In order to contribute to society to minimize the risks and damage caused by electrical accidents, Galaxy M&E would like to send readers the 3 necessary steps to conduct first aid for electrical shocks.

Electrical accidents are the most dangerous of labor accidents. After only 0.2 seconds of contact with the voltage, the victim's life can be permanently stripped away. Although the awareness of electrical safety among most workers have risen, it seems that the electrical accidents still continue. If a victim of an electrical incident is given timely and proper first aid, the damage to their health will be reduced, one will have many chances to recover. In order to contribute to society to minimize the risks and damage caused by electrical accidents, Galaxy Electrical Engineering would like to send readers the 3 necessary steps to conduct first aid for electrical shocks.

1. ACKNOWLEDGE THE ELECTRICITY

People who get electrocuted often have skin burns, and the face is white and purple. Long cardiac arrest will cause the pupils to widen. In case of being shocked by high voltage electricity, the victim may appear with marks due to the scorching of the electrical current. In case of multiple injuries due to the impact of electrical current, the victim's leg, arm may be broken, dislocated, skull injury, spine injury. If the victim is severely impacted, it may result in skin bleeding or internal hematoma.

When an electric shock is found, it is necessary to quickly isolate the victim from the electrical source - Galaxy M&E

2. FIRST AID METHOD TO HELP AN ELECTRICAL VICTIM

2.1. Isolate the victim from electrical sources

Isolate the victim from the source of electricity.

It is necessary to quickly isolate the power supply by cutting off the switches, circuit breakers, and mains.

When cutting off the power source, attention should be paid to:

- If the victim is at a high place, it is necessary to take measures to catch and support him or her when they fall down.

- You can use a hammer with an insulating handle to break the wire.

In case of the failure to isolate the victim from the electricity source:

If the accident is caused by low voltage

Persons conducting first aid need to take personal safety measures in the best way possible  before conducting first aid for victims. After preparing protective measures, use insulated objects such as a pole, bamboo stick or dry wooden stick to separate the power cord from the victim.

If the victim holds on to the power cord, first aiders must stand on insulated objects such as wooden platforms, rubber mats / insulated boots, and insulated gloves to remove the power source from the victim.

If the person has an accident due to high voltage

In case of detecting victims that have suffered from accidents due to high voltage electricity, if there are no specialized forces at the scene, the first-aiders must immediately notify the people in charge of the electricity to conduct electricity cut-off. Before separating the victim from the power source, first aid operators must be equipped with full electrical safety protection such as: Insulated rubber boots, insulated gloves or insulated stirrers …

In the absence of the above safety devices, it is necessary to take copper wire or aluminum wire and grounded steel wire at one end and throwing it on the line to create short-circuit phases. When throwing, one should absolutely avoid the cable which is in contact with the victim’s body. Use measures to prevent the consequences of fall damage from occurring.

Immediately after assessing/assessing the victim's health status, call 911 or the nearest medical facility immediately before taking first-aid measures. Galaxy M&E

2.2. Assess the victim's health status and conduct first aid

After separating the victim from the power source, it is necessary to observe, assess the situation and assess the health condition of the victim in order to take appropriate first-aid measures.

The case where the victim has not lost consciousness

The victim has not lost consciousness and has weakness of breathing, and is suffering from comatose. In this case, the victim's body should be checked to know the extent of injury if any. The priority is to check the  neck vertebrae because injuries here can cause permanent paralysis which needs to be taken care of as soon as possible. After understanding the health condition, move the victim to a cool, quiet place. The next thing is to take the victim to the nearest medical facility to continue to carry out other necessary emergency measures.

The case of the victim has lost consciousness

When performing first aid and the victim then loses consciousness (lay, call, structure ...) do not react. If victim is still breathing, and has a weak heartbeat, place them in a well-ventilated area. Loosen clothes and waist belts to allow less restrictive breathing. Then, have the victim smell ammonia / urine, heat up the body via massaging the victim, call medical staff to transfer the victim to the nearest medical facility.

The victim has stopped breathing

If the victim has stopped breathing and the heart beat stops, the victim should be placed in a well-ventilated, leveled area, loosened with clothing and belt, wipe off blood, saliva and other contaminants in the mouth and nose area. Check the victim's mouth for problems and perform artificial respiration, compressing the heart outside the chest. If able, immediately transfer victim to medical facility. During the transport process, first-aid personnel should continuously perform CPR.

Cases of multiple injuries

Multiple injuries are results of electrical currents that cause the victim to curl up, failing to take control of the posture causing the body to fall / collide with the environment and surrounding objects. Multiple injuries can take the form of;  dislocated joints, sprains, fractures, skin tears or organ damage.

Manifestations of closed fractures, sprains, dislocations, internal injuries are all characterized by pain, swelling, bruising of the affected area. Victims suffering from this type of trauma often lose their motor functional skills or is hesitate to move because of pain.

In the case of a victim that has multiple trauma and an active cardiopulmonary, as soon as the injury is known, the rescuer should coordinate with the surrounding people to move the victim to a safe place after which, call a health care provider and take care of the wounds (if broken, dislocated) either bandage or stop the bleeding if this skin damage does occur.

If the victim suffers from multiple trauma and stops breathing, immediately call the paramedics and take the victim to the nearest medical facility. During the move, if the victim does not suffer from damage to the chest area, spine, head, then perform artificial respiration, compressing the heart outside the chest to help the victim recover. Other cases require timely intervention and support by emergency services 115.

Absolutely do not perform chest compressions with victims injured chest and / or spine | Galaxy M&E

2.3. Give artificial respiration and chest compressions

For victims who stop breathing but do not suffer from damage to the chest, head and spine area, after calling medical staff, they need to immediately perform artificial respiration methods, by performing CPR.

Posture of the victim before performing CPR, chest compressions: Place the victim on his back on a hard surface, legs higher than head. Do not leave the casualty on a mattress during first aid.

Ways of CPR combined with chest compressions:

Keep your hands on top of each other, fingers crossed, then use your full wight to press into 1/3 of the breastbone above your heart. If there are 2 people participating in the CPR process, one must push down on the chests 5 times and the other one must use mouth to mouth 1 time. If only one person, every 15 times of forced pressure the heart is give asphyxiation 2 times. Do this regularly until the victim is awake, breathing again, and has pink lips once again, noticing a pulse in the wrist and an ambulance transporting the victim to the hospital. During the move, every 3 minutes must be used to monitor the victim's face, pulse, pupils and  breathing.

Electrical shock victims are only considered dead after diagnosis through modern diagnostic facilities and conclusions of the hospital where emergency resuscitation is carried out | Galaxy M&E.

3. NOTICE TO TAKE WHEN PERFORMING FIRST AID ON ELECTRICAL SHOCK VICTIMS

- When the power is turned off, it is necessary to prevent the victim from falling / causing the accident to get worse;

- Persons conducting first aid for victims, first aiders must not use their bare hands to pull victims out of the power source before the electricity is disconnected.

- All emergency rescue work for cardiac arrest or respiratory arrest requires emergency personnel to be calm, swift, perform properly and control the site where the incident took place.

- In the process of transporting victims to medical facilities, they must continue the emergency work and closely monitor and detect any irregularities and there after treat the patient accordingly.

- Special note: The world has recorded many cases of electrical shock victims died after conducting burial. During the process of burial / excavation of the tombs, it was discovered that the victim's body was dislocated, the joints were in a convulsive position, not as neat as before. Coffins sometimes have many scratches suspected to scratch the victim. These are truly unfortunate deaths, leaving pain for not only the victims but also those around them. Therefore, the first-aid process for electrical shocks need to be persistent and continuous. Time for victims to recover heart / lung damage can last for several days, requiring the active support of many medical equipment and a team of emergency specialists. Victims are only considered to die after the diagnosis results through modern diagnostic facilities and the conclusions of the hospital where emergency resuscitation is conducted.

Above are all things to know before conducting first aid for victims that have suffered from electrical accidents. To minimize the risks caused by electrical accidents, each individual needs to equip themselves with the basic knowledge of electrical safety. Absolutely do not participate in operating, repairing power-consuming equipment without professional knowledge. Do not go into the zone where electrical malfunction occur.

For individuals engaged in the field of construction, installation, operation and repair of M&E works, they need to understand the consequences of electrical accidents, the Stae's regulations electricity safety, must be understood. Attend electrical safety training before starting work.

Galaxy M&E