A 2-year-old boy in Hanoi was electrocuted and stopped because he was playing with his phone charger

The patient is a baby girl BA (29 months old, in Hanoi). According to Ms. Th, the child’s mother, on March 18 (a week before being admitted to the hospital), she played with her 5-year-old sister. Seeing that the phone was charging, the child arbitrarily unplugged the phone to play, causing him to be electrocuted. After the accident, BA lay unconscious, pale, left palm black. BA’s sister (5 years old) was riding a bicycle nearby and ran to call her family.

Adults performed first aid for the victim. After cardiac tamponade, BA regained consciousness, the family immediately took the child 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. Before that, I also knew about cases of electric shock due to charging the phone through the radio, but did not think this would happen to my child, “said her mother.

BSc CCII Phung Cong Sang – In charge of Burns Unit – Deputy Head of Orthopedic Department, National Children’s Hospital, said that right after receiving the pediatric patient at the emergency department, the child was evaluated and treated. cardiovascular risk and acute renal failure. When the child’s condition was stable, the doctors performed a necrotectomy, skin flap transfer, skin grafting in the hand area (necrotic damage to both fascia muscle and finger bones) to keep the hand both on and on. function and aesthetics for children.

“After surgery, the child is now stable, but the child’s recovery still needs a lot of time,” said Dr. Sang.

According to Dr. Phung Cong Sang, phone chargers often have a voltage converter, which has a very low voltage output. However, if the cord is open, the plug is faulty, which can still be dangerous. For young children, who are very active and curious, accidents related to phone charging are not uncommon, mainly because children play with their phones while charging while they are plugged in or by holding their phones while charging.

Dr. Sang recommends, 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.

– In the house with young children, parents should always have someone to look after and monitor them carefully.

How to treat children with electric burns?

According to Dr. Sang, when a child has an electric burn, it is necessary to separate the victim from the power source (turn off 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, arrangements must be made to support the child when it falls and take the sick person to a cool place.

The family needs to conduct a respiratory and circulatory assessment, the child’s consciousness and look for other injuries if there is a fall, to find first aid, to avoid injuring the cervical spine or limbs (if any) seriously. more. If the child stops circulating, it is necessary to conduct proper chest compressions and call for medical assistance.

Families should only move the patient to a medical facility when the child has received first aid. Only conduct electrical burns when the child does not have a general disorder. The doctor recommends that you do not apply ice, ointment or anything to the burn, just wash the burn and cover it with clean gauze.

Ngoc Trang