Electrical trauma means a traumatic injury to the integrity, functions of tissues and organs, which appears under the influence of 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 physical and chemical composition of the blood, tissue ruptures, fractures, dislocations, and violations of internal bioelectrical processes.
Such injuries are often fatal.
Classification of electrical injuries
The following types of electrical injuries can be distinguished by the nature of the lesion.
- Local injuries are manifested in burn injuries of the skin, soft tissues, ligaments, electrophthalmia (damage to the outer membranes of the eye), metallization of the skin. Local electrical injuries are characterized by the appearance of electrical signs on the body - sharply definedspots of gray or pale yellow that appear at the points of contact with current sources.
- General injuries are accompanied by electric shock to muscle groups, manifested in convulsions, paralysis of the heart, breathing.
Depending on the severity of all types of electrical injuries are divided into four degrees.
- Grade I injuries are manifested by convulsions without loss of consciousness. There is also blanching of the skin, general agitation, shortness of breath, headache, and an increase in blood pressure. Already after the termination of the traumatic shock, the victim begins to experience pain.
- Grade II injuries are accompanied by tonic convulsions and loss of consciousness. In the second degree of electrical injury, the victims have a decrease in blood pressure, minor disorders in the respiratory system. Often there is cardiac arrhythmia, shock.
- III degree of severity is characterized by severe respiratory disorders, convulsions, ruptures of the vessels of the lungs, disruption of the heart and the entire circulation, a sharp decrease in blood pressure, heart rhythm disturbances, retinal detachment, swelling of the brain, lungs. Necrotic foci may appear in the lungs, liver, spleen, thyroid and pancreas. A third-degree injury can result in a coma.
- IV degree is characterized by respiratory arrest as a result of paralysis of the respiratory center and ventricular fibrillation of the heart. Often occurs when an electric current passes through a person's head.
By the nature of the impact of electric current, the following types of electrical injuries can be distinguished:
- instant, received in a few seconds;
- chronic, resulting from constant and prolonged contact with a source of strong current.
Reasons for electrical injury
You can get injured from an electric current when interacting with a source at home, at work, or when struck by lightning. A direct lightning strike is a natural, force majeure factor, from which a person is not able to insure.
Otherwise, the reasons are as follows.
- Psychophysiological character. That is, an injury can be the result of weakened attention, a stressful situation, excessive fatigue, a state of he alth, a person being under the influence of drugs, alcoholic beverages.
- Technical. Such reasons include a malfunction of electrical equipment, as a result of which voltage may arise in the metal parts of the device; use of electrical appliances not for their intended purpose; power interruptions; violations of the rules for the operation of devices.
- Organizational character. The causes of electrical injuries of an organizational nature may be negligence when working with devices connected to the mains, neglecting elementary safety rules at work and at home.
Electrical injuries account for only 2-2.5% of all injuries and mostthey are received by people whose profession is directly related to electricity, that is, electricians, fitters of high-voltage structures, builders.
Electrical injury can occur in the presence of a dangerous electrical voltage or current for a person, due to the characteristics of the body and the state of human he alth, environmental conditions.
Symptoms of electric shock
Directly at the moment of electric shock, a person can feel a jolt, spasm, muscles, a burning blow. After the current stops acting, the main symptoms are observed from the central nervous system. Signs of electric shock injuries have much in common with the clinical picture of a 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;
- expanding the boundaries of the heart.
Moist rales may appear in the lungs, foci of emphysema are found on x-rays, and coughing occurs. In some cases, acute respiratory failure is detected. Some victims suffer from vomiting, diarrhea, nausea.
Electrical injury burns
Electrical burn occurs at the point of entry and exit of electric current.
But no tagscurrent should not be taken as a reason to exclude electrical injury. Many victims (more than 30%) are missing marks.
Electric burn also has several degrees of severity.
First degree appears as small foci of epidermal coagulation without blistering.
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. There is superficial necrosis.
In the fourth degree of severity, not only the skin is affected, but also the underlying tissues, deep necrosis develops.
Superficial electrical injury burns are less common than deep burns. Electrical injury in some cases may be accompanied by damage to large areas of tissue or even charring of the limbs.
Diagnosis of lightning injuries
In case of a lightning strike injury, there is:
- temporary blindness;
- temporary dumbness and deafness;
- pathological feeling of fear;
- fear of light;
- paralysis of the respiratory and cardiac systems;
- headache.
The severity of these specific symptoms depends on the severity of the injury.
First aid for electrical injury
In order to be able to help an injured person, you must first protect yourself. It is necessary to de-energize the voltage source, pull the wire out of the hands of the victim. If this is not possible, thenit is necessary to isolate the victim from the power source. To do this, you must use protective equipment, such as a board, a wooden stick, insulated tools, rubberized gloves, insulating stands, rubberized shoes. If there are no such safety devices nearby, then you can protect yourself by moving towards the victim with small “duck steps”. The feet should not leave the ground. The toe of one foot should always be in line with the heel of the other foot.
It is necessary to drag the injured person from the place of injury to a distance of 10-15 meters. At the same time, it is necessary to hold it by the edges of the clothes, without touching the bare areas of the body. First aid for electrical injury should begin when the victim is in a safe place. Breathing and pulse are checked. If they are not palpable, then it is worth starting artificial respiration and chest compressions. If the person has not lost consciousness, he should be given any sedative, give as much to drink as possible while waiting for the arrival of an ambulance.
If burns are clearly visible on the skin, they should be bandaged with clean bandages or cloth. If a fracture is suspected, the limb should be splinted.
Follow-up treatment of burns
Follow-up care for a 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 assistance, should be taken to a traumatological or surgical center, where he will be provided with a qualifiedmedical assistance.
The first thing is a tetanus shot. Next, local treatment of burns and general treatment begins, aimed at restoring disturbed systems and body functions.
As an anti-burn measure, sterile dressings with a disinfectant are applied to the marks. Burnt areas of the skin can be exposed to ultraviolet radiation, which facilitates the process of cell death and accelerates the formation and restoration of he althy 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 functioning of the central and peripheral nervous system.
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 undergoing rehabilitation and full recovery from the injury. Complications may occur:
- violations of the vestibular apparatus;
- hearing loss;
- retrograde amnesia;
- paresis of limbs;
- damage to the kidneys, liver, formation of stones in organs;
- damage to blood vessels, spinal cord, brain;
- psychosis and disorder of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system;
- coma;
- massive bleeding.
If an electric current passed through the head, theninjuries of the organs of vision with retinal detachment, clouding of the lens, pathological changes in the intraocular environment, and the development of glaucoma are also inevitable.
Electrical injury prevention
The main prevention of injury from electric current is to comply with safety regulations 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 serving the existing electrical installations must periodically, twice a year, undergo a medical examination. In this case, it is imperative to go through a therapist, surgeon, neuropathologist, ophthalmologist, otolaryngologist according to indications.
With basic safety precautions, many electrical injuries can be avoided.
