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Electric shock - Urgent
mooshoepork
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Girlfriend just got an electric shock from a fridge. She had water on her hands. She said she felt it go up her right arm, through her body and down the left arm. She seems fine, but is having some minor chest pains. The pain isn't getting worse, and seems to be getting better. There are no burns or outward damage. Is it doctor time? This happened a few hours ago, and she feels fine sans the chest pain.
Is it time for the ER?
Is it time for the ER?
mooshoepork on
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But if your insurance is good and the ER is close and it'll let you sleep at night. I'm not a doctor or electrician.
Good grief, man.
Um, yes. I'd say get her to a doctor and talk to work about pulling the power for that fridge. In that order.
1. Chest pain - should feel like pressure, as though someone is sitting on your chest
2. cool, clammy skin
3. nausea
4. shortness of breath
5. intense feeling of anxiety
That said, there's not really a reason you shouldn't go to the doctor, if it's not going to cost her much/anything.
IIRC you're in NSW, so this would be the relevant website - http://www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/FAQs/OHSResponsibilities/Notification/pages/qu01_notification.aspx. There's one for each state so if I'm wrong just go googling.
Do you work for like a supermarket or something, or just a small business? If you're an SDA member you should also talk to your union rep about what you should do. I may sound a little gung ho, but this was a significant near-miss incident and people still die in the workplace on a semi-regular basis due to entirely preventable causes. Even in food prep.
This.
Even if she ends up fine, she should see a doctor if only to document that this all happened.
??? Really? I've been shocked more times than I care to admit over here in Africa and we're on 240. It feels awful but I've never been burned.
PSN - sumowot
AC electricity is very easy to pull away from. In fact, it often seems to knock you back due to your muscles involuntarily contracting. DC electricty is the one that burns the shit out of you and needs a second person to pull you free.
Completely this.
1. You do not have to pay for healthcare. There is no reason not to go, especially for a goddamn electric shock. You should see a doctor.
2. You want to have gone to a doctor for the paperwork in case work get shifty about it.
3. Work should have insurance for this kind of thing, so don't feel guilty about costing them money or anything. They should have made sure their shit was safe in any case, and it's not like they have to pay for her seeing a doctor.
4. See a doctor.
@gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
That being said, there isn't much middle ground with being electrocuted; typically, you're either just fine, or VERY sure you're not fine.
And 240 is very little. It can kill you, sure, but it's pretty fantastically unlikely.
Injuries at a workplace should always be reported/documented, no matter how much the boss whines or trivial it seems. Numerous people have died unnecessarily on seemingly "safe" jobs because they didn't speak up, refuse unsafe conditions, or had irresponsible management.
The pain has completely gone away and she says she's fine.
Here in Manitoba, Canada, to get an ambulance to come to you costs $0, and for the EMT's to do a basic workup is $0. If they want to provide oxygen or take a quick EKG or apply medications, there's a fee, and if opt to get transported to the hospital, it's $300, which in her case would likely have been covered by the Workplace Health and Safety equivalent, and/or an employer who doesn't want to be sued.
you are in Australia. We don't need to pay for that sort of thing, especially since it happened at work, she can just claim it on workers comp.
And even if you do have to pay a small amount...what's better, saving a few bucks, or having the peace of mind to know that she's okay?
If she has some sort of complications down the line stemming from this, you will hate yourself for not taking a couple hours to go to the hospital or even just a GP.
Electric shock isn't really something that generally causes "sleeper" injuries; it's not a blow to the head. If you're going to have later complications from it, you usually have immediate complications from it as well (being knocked out, severely burned, your heart stopping, etc.). Thie is coming from a friend who's a nurse. Typically, with electrocution, you're either really fucked up, or just fine; there really isn't much middle ground.
Also of note - here in the great land of Oz, the phrase "I'm having chest pains" is an instant skip-the-line at most doctors and hospitals. So, no wait + medicare = it's better than NOT going to the doctor.
Also, telling her boss that she has chest pains because of a work related accident = free afternoon off work.
Win win win.
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Just for the sake of clarity it seems to take a bit more than 10mA, AC or DC, to kill you. Judging from the texts cited here, it seems you would need to take a bit more current than 10mA it really get knocked out, apparently 60mA to 70mA is the threshold. I have heard numbers talked about all the time for what would end up killing a human and I am sure it varies for various reasons based upon one's physical chemistry and the conditions of the shock.
Yeah, 10mA causing serious harm would require some pretty unusual circumstances. The number I usually hear is 100 mA being life-threatening. If she's small then even less could potentially be fatal, but under the circumstances there's little chance she got anywhere near that much. The average resistance of the human body is about 100 000 Ohms, though it can go down to as little as 1 000 Ohms when the body is wet. In order to get 70mA, that would require 7 000 Volts, which is a far cry from 240.
So she's probably fine, but seeing as how it's been a day after the accident this is probably a moot point by now. If she hasn't gone to the doctor yet she probably won't.
I hate to disagree with Thanny, but this is wrong.
Mario Lemieux played hockey for months with an Atrial Fibrillation and seemed normal, but it was enough of a concern when they discovered it for him to be defibrillated. There are dozens of normal heartbeats possible in any given human, dozens more that are abnormal but not dangerous, and a bunch more that are dangerous. The only way to tell if the heart wound up with an abnormal rythym from a shock is via an EKG.
By the way, I Am Not a Doctor, I'm just a guy who just recert'd his CPR/First Aid/AED Training.