• Home

Home > Medical Reference > Encyclopedia (English)

Toggle: English / Spanish

Electrical injury

• Overview
• Symptoms
• Treatment
• Prevention

Definition:

An electrical injury can occur to the skin or internal organs when a person is directly exposed to an electrical current.

Alternative Names:

Electrical shock

Considerations:

The human body is a good conductor of electricity. Direct contact with electrical current can be fatal. While some electrical burns look minor, there still may be serious internal damage, especially to the heart, muscles, or brain.

About 1,000 people die annually of electric shock in the United States.

The outcome of an electric shock to an individual depends on the intensity of the voltage to which the person was exposed, the route of the current through the body, the victim's state of health, and the speed and adequacy of the treatment.

Electric current can cause injury in three main 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.

Causes:

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

• Review Date: 11/4/2005
• Reviewed By: William D. Whetstone, M.D., Associate Clinical Professor, Division of Emergency Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org). URAC's accreditation program is the first of its kind, requiring compliance with 53 standards of quality and accountability, verified by independent audit. A.D.A.M. is among the first to achieve this important distinction for online health information and services. Learn more about A.D.A.M.'s editorial process . A.D.A.M. is also a founding member of Hi-Ethics (www.hiethics.com) and subscribes to the principles of the Health on the Net Foundation (www.hon.ch).

The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. Copyright 1997-2007 A.D.A.M., Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.