An electrical injury is damage to the skin or internal organs when a person comes into direct contact with an electrical current.

Electrical shock

The human body conducts electricity very well. That means, electricity passes very easily throughout the body. Direct contact with electrical current can be deadly. While some electrical burns look minor, there still may be serious internal damage, especially to the heart, muscles, or brain.

Electric current can cause injury in three ways:

• Cardiac arrest due to the electrical effect on the heart
• Muscle, nerve, and tissue destruction from a current passing through the body
• Thermal burns from contact with the electrical source

• Accidental contact with exposed parts of electrical appliances or wiring
• Flashing of electric arcs from high-voltage power lines
• Lightning
• Machinery or occupational-related exposures
• Young children biting or chewing on electrical cords, or poking metal objects into an electrical outlet

Images

Shock

Electrical injury

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Electrical injury Symptoms

Review Date: 01/05/2011
Reviewed By: Jacob L. Heller, MD, MHA, Emergency Medicine, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, Washington. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)