An electrical burn is a burn that results from electricity passing through the body causing rapid injury.
Electrical burn differ from thermal or chemical burns in that they cause much more subdermal damage. They can exclusively cause surface damage, but more often tissues deeper underneath the skin have been severely damaged. As a result, electrical burn is difficult to accurately diagnose, and many people underestimate the severity of their burn. Hence, electrical burn should be treated appropriately.
Electrical burn can be caused by a variety of ways such as touching or grasping electrically live objects, short-circuiting, inserting fingers into electrical sockets, children bite on electrical cords, and falling into electrified water. Lightning strikes are also a cause of electrical burns. With the advances in technology, electrical injuries are becoming more common and are the fourth leading cause of work-related traumatic death. One third of all electrical traumas and most high-voltage injuries are job related, and more than 50% of these injuries result from power line contact.
Electrical burn can be classified into six categories, and any combination of these categories may be present on an electrical burn victim: Low-voltage burn, High voltage burn, Arc burn, Flash burn, Flame burn, Oral burns.
As the body comes into contact with an electrical source, it becomes part of the electrical circuit. As such, the current has a point of entry and an exit at two different points on the body. The point of entry tends to be depressed and leathery whereas the exit wound is typically more extensive and explosive. It is hard to accurately diagnose an electrical burn because only the entry and exit wounds are visible and the internal damage is not.
The four electrical factors determining the severity of the damage caused by electrical burns are voltage, resistance, type of current, duration of contact, and frequency. Electrical shock can cause severe muscle contractions. These contractions can cause falls or injuries, leading o bone fractures. Other symptoms include: numbness or tingling, weakness, visible burns on the skin, headache, feeling disoriented. Electrical injuries often extend beyond burns and include low blood pressure, seizures, heart arrhythmias such as ventricular fibrillation. Severe shock may cause a loss of consciousness, seizures or heart to stop (Cardiac arrest).
Typically, an electrical burn patient has a much higher complication risks due to internal injury. Such damaged internal tissue needs hospitalization. If not treated, this damaged tissue can cause complications such as gaseous gangrene from dead tissue or loss of blood flow to limbs and the damaged body parts may need to be amputated. Repeated removal of the damaged tissue and extensive rehabilitation are common while limb amputation rates for victims who experience direct electrical contact can be as high as 75%.
An electrically burned patient should not be touched or treated until the source of electricity has been removed. First aid treatments include assessment of consciousness of the victim and emergency response must be done quickly to restore airway, breathing, circulation. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to be started immediately if the heart has stopped beating, along with airway and breathing support, IV fluids to restore circulatory balance in the body, followed by treatment of burn to prevent further injury or death.
