FIRST AID TO THE INJURED 337 



ELECTRIC SHOCK 



Electric shock may produce severe burns, unconscious- 

 ness, or death, depending on the strength of the current 

 through the body as well as on its duration and flow. 

 If the skin is thin and moist and the contacts with the 

 conductors good, comparatively low voltage, 220 or pos- 

 sibly less, may be sufficient to send considerable current 

 through the body. On the other hand, a person with 

 thick, dry skin, as on the palms of the hands, may 

 sometimes make slight accidental contact with a circuit 

 of several thousand volts without serious results. A 

 very small current through the region of the heart may 

 paralyze its action and cause death; currents of greater 

 density stimulate the heart to increased action, but 

 paralyze the nerve centers controlling respiration and may 

 cause death by suffocation, the same as in drowning. 



Accidental contact with an electric conductor should 

 be broken as quickly as possible; if maintained until 

 heart action ceases, as a result of suffocation, death 

 invariably results. In breaking the contact (provided, 

 of course, the power cannot be immediately turned off 

 the circuit), use the feet to push the victim and the 

 conductor apart never the hands. Current passing 

 from one foot through the legs and the other foot to 

 ground does comparatively little injury, since the im- 

 portant nerve centers and the heart are not in its 

 path. As soon as the contact is broken, the victim, if 

 he has not lost consciousness, soon recovers. If the 

 victim is unconscious but has not ceased breathing, an 

 effort should be made to revive him, the same as in an 

 ordinary fainting fit. If respiration has ceased, artificial 

 respiration should be tried and continued for some time, 

 even though the heart action is so feeble as to be almost 

 imperceptible. The first and most important requirement 

 in producing respiration by artificial means is to hold 

 the tongue so that it cannot obstruct the throat. 



Burns caused by contact with electric conductors 

 should be protected with sterilized gauze. Such burns 



