Effects of Electrical Shock
...ricity exited my husband’s left arm, it came out through his wrist and hand. My husband’s injuries were very extensive, but the most considerable damage was to his left arm, wrist, and hand. Internal organs can also be damaged by electrical shock. The heart and lungs are the most frequently affected. Death usually is the result from electricity on the heart, but not all the time. When Bob was electrocuted, his heart stopped. He was given CPR several times and the emergency technicians finally got his heart started again. The lungs can be effected by paralysis of the diaphragm or interrupt nerve impulses that regulate breathing. Bob had a lot of problems with his lungs after the accident. He was on a ventilator for twenty-seven days and during this time he got pnuemonia, which made his lungs completely fill up with fluid, and he also contracted three different types of bacteria from being in the hospital. One of the biggest reasons he had so many problems with his lungs is because when he came into contact with the power lines there was a big ball of flame that was right in his face. This is called flash burn. He breathed in some of the flames and it burned the thin lining in his lungs. Bob’s lungs were burned just like his arms. Electrical burns are different than fire burns. The skin heats up from the inside of your body. This is why the burns are more intense and are so deep. The electrical current uses the muscles, nerves and tissues as a conductor. It heats them up really fast. The muscles start to expand from the heat. Depending on how much they expand, a fasciotomy may have to be performed to keep the blood circulating through the muscle. A fasciotomy is surgery that splits open the skin to relieve pressure that builds up and causes low blood supply because it is restricted by the skin. Bob had to have fasciotomies on both of his arms. The muscles were expanding in his forearms so the doctor had to split his arm open from the inside of his wrist to the inside of his elbow. When this is done the muscles can expand and lets the blood continue to flow. (Eldich) If this wouldn’t have been done, he could have lost both of his arms. They kept the fasciotomies bandaged, but they were left open for two weeks. There are other complications tha...