In Shortly about Electrical Injuries

Siniša Franjić

Citation: Franjić S. In Shortly about Electrical Injuries. Medp Case Rep Clin Image. 2022; 1(1): mpcrci–202211001.

Abstract 

   Electrical injury is damage that occurs when electricity passes through the body, causing tissue burns or internal organ dysfunction. Electrical power current passing through the body creates heat that can severely burn and destroy tissue. Electrical power can cause deep and sharply limited burns. Passages of current through the heart and through the brain can cause instant death due to cardiac arrest and damage to the breathing center in the brain. Strong muscle spasms caused by electricity can lead to muscle tears and bone fractures. The stiffness of the muscles can last for several minutes after the contact with the electricity which in the case of involvement of the breathing muscles leads to the cessation of breathing. A person who has caught a live wire with his hands will not be able to drop it due to a spasm of his hand muscles. Electrical injury can result from being struck by lightning or touching household electrical wires, downed power lines, or something that conducts electricity from a live electrical wire. The severity of the injury, which can be a mild burn or can cause death, depends on the type and strength of the current, the body’s resistance to the current at the point of entry, the path of the current through the body and the duration of contact with the current. 

Keywords: Electricity; Electrical Injury; Burns; Complications