Regarding workplace injuries, electrical injuries are among the most common for construction and electrical workers. If you work around electrical currents but your employer or supervisor does not take proper precautions, you can suffer an electric shock.
Electrocution requires immediate medical attention, even if the shock does not result in a physical mark.
Electric shock can cause severe burn injuries
Electrical injuries involve a high-energy current. When you touch the electrical source, the electricity can leave painful burns on your skin from the current flow or fire. Electricity can spark fires and leave you with severe burn injuries.
Electric shock can cause cardiac arrest
Electric impulses control the beat of your heart. During electrocution, a current enters the body, passes through the heart and if strong enough, the current masks the body’s natural impulses and disturbs the rhythm of the heart. The shock can cause an irregular heartbeat or ventricular fibrillation. Ventricular fibrillation causes the heart to stop pumping blood and can be fatal if emergency technicians do not restore the heartbeat quickly.
Electricity can affect your brain
An electric current traveling through your brain can disrupt your brain’s natural processes. You can lose consciousness or you can develop seizures. Seizures happen due to abnormal electrical signatures within the brain. While this can occur naturally, it can also happen if you have contact with an electrical source.
Following an electric shock incident, you may feel confused and have difficulty breathing. Since electricity travels through you, it will likely cause some damage within the body.