By electric trauma is meant a traumatic lesion of the integrity, functions of tissues and organs, appearing under the influence of an industrial, domestic or natural electric current. Different types of electrical injuries have different effects on the body, which can result in burns, violations of the physico-chemical composition of blood, tissue breaks, fractures, dislocations, and disturbances in internal bioelectric processes.
Such injuries are often fatal.
Electrical Injury Classification
By the nature of the lesion, the following types of electrical injuries can be distinguished.
- Local injuries are manifested in burn injuries of the skin, soft tissues, ligaments, electrophthalmia (damage to the outer membranes of the eye), and metallization of the skin. Local electrical injuries are characterized by the appearance of electrical signs on the body - sharply defined spots of gray or pale yellow color that appear in places of contact with current sources.
- General injuries are accompanied by an electric shock to muscle groups, manifested in convulsions, paralysis of the heart, respiration.
Depending on the severity, all types of electrical injuries are divided into four degrees.
- Injuries of the first severity are manifested by convulsions without loss of consciousness. There is also a blanching of the skin, general agitation, shortness of breath, headache, rise in blood pressure. After the termination of the traumatic shock, the victim begins to experience pain.
- Injuries of the II degree of severity are accompanied by tonic convulsions and loss of consciousness. In the second degree of electrical injury, a decrease in blood pressure and minor disorders in the work of the respiratory system are observed in the victims . Often there is cardiac arrhythmia, shock.
- III degree of severity is characterized by severe respiratory distress, convulsions, ruptures of the blood vessels of the lungs, impaired functioning of the heart and all blood circulation, a sharp decrease in blood pressure, impaired heart rhythm, retinal detachment, cerebral edema, and lungs. Necrotic foci may appear in the lungs, liver, spleen, thyroid and pancreas. A coma may result from a third degree injury.
- Grade IV is characterized by respiratory arrest as a result of paralysis of the respiratory center and ventricular fibrillation. Often occurs when an electric current passes through a person’s head.
By the nature of the effect of electric current, the following types of electrical injuries can be distinguished:
- instant, received in a few seconds;
- chronic, obtained by constant and prolonged contact with a source of strong current.
Causes of Electrical Injuries
You can get injured from electric current when interacting with a source in everyday life, at work, or when struck by lightning. A direct lightning strike is a spontaneous, force majeure factor that a person is not able to insure against.
In other cases, the reasons are as follows.
- Psychophysiological nature. That is, the injury can be the result of weakened attention, stressful situations, excessive fatigue, health conditions, a person being under the influence of drugs, alcoholic beverages.
- Technical character. Such reasons include a malfunction of electrical equipment, as a result of which voltage can occur in the metal parts of the device; use of electrical appliances not for their intended purpose; power outages; violation of the rules of operation of devices
- Organizational in nature. The causes of electrical injuries of an organizational nature may be negligence when working with devices connected to the mains, neglect of basic safety rules at work and at home.
Electrical injuries account for only 2-2.5% of all injuries and most of them are received by people whose profession is directly related to electricity, that is, electricians, fitters of high-voltage structures, builders.
Electrical injuries can occur in the presence of a dangerous voltage or current for a person, due to the characteristics of the body and the state of human health, environmental conditions.
Symptoms of Electric Shock
Immediately at the time of electric shock, a person can feel a shock, spasm, muscles, a burning blow. After the current stops acting, the main symptoms are observed on the part of the central nervous system. Signs of injury from electric current have much in common with the clinical picture of concussion. There is lethargy, lethargy, indifference to the environment, nausea, headache and dizziness.
The cardiovascular system reacts to electrical injuries in this way:
- initial increase, and then a sharp decrease in blood pressure;
- increased heart rate;
- arrhythmia;
- expansion of the borders of the heart.
Moist rattling may appear in the lungs, foci of emphysema are detected on radiographic images, and a cough occurs. In some cases, acute respiratory failure is detected. Some victims suffer from vomiting, diarrhea, and nausea.
Burns from electrical injuries
An electric burn occurs at the site of entry and exit of electric current.
But the absence of current marks should not be taken as a reason to exclude electrical injury. Many victims (more than 30%) are missing tags.
An electric burn also has several degrees of severity.
The first degree seems to be small foci of epidermal coagulation without the formation of blisters.
Second-degree burns provide total damage to the skin with the formation of blisters.
The third degree is accompanied by lesions of the entire thickness of the skin and dermis. Superficial necrosis is observed.
With a fourth degree of severity, not only the skin, but also the underlying tissues are affected, deep necrosis develops.
Superficial burns with electric injuries are less common than deep burns. In some cases, electrical injury can be accompanied by damage to large areas of tissue or even carbonization of the limbs.
Diagnosis of lightning injury
With an injury received during a lightning strike, there is:
- temporary blindness;
- temporary dumbness and deafness;
- pathological feeling of fear;
- fear of light;
- paralysis of the respiratory and cardiac system;
- headache.
The severity of these specific symptoms depends on the severity of the injury.
First aid in case of electrical injury
In order to be able to help the injured person, you must first protect yourself. It is necessary to disconnect the voltage source, tear the wire out of the hands of the victim. If this is not possible, then it is necessary to isolate the victim from the current source. To do this, use protective equipment, such as a board, a wooden stick, an insulated tool, rubberized gloves, insulating coasters, rubberized shoes. If there are no such safety equipment nearby, then you can protect yourself by moving to the victim with small "duck steps." The feet should not be lifted off the ground. The toe of one leg should always be in line with the heel of the other leg.
It is necessary to drag the injured person from the site of injury to a distance of 10-15 meters. At the same time, it is necessary to hold it by the edges of the clothing, without touching the exposed parts of the body. First aid for electrical injuries should begin to be provided when the victim is in a safe place. Checks breathing and pulse. If they are not palpable, then it is worth starting to do artificial respiration and indirect heart massage. If a person has not lost consciousness, he should be given any sedative, give as much as possible to drink while waiting for the ambulance to arrive.
If burns are clearly visible on the skin, they should be bandaged with clean bandages or tissue. If there is a suspicion of a fracture, then a splint should be applied to the limb.
Follow-up burn treatment
Subsequent assistance with first-degree electrical injury is not always necessary. A person with injuries of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th degree of severity after receiving the first necessary help should be taken to a trauma or surgical center, where he will be provided with qualified medical care.
The first thing that is done is a tetanus shot. Then begins the local treatment of burns and general treatment aimed at restoring damaged systems and body functions.
As anti-burn measures, sterile dressings with a disinfectant are applied to the label sites. Burnt skin can be exposed to ultraviolet radiation, which facilitates the process of cell death and accelerates the formation and restoration of healthy epithelium.
In parallel with local treatment of damaged areas of the body, it is necessary to carry out intensive infusion therapy, which restores cardiac activity, as well as the work of the central and peripheral nervous system.
The main types of complications after electrical injury
Injuries from electric current are dangerous both in themselves and the consequences that can develop immediately and subsequently, after rehabilitation and complete recovery from injury. Complications may occur:
- disturbances in the functioning of the vestibular apparatus;
- hearing impairment;
- retrograde amnesia;
- paresis of limbs;
- damage to the kidneys, liver, the formation of stones in the organs;
- damage to blood vessels, spinal cord, brain;
- psychosis and a disorder of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system;
- coma;
- massive bleeding.
If an electric current passed through the head, then injuries of the organs of vision with retinal detachment, clouding of the lens, pathological change in the intraocular environment, and the development of glaucoma are also inevitable.
Electrical Injury Prevention
The main prevention of injuries from electric current is the observance of safety precautions at the time of operation, installation and repair of electrical equipment. People working with electric current must be well instructed and must have personal protective equipment. People servicing existing electrical installations must periodically, twice a year, undergo a medical examination. In this case, it is necessary to go through a therapist, surgeon, neurologist, optometrist, otolaryngologist according to indications.
Subject to the basic safety rules, many injuries from electric current can be avoided.