First Aid for an Attack of Electric Shock

Distance the Person from the Source of Electricity

• Turn the power off: If it was an appliance, it should be unplugged or switch off the main power circuit via circuit breaker, fuse box or an outside switch.

• Unable to turn power off: Place dry newspaper, telephone book, wooden box or anything dry that will not conduct electricity for the person to stand on. Keep the person separated from the current source by placing non-conductive objects between the person and the source. Chairs, plastic broom handles, and rubber doormats are all ideal objects to use.

• High voltage lines involved: Call the local power company to have lines shut off. If they feel a tingling sensation in the legs or lower body, do not attempt to separate the person and the current source. On one leg, hop to a safe place and wait for the lines to be shut off. If the person is in a car and a power line has fallen on it, the person should remain in the car unless there is an explosion of threat of fire.

Perform CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation)

Administer CPR when it is safe to touch the person and they are not breathing. This is the most important part of the first aid for electric shock. 

For children:

1. Kneel next to the child.

2. Push hard and fast.

• If it is a child, place the heel of the hand at the center of the chest, place the heel of the other hand on top while lacing the fingers together. Give 30 compressions about 2 inches deep quickly.

• If it is an infant, use just two fingers to do 30 compressions that are about an inch and a half deep quickly.

3. Give two breaths.

4. Continue compressions and breaths.

Until there are signs of the child or infant breathing on their own, you should continue CPR until an EMS professional can take over. If you become too exhausted to continue to administer CPR, then allow another trained people to take over.

For Adults:

Compressions

1. Ensure the person is lying on a firm surface on their back.

2. Kneel beside the person's shoulders and neck.

3. Place the heel of one of your hand in the center of the persons and place the other on top. Position your shoulders over top of your hands, keeping your elbows straight.

4. Use your upper body weight, not just the strength of your arms, to push down hard about 100 to 120 compressions in a minute. Compress the chest by at least 2 inches or 5 centimeters but no more than 2.4 inches or 6 centimeters.

5. Continue with the chest compression for adult first aid for electric shock until there is movement from the person or an emergency medical professional arrives.

Airway

1. After performing 30 chest compression, you can open the person's airways by tilting the head back and lifting the chin. Place your palm on the person's forehead while gently tilting the head back and use the other hand to lift the chin forward.

2. Check if the person is breathing normally by looking for chest movement, listening for breathing sounds, or feeling for the person's breath on your ear. If you are trained in CPR, you can begin to give mouth to mouth breathing; if you have not been trained in CPR, continue with chest compression after checking for normal breath.

Breathing

1. Once you have opened the airways, you can pinch the nostrils for mouth to mouth breathing and make seal with your mouth over theirs .

2. Give two breaths with each about one second long. Watch to see if the chest rises while giving breaths. Give thirty chest compression followed by two more breaths. Do not force the breaths or give too much air.

3. Continue with chest compressions.

4. After about two minutes of compression and breaths or five cycles, if the person has not begun to move or breath for their own, use an automated external defibrillator (AED) to administer one shock. Resume CPR that begins with chest compression again for another two minutes.

5. If no AED is available, continue with CPR until the person begins to move or an emergency medical professional has arrived to take over.

Or you can watch the video below to learn the tips of CPR. 

Examine Additional Injuries

There might be some injuries with electric shock, follow the instructions below when needed:

• For bleeding, apply pressure to the wound and keep it elevated if the wound is on the arm or leg.
  

• If the person fell because of the shock, they may have fractured a bone. Keep the person still and do not move them unless they are in harm's way.

• Burns on the skin from the electrical shock should be cooled with running water or a cool compression should be used if the victim is not near running water.

After Electrical Shock

After applying the first aid for electric shock, wait for the professionals to take the victim to the hospital. He/she will experience the following. 

• Injuries will be checked over by a doctor to ensure there are no additional burns, fracture or dislocations.

• Additional blood tests, ECG, urine test, MRI and CT scans may be required.

• The person may be required to stay in the hospital or at a burn center.