electrocuted 5

[mal99]

I was electrocuted 20 yrs ago with 11kv while working on a job at the time i lost all feeling and spent 1yr in hosp with a lot of problems. now 20yrs later (i have been working untill 1 yr ago) i am losing feeling in my hands and arms again. i can not feel 240 volts if holding a cable i just get a bad pain in my chest and i can put the cable down it dose not grab me like it should. over the yrs i have asked a lot of Q's to doctors and others and most say i dont know what happens with the amount of elect i got.
I was wondering in this group if anyone has come accross this before and any info that may help ?


Fraternally Mal

 

[IRstuff]

Without doing a extensive (and expensive) study, it's unlikely you could come to any solid conclusion.

first, electrocutions, by their nature, have high variances. I got zapped by a residual 25kV charge on an equipment chassis, but have had other mishaps along the way, so anything that might happen could potentially be attributable to any one of them.

second, it would very likely be impossible to find a large enough sample of people that got electrocuted exactly the way you did and suffered the same symptoms as you did.

third, there are a variety of common medical ailments such as diabetes, that can also cause similar symptoms.

fourth, I would recommend that you stop experimenting with 240 V, post haste, as the pain in your chest is the electricity trying to shut down your heart.

TTFN

 

[logbook]

Mal99,

without in any way minimising the damage you have suffered, I should point out that electrocution means death by electricity (electro- [exe]-cution). A non-fatal electric shock, however severe, is not termed electrocution.

Unfortunately you do sometimes hear news people using the term electrocution when they should have used electric shock. Check it out in a good big dictionary if you don’t believe me.

Of course is it possible to die for a few seconds or minutes (as a result of a severe electric shock) and then be resuscitated, in which case electrocution would be the appropriate term.

I agree with IRStuff that you should not be deliberately applying mains voltages to you body. This can only make the nerve damage worse. Whilst various un-approved "schools" of alternative medicine may advocate LF magnetic fields, copper bracelets, magnets, etc. to cure various ailments, I don’t know of any that recommend hooking yourself up to the mains! You may remember your elementary electro-chemistry classes, specifically electrolysis. If the nerve tissue is so damaged it can’t sense the damage, then you will just decompose whatever tissue is left.

 

[jraef]

Aside form the semantics issue that I was going to point out as well, there are some usefull references contained in this previous thread... thread238-35719
Click on it and you will be taken to an older similar discussion. There have been others as well and you may try doing some Keyword Search functions at the top of the page (select "Search Posts" on the left box first).

I have been shocked several times by 460V systems and have lived to tell about it, but the permanent nerve damage that I sustained in my arm has not changed in 20+ years. I second the notion that it may be related to something else, such as neuropathy from diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis etc. MS in particular is very difficult for doctors who do not deal with it daily to diagnose, and they may be falsely attributing it to your shock because they know your history.

"Venditori de oleum-vipera non vigere excordis populi"

 

[mal99]

Firstly Thank all for there post
I passed away 2 times on the day and was revived i had a steel bar in my hands while digging a hole and it went through a 11kv cable i can not feel 240vts if i happen to touch it any more just a bad pain in my chest i still play sport baseball at 47 i have never let what happend stop me in doing things just over the last year parts are going numb i have asked a lot of Q's but most doctors say i was lucky (i should not be here to most)


Thanks Mal

 

[jraef]

Then I would say you qualify as being able to describe yourself as having been "electrocuted". Congratulations, for whatever that is worth. I would now tend to think that you may have some sort of progressive deterioration, but I would also think not enough people have survived that experience for the medical community to really understand the long term effects. Maybe you should try researching people struck repeatedly by lightning. I have heard of a couple of studies done on them, one in particular being a golf club maintenance worker struck something like 11 times over the years. He was a little off the deep end when I saw a taped interview a few years ago, but like you he was actually feeling lucky to have survived.

"Venditori de oleum-vipera non vigere excordis populi"

 

[resqcapt19]

You might try contacting some one at the University of Chicago Hospital "electrcial tramua program". The director of the program is an MD that also has a PhD in electrical engineering.

http://etrp.bsd.uchicago.edu/mission.html

 

[busbar]

 
I believe the senior person at UChi Electrical Trauma Program is Dr Raphael C Lee. Another potential contact is Dr Howell I Runion in neuropharmacology at University of the Pacific in N California. He has researched long-term delayed muscle atrophy in electric-shock incidents.

 

[jraef]

Turns out I think we were thinking of the same things, but it appears to be UI Chicago, not UChi.

http://www.uic.edu/labs/lightninginjury/index.htm

"Venditori de oleum-vipera non vigere excordis populi"

 

[jraef]

I take that backBusbar. Dr. Lee is at the UChi hospital and does do research on electic shock. He comes up as an expert in the effects of stun devices. Interesting that Chicago seems to be a hub for this field. One would think that Tampa would be a better candidate given it's status as the lightning capital of North America. But then again, Chicago is the birthplace of UL, and that all started as a result of electric shocks too.

"Venditori de oleum-vipera non vigere excordis populi"

 

[busbar]

jraef, will we ever get UL-labeled stun guns?

Apparently Chicago codes require EMT "thinwall" metal raceway in residences.

 

[jraef]

UL labeled stun guns. LOL!
Must be powered by a Class II transformer?
Protected by a GFCI?
Fused at no more than 125% of non-lethal current?
Grounding strap?

"Venditori de oleum-vipera non vigere excordis populi"