Electrical Injuries in Children and How to Prevent Them

Damage to the human body caused by external factors is called, in a word, an injury.

Childhood injuries are a major problem that can change the lives of both parents and children for ever.

Statistics show that injuries occur mostly among primary school children aged 7–11. Boys are injured much more often (70%) than girls.

Injuries are one of the main causes of death in children over three. Worldwide, more children die from accidents than from infections.

There are only a few main causes of childhood injuries:

The first is the carelessness of adults who believe that nothing bad can happen in a particular situation.

The second is negligence by adults — whether officials or parents — who do not fulfil their responsibilities properly.

Children’s own discipline also has a strong influence on injury rates.

In this article, the Nur-Sultan Department of the Committee for Atomic and Energy Supervision and Control discusses how to prevent electrical injuries in children.

Dangerous current

First, we need to understand the causes of electric shock. People usually think that 10 kV (10,000 volt) equipment is far more dangerous than 220 volts. This is a misconception. The harm caused by electric current depends on its strength, not its voltage, so almost any household appliance can be deadly. A current above 10 mA (0.01 amperes) can cause a strong, painful shock, and currents of 100 to 200 mA (0.1–0.2 amperes) can already be fatal!

It is important to know that above 10 milliamperes the muscle contractions are so strong that the victim cannot let go of the wire. Above 20 milliamperes breathing becomes difficult, and at around 100 mA it stops completely.

Preventing electrical injuries in children

Childhood injuries and their prevention are a very important and serious issue, especially during school holidays.

We have described the causes of electrical injuries above: above all, unsafe surroundings, negligence and lack of supervision by adults, and careless or inappropriate behaviour by children at home and outdoors. Children’s psychological traits also contribute: curiosity, high activity, emotionality and lack of life experience, and therefore no sense of danger.

These risks must be prevented and children protected from them in every possible way.

Work should continuously follow two lines:

1. Eliminating the possibility of electrical injury;

2. Regularly teaching children the basic ways to avoid electrical injuries.

Particular attention should be paid to any live electrical installations (power lines, substations and equipment of any voltage) located close to homes, schools, sports grounds and construction sites, in entrances and basements of residential buildings, and to household appliances.

Children must know that:

It is very dangerous to touch transformer and distribution substations, go inside them or climb onto their roofs;

It is very dangerous to touch or approach fallen or broken bare wires of cable and overhead power lines;

It is very dangerous to touch bare live wires;

It is very dangerous to test appliances or wires for current with your fingers;

Wires must not be pinched in doors or window frames or fixed with nails, so as not to damage the insulation or cause short circuits (flashes of flame);

Electrical wires must not touch heating radiators, water pipes, or telephone and radio wires;

Do not let children play near sockets, insert hairpins or pins into them, or pull on wires, as this can have serious consequences;

Never use household appliances whose casing is live (the appliance “bites”). When plugging in or unplugging, hold the plastic body of the plug, not the cord;

Make sure that cords disconnected from appliances are not left plugged into a socket, as touching them accidentally may cause an electric shock;

Do not leave switched-on appliances, including phone and gadget chargers, without adult supervision.

Parents should not shift responsibility for childhood injuries onto teachers — children’s safe behaviour depends on you.

Childhood injury is a serious problem, and only by working together can we protect children from harm.

(Material taken from open sources)

Nur-Sultan Territorial Department of the Committee for Atomic and Energy Supervision and Control, Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan