards the boy of those who were nearby in difficult moments of his life.
P.S. When the material was already prepared for printing, I managed to get through to Chortkiv Distribution Zone. Its chief engineer, Kazimir Bezpalko, claims that there was a lock on the door of the transformer booth, but the children tore it off, wanting to get inside. For what? In search of metal, of course! According to Kazimir Mikhailovich, the fact that this cannot be done should have been explained to children at school and at home.
When we applied to the RES for a certificate, they told us so too,” Svetlana Evgenievna sighed. “But the whole village knows that the booth has been unlocked for several years now.”
I would like to hope that the local prosecutor's office will figure out why the accident actually happened.
10,000 VOLT INSTEAD OF BAITED
Every year in the emergency department of the Burn Center of the Research Institute of Emergency Medicine named after. N.V. Sklifosovsky ends up with up to three thousand people. The sad palm is occupied by patients after “communication” with fire. In second place are those who were scalded with boiling water, in third place are chemical burns. And only 5% of the total number are people with electric shock injuries. The head of the Burn Center, Professor Sergei SMIRNOV, talks about what is behind this figure in a conversation with a correspondent:
This FIGURE is not constant. In winter, the number of electrocuted people is always smaller, but with the onset of summer, a real disaster begins: the skin sweats, thunderstorms thunder, electricians are too lazy to put on protective suits due to the heat, and in addition, the summer season opens, when everyone is “his own electrician.”
There is a common belief that electricians develop a special immunity, and electricity is not dangerous for them.
This is true for low voltage, but as for high voltage, it is electricians who make up the vast majority of our severe patients. Please, a case from practice. The mechanic stood on a three-meter stand, repairing the transformer. The stand began to shake, and the technician, trying to maintain his balance, grabbed the 6,000-volt wire with his hand. Another, squatting, connected a 350 VAC wire and closed the circuit on himself.
What about the safety rules?
Our statistics say that 75% of electrical injuries occur at work due to non-compliance with safety regulations. This includes trolleybus drivers who, with their bare hands, straighten rods that have come off wires (and this is 550 V), and workers who drag energized transformers. There are many cases at a construction site when the boom of a construction crane accidentally touches electrical wires: the current spreads through all metal parts of the crane and hits workers who are removing or hanging the load. Almost none of them return to construction after this: some develop a fear of electricity, while others suffer greatly from the vestibular apparatus after the defeat. Many become disabled.
Let's move away from production. The remaining 25% probably consists of everyday episodes.
Of course, there are accidents from which no one is immune. At night, two women were walking along the road and stepped into a puddle in which lay the end of a broken wire. The current passed through the lower loop - it entered through one leg and exited through the other. The same thing can happen if you walk through a wet field during a thunderstorm.
Long-term observations show that the lower leg-to-leg loop occurs the least often and is considered the least dangerous. Most often it goes to the hands (top loop). And the most dangerous is considered to be a full loop (both arms, both legs), since in this case the current necessarily passes through the brain and heart.
Teenagers riding on the roofs of electric trains add to the sad list of victims. They usually sit on a motor car and consider themselves safe because they do not touch the wires. But the head is so close to the high-voltage voltage (3000 V) that an electric arc occurs: electrons from the wire jump to a nearby conductor - to the head.
You can also suffer from an arc during a thunderstorm. A lightning strike and a person almost immediately loses consciousness. Some, upon coming to their senses, feel dizzy, weak, and drowsy. With such symptoms, few people think of seeing a doctor. Meanwhile, the insidiousness of electrical trauma lies in the fact that it does not have any special signs and upon external examination it does not manifest itself in any way; but anyone who has been electrocuted needs immediate consultation with a specialist.
What is the difference between trauma and burn?
When they say that a person was killed by an electric current of five or ten thousand volts, this means that death occurred from trauma. Electrical trauma damages the entire body. Example: a person grabs high-voltage wires with both hands, causing damage to the heart, nervous system and skin. Electrical trauma in its pure form is dealt with by cardiologists. But trauma and burns most often occur together.
An electric burn is the result of a local effect of current on tissue, that is, it affects only part of the body. Marks remain at the current entry and exit points. If the marks are located close (for example, a person touches the wire with his shoulder and forearm), then an electrical burn occurs on the skin, tissue, muscles, and bones.
Burns are treated in the surgical department. As a surgeon, I can say that very often it is necessary to perform mutilation, that is, amputation of limbs or their segments.
As far as I know, recently the number of victims of electrical injuries has been increasing. What is this connected with?
The explanation lies in the economic field. In the last ten years, the population has become so impoverished that people are climbing into transformer boxes and power lines to extract non-ferrous metals and high-voltage wires and sell them. And this kind of “business” is not done by stupid teenagers, but by fully grown, mature people.
In recent years, “electric poachers” have been increasingly arriving at our center. For fishing, they choose a lake over which a power line passes. They take their wire, throw one end onto the line, and the other into the water. Of course, all living things in the water die immediately. But there are times when a naughty wire, instead of falling into the water, overtakes the poacher himself.
Are there cases when electrical injuries go away without consequences?
There are. Many patients come to us with minor injuries, without complaints and without any “findings” in the heart or other organs.
But if we are talking about serious cases, then even after several years, persistent disorders of the nervous system remain. And in addition, after an electric shock, the pain of a stomach ulcer intensifies, radiculitis worsens, and long-healed fractures begin to hurt. But current not only intensifies those diseases that existed before, it can become a trigger for epilepsy and schizophrenia. Provided that before that they were in a hidden state.
First aid
It would be GOOD, of course, if there was a doctor near the victim at the time of the electric shock. But...
if you are able to move after an electric shock, immediately go to the nearest hospital or medical center;
if someone is working with electrical wiring in your presence, try not to leave him unattended: in the moment of electric shock, he will not be able to call for help or simply scream to attract attention;
a person exposed to voltage below 380 volts literally sticks to the current source and is unable to free himself. This can happen for two reasons. First: out of confusion, he cannot figure out what he is doing. Second: contact with electricity can cause him to lose consciousness. Those around you should immediately open the circuit - unplug the cord from the outlet or press the switch. But if this is impossible, it is necessary to knock the wire out of the person’s hands with a stick, stool or other non-conductive object, or - with the same stool - push him away from the wire. You can simply push with your foot - provided that the shoes do not conduct current;
practice shows that after contact with current a person is most often unconscious. Therefore, the first thing the victim needs is mouth-to-mouth artificial respiration. To do this, you need to put it down, throw back your head and push your lower jaw forward. Pinch your nose, put a handkerchief on your mouth and begin to inhale air through it - 3-4 breaths, and press on your chest, and so on until a pulse appears. It is also advisable to check his pupils: as long as they remain narrow, there is hope of bringing the person back to life.
Electrical injuries happen quite often in everyday life and at work, because people are surrounded by a large number of devices. To avoid electric shock, you need to know as much as possible what electrical injury is, why it occurs, and what safety rules exist when working with various devices.
Electrical injury concept
Electrical injury is damage to organs and body systems caused by electric current. The first death from electric shock was recorded in Lyon, France, where a carpenter died after being struck by an alternating current generator. According to statistics, in modern Russia more than 30 thousand people die annually from such injuries. No one is immune from this danger, because electricity surrounds people everywhere. Most often, young men suffer from electric shock.
The human body is the best conductor of electrical energy. A person receives an electric shock when interacting with live parts of faulty equipment or as a result of failure to follow safety precautions. An electric shock of more than 1 mA is felt as painful.
You can get hurt without touching live elements, for example, due to a current leak or breakdown of the air gap when an electric arc is formed.
The severity of the injuries received depends on the nature of the current, the power of the discharge, the time of exposure, the place of contact, and the individual characteristics of the victim (health, age, body humidity).
Electric shock is one of the most dangerous injuries, as it can often result in death. Electrical injury occurs in many situations:
Types of electric shock
The classification of electric shock is based on the nature and degree of its impact on the human body. Depending on this they distinguish:
Main symptoms
If a person was electrocuted in front of loved ones or colleagues, then there can be no doubt about the diagnosis. The victim must be immediately sent to a medical facility. If the accident occurred when the wounded person was alone, then determine whether there was an electric shock, possible based on the following criteria:
Particular attention should be paid to affected children. Signs of an electric shock include heavy breathing, convulsions, extreme paleness, lethargy, or hyperactivity.
Help for the victim
Witnesses to the incident must first move the victim to a safe distance from the energy source. If a person grabs a bare wire and his hands cramp, then it is necessary to break the electrical circuit. First of all, you need to take care of the safety of those who came to help. Be sure to wear rubber gloves and boots, and also turn off the switch. The wire can be pulled to the side using a wooden stick. If the victim's clothes are wet, do not touch them with bare hands.
Having dragged a person to a safe place, you need to understand what condition he is in: whether the pulse is palpable, whether the heart is working.
If the victim is conscious, he is asked for his name, age and other data to understand that he has not lost his memory. A patient who has received an electrical injury must be taken to the hospital as soon as possible. The duration of recovery after an accident depends on the severity of the injury and on how correctly and quickly resuscitation measures were carried out.
Consequences of injury
In case of severe electric shock, death cannot be ruled out. Survivors of such trauma are usually in a coma. The victim is diagnosed with unstable functioning of the heart and respiratory system, convulsions, mechanical damage, hypovolemic shock, and renal failure.
The consequences of electric shock can affect the functioning of almost any organ in the human body. Electrical trauma provokes malfunctions of the heart and blood vessels, aggravates chronic diseases (for example, stomach and duodenal ulcers), causes pulmonary edema, loss of vision and hearing. When the heart muscle contracts, a heart attack cannot be ruled out.
No one can prevent malfunctions in the operation of electrical appliances. But to avoid serious injury, you should follow safety rules. In this case, the risk is significantly reduced.
Update: October 2018
Electrical injury refers to damage to organs and systems due to electric shock. The main causes of death from electric shock are respiratory arrest and... After a strong electric shock, if a person survives, complications may develop from the cardiovascular, central nervous system, hearing, etc.
Most often, accidents occur when:
- ignorance or non-compliance with safety rules when using electrical appliances
- faulty household appliances in everyday life, electrical equipment in enterprises
- broken wires of high-voltage lines
The degree of damage to the human body depends on the way the current passes through the body, the strength and voltage of the current, the time of exposure, health status, age, as well as the timeliness of providing first aid to the victim.
Types of electric shock
- electric shock (shock)- effects on the entire body, it does not cause burns, but leads to respiratory and/or cardiac paralysis
- electrical injury- damage to external parts of the body: electrical signs, burns, metallization of the skin.
The effects of electric currents on the body
- Thermal - due to the resistance of body tissues, electrical energy turns into thermal energy, causing electrical burns at characteristic points of entry and exit of current, which are called current signs. As thermal energy passes through tissue, it changes and destroys it.
- Electrochemical- leads to thickening and gluing of blood cells, the movement of ions and a change in the charge of protein molecules, the formation of vapors and gases. The affected tissues take on a cellular appearance.
- Biological - the functioning of the skeletal muscles of the heart, nervous and other systems is disrupted.
Symptoms of Electric Shock
- An unexpected fall of a person on the street or an unnatural throwing away from a power source by an invisible force
- Pronounced involuntary muscle contractions
- Loss of neurological functions - memory loss, impaired understanding of speech and vision, impaired orientation in space, changes in skin sensitivity, pupil reaction to light.
- Ventricular fibrillation and - irregular pulse and irregular breathing
- Burns on the body with sharply defined boundaries/
Signs of current on the skin
These are areas of necrosis of external tissues at the points of entry and exit of electric current due to the transition of energy from electrical to thermal. Electrical burns are rarely limited to just marks on the skin; more often deeper tissues are damaged: muscles, tendons, bones. There are options when the lesion is localized under externally intact skin.
Consequences of electric shock
Nervous system
- loss of consciousness of varying degrees and duration;
- memory loss (retrograde amnesia);
- convulsions;
- weakness and weakness;
- and headache;
- violation of thermoregulation;
- flickering in the eyes, blurred vision.
When nerves are damaged, sensitivity and motor activity in the limbs change, trophism is disrupted, and pathological reflexes arise. The passage of current through the brain leads to convulsions and loss of consciousness; in some cases, damage to the respiratory center leads to respiratory arrest.
High voltage current leads to profound disturbances in the activity of the central nervous system, inhibition of the respiratory center and regulation of cardiac activity, which leads to electrical lethargy, imaginary death, when it seems that breathing and heartbeat are absent, but in fact the activity of vital systems is reduced to a minimum. Timely initiation of resuscitation measures leads to successful restoration of systems operation.
The cardiovascular system
In most cases, disruptions in cardiac activity of a functional nature are observed:
- extrasystole;
- heart blockades.
Electrical shock to the heart muscle can lead to disruption of contractile function, leading to fibrillation, when the myocardial fibers begin to contract in an irregular rhythm, and the heart cannot pump blood, which is equivalent in severity to cardiac arrest. Damage to blood vessels leads to bleeding.
Respiratory system
Inhibition or cessation of respiratory activity occurs due to damage to the respiratory center in the brain. The passage of current through the lung tissue leads to contusion and rupture of the lungs.
Sense organs
- hearing loss;
- touch disorder;
- rupture of the eardrum;
- middle ear injury;
- keratitis;
- choroiditis;
- cataract.
Striated and smooth muscles
- Spasm and contraction of muscle fibers can lead to cramps.
- Strong contraction of skeletal muscles can result in fractures of the spine and tubular bones.
- Spasm of the muscular layer of the vascular wall leads to increased pressure or myocardial infarction (in the case of spasm of the heart arteries).
Long-term complications
- CVS: disturbance of cardiac conduction, heart rhythm, obliterating endarteritis, arteriosclerosis;
- Nervous system: neuritis, encephalopathy, trophic ulcers, autonomic changes;
- Sense organs: cataracts, hearing and vision impairment;
- Musculoskeletal system: contractures (limited range of motion, inability to bend a limb), deformities.
Factors influencing the nature and severity of electrical injury
Kind and power and voltage
- More than 1000-volt current leads to severe damage, even death, without even touching the source, but being very close - within walking distance from the current source (the so-called “voltaic arc”).
- Alternating current is more dangerous than direct current
- Low frequency current affects internal organs
- High frequency – the surface of the skin, without causing death.
The path of current through the body is a current loop
Electrical injury at home
- The most dangerous options are a complete loop, including 2 arms and 2 legs, arm-arm, since the current flows through the heart.
- No less dangerous is the hand-head, when the current passes through the brain.
Tissue resistance and current density
Current density refers to the amount of current passing through a unit area. Energy is concentrated when current passes through a smaller area. For example, if an electric current passes through the hand, the current density increases in the joint area.
Current duration
The longer the current lasts, the stronger the damage and the greater the likelihood of death.
- A high voltage current leads to a sharp contraction of muscles; a person can even be thrown forcefully away from the current source.
- Low voltage current provokes muscle spasm, leading to prolonged involuntary gripping of the conductor by hands. Over time, skin resistance decreases, so it is necessary to interrupt the contact of the victim with the conductor as soon as possible.
External factors
The severity of the damage increases in conditions of high humidity (baths, bathrooms), as well as with electric shock in water, and the damage is stronger in salt water than in fresh water (the more dissolved salts in the water, the better the electrical conductivity of the water).
Body condition
The danger of electric shock increases against the background of exhaustion, alcohol or drug intoxication, chronic diseases, old age and childhood.
Why are there frequent cases of death in the bathtub due to contact with household appliances?
Damp and wet skin plays a fatal role. Such skin has less resistance to electrical energy and, accordingly, the damaging effect is always stronger even when exposed to devices with a seemingly low voltage of 110 V, for example, from a hair dryer or radio. In addition, a wet body practically guarantees the formation of the most dangerous current loop through vital organs.
Degrees of electric shock - classification
First aid algorithm for electric shock
All actions must be carried out very quickly, without delays, unnecessary conversations and reasoning. Timely provision of assistance can save lives and reduce the severity of electrical injury.
Whatever the condition of the victim, you should immediately call an ambulance or take the person to a medical facility. Death from electric shock can occur within a few hours. The external picture does not reflect internal damage after electric shock.
Stop contact of the victim with the current conductor as quickly as possible
Assess the state of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems and whether the person is conscious
Lightly pat the cheek, ask basic questions. If necessary, carry out resuscitation measures:
- check for breathing: see if there are breathing movements of the chest, bring a mirror/glass to the mouth and nose, which will fog up when there is breathing, or a thin thread that should deviate when breathing;
- determine pulse on the carotid artery by pressing the area of its projection with your fingers;
- clear the airway for further rescue: place the palm of one hand on the victim’s forehead, lift the chin with two fingers of the other hand, push the lower jaw forward and tilt the head back. If a fracture of the spine is suspected, these actions are prohibited; if the tongue sinks, it is permissible to fix it to the cheek with a pin.
Primary resuscitation of the victim (in the absence of pulse and breathing)
- Indirect cardiac massage- most effective within the first 3 minutes after cardiac arrest. The patient lies on his back on a flat surface, the rescuer's arms straightened at the elbows are located in the middle of the chest between the nipples. Perform 100 rhythmic compressions for 1 minute on the chest with a compression amplitude of 5-6 cm until the chest is completely straightened after pressing.
- Breathing mouth to mouth- two full exhalations every 30 presses on the projection of the heart. If this method is not possible, it is permissible to use only indirect cardiac massage.
- Duration of resuscitation measures- until the ambulance arrives or until signs of life appear (pink skin, pulse and breathing). In this case, the victim is turned on his side and an ambulance is awaited. The maximum duration is 30 minutes, further action is not advisable except for those patients who are exposed to cold temperatures.
- Drug treatment(carried out by an ambulance resuscitation team). If the above measures are unsuccessful, 1 ml of adrenaline 0.1% is injected within 2-3 minutes (intramuscular, intravenous or intracardiac); as well as calcium chloride 10% - 10 ml, strophanthin 0.05% - 1 ml, diluted in 20 ml of 40% glucose solution.
- Primary treatment of burns consists of applying a dry gauze bandage.
- Painkillers - if the person remains conscious until the ambulance arrives, the person can be given painkillers and sedatives.
- Transportation of the victim to the hospital is carried out in a supine position and covered with a warm blanket.
Inpatient treatment after electric shock
- It is carried out in intensive care, and in the absence of signs of burn or electric shock - in the surgical department.
- The complex of treatment depends on the indications: from a simple toilet and dressing of burn wounds to complex surgical interventions to restore damaged organs and tissues.
- Even in the absence of local damage and satisfactory condition, the patient is in the department under observation to prevent long-term reactions from systems and organs.
- Serious electrical injuries require long-term rehabilitation.
Features of lightning damage
Damaging factors: electric current, sound and light energy, shock wave. The effects of lightning are similar to high voltage electric shock.
- Symmetrical injuries are characteristic: paresis of two limbs, paraplegia.
- The current signs have a bizarre, convoluted shape and are long lasting.
If you find a thunderstorm outside, you should not hide under trees, lean against metal objects, and especially not be in water.
Some facts
- The first officially recorded death from electric shock occurred in France, in 1879, when a carpenter became a victim of alternating current.
- The frequency of electrical injuries in developed countries is 2-3 cases per 100 thousand population.
- The risk group consists of young people 25-40 years old, and men are 4 times more likely to die from electrical injuries than women.
Protection against electric shock
Means of protection against electric shock:
- Insulating pads and supports;
- Gloves, caps, galoshes and dielectric mats;
- Portable grounding;
- Tools with insulated handles;
- Special protective clothing;
- Protective screens, partitions, chambers for protection against current;
- Warning signs and posters.
Operating rules:
- Minimize the time spent in the hazardous area near the devices;
- You should only approach current sources at a distance that is equal to the length of the insulating part of the protective equipment.
- When working with devices with voltages of 330 kV or more, the use of special clothing is mandatory.
- In conditions of rain and thunderstorms, all work must be suspended.