An electric burn is a burn resulting from electricity that passes through the body causing a rapid injury. Approximately 1,000 deaths per year due to electrical injury are reported in the United States, with mortality rates of 3-5%. Electrical burns differ from thermal or chemical burns because they cause subdermal damage that is much larger. They can exclusively cause surface damage, but more often the deeper tissue under the skin has been severely damaged. As a result, electric burns are difficult to diagnose accurately, and many people underestimate the severity of their burns. In extreme cases, electricity can cause shock to the brain, pressure to the heart, and injury to other organs.
For burns classified as electricity, electricity should be the direct cause. For example, burning a finger on a hot electric steam iron would be hot, not electricity. Electricity that passes through obstacles creates heat, so no current enters the body in this type of burn. Likewise, fires categorized as "electricity", do not necessarily mean that injury or death is caused by an electric burn. Unless a person is injured at the right moment when the fire starts, there is no possibility of burning electricity .
Video Electrical burn
Pathophysiology
Four electrical factors determine the severity of damage caused by electric burns: voltage, current, resistance, and frequency. The severity of the burn also depends on the path of the incoming stream through the body. Generally, the flow path will follow the least resistant tissue path: first the blood vessels, nerves, and muscles, then the skin, tendons, fats, and bones. Most commonly, electrical injuries mainly damage external limbs, but more important body parts may be affected also cause severe complications.
When the body comes in contact with a power source, it becomes part of the electrical circuit. Thus, the current has an entrance and exit point at two different points on the body. The entry points tend to be depressed and rough while the wound out is usually more extensive and explosive. It is difficult to accurately diagnose electric burns because only visible in and out cuts and internal damage are not.
Maps Electrical burn
Cause and classification
Electrical burns can be caused by various ways such as touching or grasping objects that live electrically, short-circuit, inserting a finger into an electrical socket, and falling into an electrically supplied water. Lightning strikes are also the cause of electric burns, but these are less common events. With technological advances, electrical injury is becoming more common and is the fourth leading cause of work-related traumatic deaths. One-third of all electrical trauma and most work-related high-voltage injuries, and over 50% of these injuries are generated from electrical line contacts.
Electrical burns can be classified into six categories, and any combination of these categories may be present in electric burn victims:
- Low voltage burns . Burns generated by contact with a 500 volt or less power source are classified as low-voltage burning. The current at this voltage is not sufficient to cause network damage along its path except on the contact site. This type of burn may be mild, superficial, or heavy depending on the contact time.
- Burn high voltage . This burn is very severe because the victim makes direct contact with high voltage supply and damage runs throughout the body. The exterior injury is misleading as most of the damage occurs under the skin. In this case, the subdermic network is severely damaged.
- Arc on fire . This type of burn occurs when electrical energy moves from a region of high resistance to a low resistance area. No contact with the fuel arc required for electricity to ionize the air particles to complete the circuit. The resulting heat can be as high as 4,000 degrees Celsius - hot enough to vaporize the metal and burn the victim's clothes. A form of explosion dissipates the excess energy from the arc. In addition, a high current arc can produce bursts of pressure waves over 1,000 pounds per square inch of pressure. It can throw the victim and cause serious injury.
- Flash burn . Flash burn is caused by an electric arc passing through the skin. Heat and strong light from arc flash can cause severe burns in a fraction of a second. Although burns on the skin are mostly shallow and cover a large area, the underlying skin tissue is generally undamaged and unaffected. This usually occurs when the AC current frequency is significantly higher than the 50 or 60 Hz used in land-based distribution systems (such as in aircraft).
- Burning flames . Burn burns are caused by contacts to an object turned on by a power source when it is associated with flash and burns.
- Oral burns . This is caused by biting or sucking on power lines, and this is most common in children. The electric current usually passes from one side of the child's mouth to the other, possibly causing deformity.
Treatment
First aid
An electrically fired patient should not be touched or treated until the electrical source is lost. Electrical injuries often extend beyond burns and include cardiac arrhythmias, such as ventricular fibrillation. First aid treatments include assessment of the victim's consciousness, pulse and circulation evaluation, and burn care.
Hospitalization
Typically, an electric burn patient has a lower body surface area affected than other burn patients, but the risk of complications is much higher due to internal injury. Often, damaged internal networks require hospitalization. If left untreated, this damaged tissue can cause complications (such as gangrenous gas from dead tissue or loss of blood flow to the limbs) and damaged body parts may need to be amputated. Repeated neglect of damaged tissue and extensive rehabilitation is common, while amputation rates of limbs for victims who have direct electrical contacts may reach 75%. Treatment of burns for severe injuries may require skin grafting, debridement, expulsion of dead tissue, and repair of damaged organs.
Rehabilitation
Electrical burning has an effect on most of the vital body functions and is accompanied by several other electrical related injuries:
- Damage to veins and arteries that can cause ischemic necrosis.
- Unintentional muscle contractions due to electrical disturbances that can cause fractures and bone dislocations.
- Interference with electrical conductivity of organs such as heart and nerves. This can cause seizures, lung injuries due to severe central nervous system damage, and heart attacks.
- Encouragement of the body, resulting in injuries such as vertebral fractures and extremities.
This injury should be treated in addition to the burn itself. In very rare cases, high voltage electric shock can cause cataracts in the lens of the eye, and retinal detachment. This may be delayed for several days or weeks after the initial injury.
Prevention
Basic electrical safety
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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