An electrical burn is a burn that results from electricity passing through the body causing rapid injury. Approximately 1000 deaths per year due to electrical injuries are reported in the United States, with a mortality rate of 3-5%.[1][2] Electrical burns differ from thermal or chemical burns in that they cause much more subdermal damage.[3] They can exclusively cause surface damage, but more often tissues deeper underneath the skin have been severely damaged. As a result, electrical burns are difficult to accurately diagnose, and many people underestimate the severity of their burn. In extreme cases, electricity can cause shock to the brain, strain to the heart, and injury to other organs.[4]
For a burn to be classified as electrical, electricity must be the direct cause. For example, burning a finger on a hot electric steam iron would be thermal, not electrical. According to Joule's first law: electricity passing through resistance creates heat, so there is no current entering the body in this type of burn. Likewise, a fire that is ruled to be "electrical" in origin, does not necessarily mean that any injuries or deaths are due to electrical burns. Unless someone was injured at the exact moment that the fire began, it is unlikely that any electrical burns would occur.
^Electrical Injuries in Emergency Medicine at eMedicine
^Nasoori, A (2017). "Maggot debridement therapy for an electrical burn injury with instructions for the use of Lucilia sericata larvae". Journal of Wound Care. 26 (12): 734–741. doi:10.12968/jowc.2017.26.12.734. PMID 29244970.
^“Electrocution Burns.” Burn Survivor Resource Center. n.p. n.d. Web. 29 September 2011. <http://www.burnsurvivor.com/injury_examples_electrocution.html Archived 2011-10-30 at the Wayback Machine>.
^Health Care Advisor: Burn Treatment Self Help Guide. n.p. n.d.. Web. 29 September 2011.<http://www.burnremedies.com/Electrical.html Archived 2011-11-02 at the Wayback Machine>.
An electricalburn is a burn that results from electricity passing through the body causing rapid injury. Approximately 1000 deaths per year due to electrical...
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after significant microwave exposures. Microwave burns show some similarities with electricalburns, as the tissue damage is deep rather than superficial...
; Hoomand, R. (December 2017). "Maggot debridement therapy for an electricalburn injury with instructions for the use of Lucilia sericata larvae". Journal...
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Turkish]. PMID 5514252. Co-authored with C. Topuzlu, and A. Gülgönen. "Electricalburns: a five-year experience--1985 Evans lecture". Journal of Trauma. Vol...
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