First aid in case of electric shock, actions in case of electric shock. Actions and first aid in case of electric shock First aid if a person is shocked

Electrical injury is the defeat of the body by current, regardless of its strength. When defeated electric shock, there is the concept of imaginary death. This means that visually a person does not show signs of life, but this state is only for the period of direct exposure to stress. Therefore, you need to start by stopping the flow of current.

If a person succumbed to the action of an electric one, in no case should he be touched with bare hands, it is necessary to stop the supply of voltage.

Ensure your own safety. If you need to remove the wire, put on any dry gloves (preferably rubber). To protect yourself from the transmission of current through the floor, shoes are suitable. Pretty much anything with rubber soles, so it's a no-brainer. Although the earth does not transmit current flow, when exposed to a high voltage wire at close range, it can spread due to great strength voltage.
Remove the wire from the victim, if necessary. Then drag the person by the clothing (not by the arm or leg) to a distance of at least 10 meters from the impact site. This is the right moment to call an ambulance.
Now you need to find the pulse on the neck on the carotid artery. It is uncomfortable on the hand due to the fact that the vessel is smaller in diameter and can not be heard through gloves. If the victim is unconscious, check if there is a reaction of the pupils to light (when lifting upper eyelid change in pupil diameter).
If the above symptoms are absent need urgent cardiopulmonary resuscitation artificial respiration and chest compressions). When a person is conscious, the victim is given a position lying on his side, from above you need to cover with a blanket or jacket for warming. You can not leave such a victim for a minute, but constantly monitor his condition until the doctor arrives. There are cases when, after successful resuscitation, cardiac arrest occurs again.

Electric shock is an unexpected moment of shock for the person providing assistance. In order not to get confused, it should be noted under what conditions it is possible to obtain an impact on the body of great stress.

First aid in one picture:

Releasing the victim from the action of the current

If live parts, which are under great tension, are in the hands of a person, an uncontrolled maximum contraction of the muscles of the hands occurs. As a result, it is not always possible to pull the wire out of your hands.
When a simple touch happens, immediately remove the source or turn off the device. If the above means of self-defense are not observed, the impact will spread to the helping person to an even greater extent. Nothing can be done until the stress is removed.
More secure is the interruption of the current, rather than simply the physical elimination of the contact of the voltage with the body

A special situation is working at height. When the current is turned off, it can fall, adding mechanical stress to the electrical shock. It is necessary to ensure maximum safety not only for yourself in such a situation, but also for the victim.

Carrying out the necessary rescue measures

The help algorithm has already been indicated at the beginning.

Now you need to understand the resuscitation processes in more detail:

The victim should be laid on their side. You need to put something under your feet to stimulate the outflow of blood and not stop blood circulation. Next, release the chest from clothing.
Open the man's mouth and check, if the tongue has sunk, if before that it was in the supine position. With the loss of consciousness, the position of the tongue is not controlled, therefore, there may be asphyxia of the respiratory tract due to its sinking into the pharynx. If necessary, you need to pull it forward with your hand and fix it with your finger. You will still have to turn over on your back for resuscitation.
If resuscitation is carried out by 1 person, then a constant alternation of indirect heart massage and artificial respiration (through the nose or mouth) is required. If several people help, then resuscitation will be easier, but you cannot deviate from the sequence. For every 2 breathing stimuli, there are 3-5 powerful pressures (not blows!) in the region of the heart.
Even if the vital functions of the body have not recovered, you can not stop stimulating the body. Thus, the body is pumped passively, tissue nutrition does not stop. It is also necessary to monitor the reaction of the pupil to light. If it was not there, but it appeared, this is a very good sign. This means that the activities are successful.

Maintenance of vital functions

Resuscitation without signs of spontaneous breathing is the maintenance of vital functions.

In addition, you need to provide general maintenance of the body:

If the person is cold to the touch, it needs to be covered.
Burnt areas must remain open, otherwise the pain effect will only be stronger.
Give a comfortable position.
With secondary injuries with bleeding take urgent measures to stop it. It is important to remember that arterial bleeding is a stream of blood under pressure that is scarlet or bright red. Venous bleeding is pulsatile, i.e. the blood comes out in jerks and the color is dark. To stop, you need to apply 2 tourniquets. One directly to the cut, if possible. The second tourniquet is tied with arterial bleeding at some distance above the focus, with venous bleeding - below the site of injury.
With signs of a broken limb, you need to fix the tire. Any will do a solid, even object to which an arm or leg is tied. It is recommended to move a person less if there is a possibility of a fracture of the spine.
Dislocations do not need to be adjusted independently without knowledge how to do it right. This condition will endure until the arrival of a specialist. Because with improper adjustment of bones and joints, you can only aggravate the situation and provoke torn ligaments or even a fracture.

Assessment of the victim's condition

An accurate assessment of the condition can only be determined by a doctor.

But beforehand common features It is possible to distinguish a mild lesion from a severe lesion:

First of all whether the victim is conscious.
Presence of a pulse and its frequency.
Signs of spontaneous breathing and its severity (frequent superficial, normal, rare deep, with pathological noise)
expressiveness pain syndrome on the degree of burn. After all, loss of consciousness may be due to pain shock.
The presence of secondary injuries(fractures from a fall, bruises, bleeding, etc.)

All data on these criteria must be reported to the ambulance team. Also record the time of current exposure and resuscitation.

What can not be done?

When first aid is provided for electrical injury, it is impossible:

Touch with bare hands current source and its conductors, the person himself.
Forbidden give the victim a sitting or standing position with relatively normal condition consciousness.
Forbidden handle thermal current burns. Never apply ointment folk remedies medicine and ice.
Reception medicines at your discretion is also prohibited. Specialists will provide assistance, and if it suddenly turns out that they have repeated the same group of drugs, an overdose may occur. And this is an additional load on the body. Moreover, it is necessary to clearly understand what exactly from pharmacological agents can be used in each individual case.
If there are no signs of life, you can not leave the victim. He needs constant resuscitation even in the absence of consciousness to maintain blood supply, passive breathing.

Where can a person get an electrical injury?

The place and circumstances of the emergency determine the classification of electrical injuries.

Therefore, where a person may encounter this, it is more convenient to parse it:

Production. The largest share among other types belongs to such injuries. At any enterprise, workers are faced with currents, so there are many options for defeat.
Natural. A lightning strike during a thunderstorm is a powerful electrical injury. Most often, the defeat is not compatible with life. However, resuscitation measures remain the same.
Household. When a person is in a private house, and succumbed to the effects of electric current, this is a domestic injury. But if a specialized electrician received an electrical injury in the same house, then this already applies to production.

You need to be prepared for the fact that in case of a household electric shock in the dark, to eliminate the effects of the current, you will have to urgently turn off the electric switch. Therefore, it is worth considering a flashlight so as not to provide assistance in the dark.

Regardless of the method of damage, the same pathological processes occur in the body.

What happens in the body during an electrical injury?

human hand after electric shock

Firstly, there is the concept of lightning death, when the strength of the current and the time of its impact turned out to be more than it was bearable.

If a person managed to escape, the following processes occur in his body:

The first thing you see is thermal burns. A huge amount of heat is released at the site of current exposure, which destroys healthy tissues. It can be superficial and deep down to the bone. The very first to be affected are the nerves, the walls of small body cavities (for example, the nose), the lens, etc. Burns tend not to spread to large areas of the body, but deep into the thickness of the tissues.
A hallmark of defeat it is the current that is the appearance of a dense scab, which exactly repeats the outlines of the cable or wire with which there was direct contact.
If the victim's clothing is on fire, typical fire burns occur.
to pathological conditions. organ systems include: CNS disorder, convulsive seizures, loss of consciousness and speech, circulatory and respiratory failure.

Now we need to dwell on some first aid points in more detail.

What should not be done to avoid becoming a victim of electric shock?

A person's health is in his own hands. It is necessary not only to observe all the instructions yourself, but also to bring them to the people around you.

Electric shock is one of the most dangerous industrial and domestic injuries. Such injuries are very often accompanied by mortality, especially in the absence of adequate and timely assistance. But not everyone knows how to provide such necessary first aid.

The main danger of electric shock is that it causes damage to both the skin and tissues, leading to burns, and internal organs. Therefore, when providing first aid, it must be remembered that outwardly it is very difficult to assess the real degree of damage without a qualified medical assistance it definitely won't work here.

Features of electric shock

Damage caused by electric shock is called electrical shock. Usually electrical injury occurs when a human body is exposed to an electric discharge of high power. This may be a discharge from household electrical networks or a lightning strike. Of course, much more often people are injured due to their own negligence or malfunction. household appliances than due to the effects of lightning. Failure to follow safety precautions, use of faulty or unreliable equipment, all increase the likelihood of electric shock. They are also often injured, who cannot assess the degree of danger due to lack of experience.

The degree of damage sustained by an electric shock usually depends on several factors. These include current strength and voltage, as well as the way it passes through the body. In addition, it is necessary to take into account the time of exposure to current, general state the health of the victim and how correctly and timely first aid was provided to him.

The passage of electrical current through the body causes tissue heating, and this usually results in superficial burns and damage to internal organs and tissues within the body. Electrical burns, which are also called "current marks", usually occur at the points of entry and exit of current from the body. They may look small and harmless, but in fact, electrical burns are much deeper and more serious. They often damage muscles and bones.

It is important to remember that electrical shock often causes cardiac and respiratory arrest. Therefore, first aid in such a situation is essential.

Signs of electric shock

How to determine that a person suffered from an electric shock? If you saw directly the moment of impact, then there can be no doubt. If a person is unconscious and cannot tell what happened, it is necessary to carefully examine him. First, there must be a source of electricity near it, for example, a bare wire, a faulty appliance, etc. In addition, there should be traces of impact in the form of burns at the points of entry and exit of the discharge. Most often they are located on and on the feet.

When giving first aid, first of all, you need to make sure that you are not in danger, the victim is no longer energized and can be touched. Also, first of all, it is important to call an ambulance and tell them what condition the victim is in. Usually, the victims have impaired respiratory function, and an arrhythmic weak pulse is also observed. In some cases, it may be missing.

One of the main dangers of electrical injury is that even a short exposure to high current can cause respiratory and palpitation to stop. Therefore, it is very important to provide first aid as soon as possible. Remember, a person who has no breathing and heartbeat is unlikely to get worse, so even inept help is better than no help.

Is medical attention always needed?

It will be very difficult to find a person who would never be "shocked". Almost all of us periodically feel slight blows from household appliances, electric vehicles, and even synthetic clothing. Of course, such strokes are absolutely harmless and do not require any treatment. Without treatment, even very tangible and unpleasant blows can remain if they did not cause noticeable damage.

When is it necessary to seek medical help if the blow was not the most terrible and the state of health was slightly disturbed? In case of injuries with relatively low voltage, up to 380 volts, medical assistance will be needed in the following situations:

in the presence of electric;
if within a few hours after the blow the feeling of weakness does not pass;
when hitting any force, it is necessary to consult a doctor for pregnant women, even if subjectively the blow was not strong;
if after the blow there was a loss of consciousness;
if, after an electric shock, there is a deterioration in hearing or vision, convulsions or paralysis are observed;
if the victim is diagnosed with heart disease;
if any alarming symptoms are observed that may be associated with an electric shock.

If the impact force was more than 380 volts, then seeking medical help is a must, since such blows very rarely pass without a trace. After a blow of such force, a person is usually in a state of shock, and cannot adequately assess his state of health. Therefore, even if the victim assures that everything is fine, he must be taken to medical institution where they will inspect and analyze the work of all organs and the presence of damage and failures in their work.

First aid for electric shock before the arrival of an ambulance

Before starting first aid, you need to make sure that the victim is not under the influence of current and can be safely touched. It is necessary to de-energize the source of impact and / or move it away from the victim with the help of an object that does not conduct electricity. If necessary, you can move the victim away from the source of electricity, but, before that, ensure your own safety.

After you have ensured that the electric current has ceased, it is necessary to check the signs of life in the victim, namely the presence of breathing and pulse on large vessels. If they are missing, you need to start resuscitation. The best option- immediate artificial ventilation lungs and indoor massage hearts. It is necessary to continue them until the victim begins to breathe spontaneously or until the ambulance arrives. If a person is unconscious, but cardiac activity and breathing are present, he must be placed in a stable position on his side and wait for the arrival of doctors. If the victim is conscious, then it must be laid in a horizontal position and raised by 20-30 centimeters.

If the situation is not critical, you can deal with burns. With any burn, and especially with electrical burns, it is very important to cool the surface of the burn. It is best to do this with running water at a temperature of 12-18 degrees. It is advisable to cool for at least 15 minutes, preferably 20. After that, you can put a clean, damp cloth on the burns and give the victim an anesthetic.

In physics, there are concepts: step voltage and touch. A step voltage occurs between 2 points in a current-carrying circuit, between which the distance corresponds to approximately one step. A person standing simultaneously on these points falls under its influence, and receives an electric shock. The greatest danger is the situation when the victim falls. Then the voltage increases, because now the current affects not only the legs, but the whole body.

When a person touches these points in the circuit at the same time, a touch voltage appears, which can also lead to negative electric shocks. Its danger lies in possible short circuit circuit, as well as the voltage in the network and the operation of its neutrals.

What threatens to receive an electrical injury, how to understand that a person has come under the influence of voltage in the network, how to help him, and what to do after an electric shock, this article will tell.

Causes and consequences

Domestic or industrial electrical injuries are extremely common. They often arise due to non-observance of elementary, safe actions when working with electrical appliances. Consider the most common causes leading to electric shock:

Operating electrical appliances that have any malfunction
Touching bare wires with bare hands
Self-repair without observing safety rules and minimal knowledge of physics
Strong, sudden voltage drops in the network. They can not only harm human health, but also cause a fire.
In production, it is possible to erroneously supply voltage to a place where people can work
Household electrical appliances (for example, for space heating) self-made or non-safety (purchased on the market, without quality documents)

It should be understood that an electric shock has a very strong negative impact on the human body. Even with a slight lesion, you should see a doctor, because. delayed effects are possible.

Electricity, acting on the body, causes biological, thermal and electrolytic damage. The latter are associated with a change in the composition of the main body fluids (blood, lymph). They are destroyed, which leads to severe disruption of the functioning of internal organs.

Thermal effects are expressed in the appearance of burns on the skin, heating and destruction of nerve fibers and blood vessels. Biological disorders are manifested in uncontrolled muscle contractions, including the heart muscle and respiratory organs.

All electric shocks, depending on the time of exposure and strength, have 4 levels of damage:

The easiest is level 1. Muscle contraction is felt, but the person remains conscious.
At grade 2, a sharp contraction of the muscles leads to an unconscious state. Important point: breathing and heartbeat are clearly defined, there are no failures.
The work of the heart and respiratory organs is disturbed, the person is unconscious for a long time- these are the symptoms of the 3rd degree of electric shock.
Grade 4 - severe muscle spasms lead to cardiac arrest, breathing cannot be determined. In this case, clinical death occurs. Its maximum duration depends on various factors and can be up to 8 minutes.

should be distinguished clinical death from biological, which can only be diagnosed by medical professionals. At 4 degrees, it is extremely important to provide timely and correct assistance in case of electric shock.

Main symptoms

Seeing a person unconscious, before calling a doctor and providing first aid, you should determine the cause of such a painful condition.

An electric shock is easily recognized by the presence of burns at the points of current entry and / or exit. The skin will be swollen and discolored from pink to red. In especially severe cases, blackening of the skin in places of electric shock is possible.

Convulsive movements speak of involuntary contractions, which necessarily occur when a person enters the mains voltage. Weak or intermittent pulse, breathing may also be disturbed.

If a person is conscious, he may complain of pain throughout the body, a feeling of numbness in the limbs. In addition, there may be confusion and incomprehensible speech due to shock.

Electric current causes thermal, chemical and mechanical damage. The defeat of the peripheral nervous system determined by the passage of current, thermal exposure, burn intoxication.

Symptoms of electric shock:

Unexpected fall of a person on the street;
Unnatural repulsion from a current source by an invisible force;
Loss of consciousness;
convulsions;
Pronounced neurological signs: memory loss, impaired understanding of speech and vision, impaired orientation in space, psychomotor restlessness; weakness and weakness; dizziness and headache; violation of thermoregulation; flickering in the eyes, blurred vision.
Change in skin sensitivity;
Ventricular fibrillation and respiratory arrest;
Burns on the body with sharply defined borders.

What to do

Having found a person after an electric shock, it is necessary to follow a certain algorithm of actions. You need to act coolly, quickly and correctly. By doing this, you will not only save his life, but also protect yourself from electric shock, under which the injured person may be.

Where to start:

First of all, de-energize the victim by dropping the wires from him using any object that has a low electrical conductivity (wood, rubber, glass, paraffin, plastic). good option becomes a rolled up newspaper or magazine. If it is not possible to reach a person, if possible, de-energize the room using an electrical panel. If you find the victim on the street, then walk towards him on the ground with small steps, do not run.

Providing first aid

In case of electric shock, you need to remember that death from electric shock can occur even after a few hours, so you need to:

Immediately call an ambulance;
Assess the condition of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. It is easy to pat a person on the shoulder, ask basic questions (“Can you hear me” or “What is your name”). If the person does not answer, there is no tour chest and pulse on large arteries (neck), then start resuscitation:
Lay the victim on a flat, hard surface, release Airways from vomit by wrapping a clean handkerchief or piece of cloth around your finger.
Tilt the head of the victim back, open his mouth, push the lower jaw forward (Triple Safar technique);
Place arms straightened at the elbows (leading arm up) 2 fingers higher from the xiphoid process;
100 rhythmic compressions are performed for 1 minute on the chest with an amplitude of compressions of 5-6 cm and until the chest is fully expanded after pressing. Breathing mouth to mouth - two full exhalations every 30 clicks on the projection of the heart.
The duration of resuscitation measures is until the ambulance arrives or until signs of life appear (skin reddening, the appearance of a pulse and breathing). In this case, the victim is turned on his side and waiting for an ambulance;
If the victim is breathing , it should be laid in such a way that the head is placed below the legs (legs should be slightly raised). This is a necessary anti-shock measure;
Areas of the body damaged by a burn or secondary injury from a fall should be covered with a clean cloth to prevent infection;
In the cold season, it is necessary to ensure that frostbite does not occur, in the hot season - overheating.

Additional advice from the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia:

Before helping an electrocuted person, ensure your own safety - use rubber shoes and gloves.
To remove a bare electrical wire from a person, use wood or plastic.
Pull the victim away from the place where the electrical wire touches the ground or floor.
Call an ambulance.
Determine the presence of a pulse on the carotid artery.
If there are no signs of life, perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (assuming you know how to do it!).
If breathing and heartbeat are restored, turn the shocked person on their side.
Cover, warm and monitor his condition until the ambulance arrives.

Safe Behavior Rules

most effective protection against electric shock are knowledge in the field of electrical safety.

When using any electrical appliances in everyday life, make sure in advance of their quality and serviceability by carefully examining the case. If you find cracks, dents, or any damage to the insulation, then do not risk your health and do not use it. Also should be alert bad smell working electrical appliance.

In the dark or when visibility is poor, do not try to repair electrical engineering, because there is a good chance that you will touch unprotected parts of the wires.

Connect the plug to the mains only with dry hands. Also, when working with power tools, it is recommended to wear dry shoes with rubber soles. While in the water (shower, bath, sauna), do not use the appliances included in the network.

Prohibitions also include the following:

Drilling a wall or driving nails into it without first reading the wiring diagram in this room
Working with electric tools hold on to pipes or battery
Carry out painting or whitewashing of walls on which electrical outlets are located.

To protect the child from electric shock, all electrical appliances, wires and sockets should be isolated from him. You can close them with special rubber baby plugs with a lock that only you can open. Wires and extension cords can also be hidden under special protective covers.

When a live wire ignites, never use water to extinguish it. De-energize it first.

- a dangerous industrial or domestic injury that can result in the death of the victim. No one is immune from electrical injuries, and each of us needs to know how to act in such situations.

Electric shock: signs and symptoms

When an electric current passes through the tissues, the latter become very hot, which leads to the formation of electrical burns of the skin, and damage to tissues and organs that are located in close proximity. An electrical burn occurs in the area of current input and output. Often such areas are referred to as "current marks".

It is noteworthy that outwardly an electric shock burn can be insignificant. But at the same time, such injuries are deep and can affect numerous muscles, bones and internal organs, which is extremely dangerous. In particular, electric current can seriously disrupt the functioning of the heart muscle up to a complete cardiac arrest. In addition, when an electric shock occurs, the victim may stop breathing.

The main signs and symptoms of electric shock include:

The presence of a bare current source near the victim.
at the victim.
The presence of a burn on the skin (outwardly it may seem insignificant).
Respiratory failure or complete stop.
Very weak or arrhythmic pulse (or complete cessation of the pulse).
Inlet and outlet openings electric charges in most cases located on the hands upper limbs or on the feet.

If symptoms such as lack of a pulse, uneven breathing, or convulsive seizures during electric shock appear, you should immediately call an ambulance. Even a short exposure to electric current can cause the death of the victim, so a lot depends on the timeliness of first aid.

How to provide first aid in case of electric shock

If you have witnessed electric shock current, then provide first aid to the victim (while the ambulance is on the way) as follows:

Assess the situation. In no case do not touch the victim if he is still affected by a current source. In this case, you will also become a victim of an electric shock.
Cut off the power source. If this is not possible, then you need to move the source away from the victim using an object that does not conduct current (for example, a wooden or plastic stick). Sometimes a person just needs to be moved away from the current source. Remember that the victim's body conducts current, so you can not take on uncovered parts of the body with your bare hands. Grab dry areas of clothing and wear rubber gloves or wrap your hands with a dry cloth.
Assess the pulse and respiration. As soon as the source of electric current is removed, the pulse and breathing of the victim should be assessed. If there is no pulse and breathing, then you need to conduct a closed heart massage and artificial respiration.
We look at burns. Examine exposed areas of the body. You should find two burns: at the place where the electric current entered and where it exited. Burns should be covered with a clean cloth, but never cover them with a towel or blanket, as their fibers may stick to the affected surface. For better work the heart of the victim's leg should be slightly raised above the level of his body.

After completing all the activities, wait for an ambulance. An electric shock victim needs to be hospitalized.