2-year-old girl stopped heart, lost consciousness because of the habit of using the phone many parents encountered

Doctors at the Orthopedics Department (National Children’s Hospital) have just received and treated a girl named BA (29 months old) who suffered an electric shock, cardiac arrest, unconsciousness, and deep burns on her entire left palm due to an electric battery charge. phone. According to her mother’s share, on March 18, 2022 (one week before being hospitalized) the child played with his 5-year-old sister, while the family cooked rice. When the child saw that the phone was charging, the child arbitrarily unplugged the phone to play and was electrocuted.

After the accident, the child lay unconscious, pale, left palm black. Fortunately, BA’s sister discovered that she was electrocuted, so she called her family and called everyone to help. The child was helped by a neighbor near the house, then performed first aid to press the heart. After forcing her heart to wake up, the family immediately took her to a local medical facility for emergency and continued to be transferred to the National Children’s Hospital for treatment.

“I was shocked and terrified when I saw my son suffer like this. Before that, I also knew cases of electric shock due to phone charging through the radio, but did not think this would happen to my child,” the girl’s mother shared.

The girl after being saved and treated at the hospital. Photo: BVCC.

Specialist Doctor II Phung Cong Sang (In charge of Burns Unit, Deputy Head of Orthopedics Department, National Hospital of Pediatrics) said that right after receiving the pediatric patient at the emergency department, the child was evaluated and treatment of cardiovascular risk and risk of acute renal failure.

When the child’s condition was stable, the doctors carried out a necrotomy, skin flap transfer, and skin grafting in the hand area to keep the hand both functional and aesthetic for the child. The child is now stable, but recovery will take a long time.

From the above case, Doctor Sang warned, phone chargers often have a voltage changer, the output has a very low voltage. However, if the cord is open and the plug is damaged, it can still be dangerous. For young children, who are very active, naughty and curious, accidents related to phone charging are not uncommon, mainly because children play with their phones while they are plugged in or they play with their phones. while charging.

Doctor Sang recommends that, in order to avoid tragic and unfortunate accidents that happen to young children related to electricity, parents should note:

– Always unplug the charger from the electrical outlet when not in use, the power outlet must have a protective cover.

– Do not let your child play with the phone while it is charging.

– Place the charging phone out of reach of the baby.

– Make sure the charging cord is properly connected to the power source.

– Parents with young children should always have someone to look after and monitor them carefully.

According to Dr. Sang, when a child has an electric burn, it should be handled according to the following instructions:

Separate the victim from the power source (disconnect the circuit breaker, use a wooden stick to knock off the high current) as quickly as possible, if the child is in distress at a height, it must be arranged to support the child when it falls and take the patient to a cool place. .

The family needs to conduct a respiratory assessment, child consciousness and look for other injuries if there is a fall, to find the right first aid, to avoid injuring the cervical spine or limbs (if any). aggravated.

If the child stops circulating, perform chest compressions properly and call for medical help.

Families should only move the patient to a medical facility when the child has received first aid.

Only conduct the treatment of electrical burns when the child has no general disorder, should not apply ice, ointment or anything to the burn, just wash the burn and cover with clean gauze.