First aid for children in case of electric shock

The article was professionally consulted with Master, Doctor Truong Thanh Tam - Pediatrician at the Department of Pediatrics - Neonatology - Vinmec Danang International General Hospital.

An electric shock accident occurs suddenly, causing the victim to suffer burns from mild to severe degrees, causing many damage to organs in the body, even causing the patient to die due to cardiac arrest. stop breathing.

Internal organs damaged by electric shock include:
Heart: Ventricular fibrillation, atrial arrhythmia, 1st and 2nd degree heart block, bundle branch block and sudden cardiac arrest are phenomena that can occur when a baby is electrocuted. . Of these, ventricular fibrillation is the most common fatal arrhythmia, occurring in about 60% of patients with an electrical current path from one hand to another. Kidney: Electric shock causes severe damage to the kidneys of children such as acute kidney injury due to pigment deposition of muscle cells in renal tubules, acute tubular necrosis and rhabdomyolysis. Nervous system: After being electrocuted, a child can be damaged in both the central and peripheral nervous systems. When children have nerve damage, they often have manifestations such as memory disorders, respiratory depression, loss of consciousness, weakness or paralysis of limbs, ... in which sensory and motor disorders are caused by damage to peripheral nerves. margin is quite common. Skin: A child may suffer a superficial, partial, or total thermal burn after the injury. It should be noted that external injuries should not be relied on to determine the extent of internal injuries, especially those caused by low voltage. Skeletal muscle: The damaged area is usually deep tissue around long bones, electric shock can cause periosteal burns, bone cytoplasm destruction, bone necrosis, fracture... Vascular system, blood coagulation: After an electric shock, a child's blood vessels can be damaged and arterial thrombosis occurs, which is caused by compartment syndrome or hardening of the small blood vessels. Other organs such as lungs, stomach, small intestine and colon, etc. are also damaged and cause dangerous complications such as secondary bacterial infection, infection, and even death.

2.1. At the place where electric shock occurs Urgently disconnect the power supply, quickly remove the child from the current with non-conductive objects such as wooden sticks or brooms.... Note do not touch the child with bare hands until the power is off. electricity. Check the baby's circulatory signs (heart rate, breathing rate, cough and movement): If the child has cardiac arrest, stops breathing, it is necessary to carry out cardiopulmonary resuscitation measures as follows: Place the child in a supine position, head up and down. Most often, remove foreign bodies in the child's mouth, do not do if the child has a cervical spine injury. Press on the area in front of the child's heart, check if the child's heart does not beat again, then conduct rescue breaths combined with external chest compressions for the child (30 compressions, 2 breaths), continue to give first aid until when the baby's heart beats again and can breathe. Immediately after the child can breathe on his own and the heart beats again, it is necessary to apply a bandage to stop bleeding, fix the broken bones, fix the child's cervical spine if injury is suspected, give fluids to the child if the child has low blood pressure. pressure and take the child to the hospital right away for intensive care. When finding out that their child is burned, parents should not apply ice, ointment or anything to the burn, need to take the child to the hospital to be cleaned and bandaged by medical staff. time to check the inner lesions of the child.

2.2. At the hospital Continuously monitor the child's blood pressure, heart rate, breathing rate. Support breathing for children by giving them oxygen through a nasal inhaler or a mask, in case of severe respiratory failure, it is necessary to carry out squeezing oxygen balloons through a mask or endotracheal intubation for the child. If the child has a receding tongue, the mouthpiece should be placed in the child's mouth. Check blood count; urea and blood creatinine ; blood electrolytes; blood sugar; CK; enzymes SGOT and SGPT,... to evaluate the function of the organs in the child's body after being electrocuted. Assess the extent of the child's injury: It is necessary to transfer the child to the intensive care unit for special care if the child is seriously injured. As soon as the child is stabilized, if the child has significant burns, the child should be transferred to a center specializing in the treatment of burns. For children with electric shocks due to exposure to high voltage sources, it is necessary to closely monitor the cardiovascular status for 12-24 hours even though no obvious damage is visible.

For older children, it is necessary to educate and teach children about electrical hazards and measures to prevent electric shock when using electrical appliances. For young children: Parents need to design sockets out of reach of children. Use safety shields or use duct tape to seal rarely used sockets. Indoor electrical conductors need to be used with good insulating sheath, should not use wires, electrical equipment, electrical appliances of poor quality, it is best to put them in insulated pipes to prevent electric shock when the wires are damaged. conductive leakage. Do not touch the power source, plug in electrical appliances with wet hands, bare feet and stand in wet places. Ground metal housings of electrical appliances in the house such as refrigerators, water pumps, washing machines, etc. to prevent electric shock when electricity is leaked to the housing. In order to avoid the unfortunate consequences that may occur due to electric shock, parents need to pay attention to household electrical appliances in the house as well as frayed electrical wires and broken electrical outlets. electrical leakage, it is best to repair or replace immediately.