The first thing to do is not to run over and catch the person. If they are still in contact with the electrical source, the current passes into you the moment you touch them — and the scene now has a second casualty.
In this order, no exceptions. ① CUT THE POWER: switch off the circuit breaker, pull the plug, turn off the supply at the point of use. ② If you cannot cut it, stand on something dry and use a DRY, long insulating object to push the cable or appliance away — a dry wooden stick, a thick plastic handle, a rolled-up mat; do not use bare hands, anything damp, or anything metal. ③ Call 115 (the emergency number in Vietnam). Only touch the person once you are CERTAIN the power is off. With high-voltage electricity or a downed overhead power line: do not go near it, do not push it with anything at all — keep your distance and wait for the power company.
Recognising it: what an electric shock looks like
- Muscles locked, unable to let go of the appliance — the current makes the muscles contract, so the hand grips harder
- Fainting, drowsiness, or coming round but with no memory of what just happened
- Burns where the current entered and where it left, usually on the hands and feet; these can be only small, dry, slightly sunken marks, not like a scald
- Fast or irregular heartbeat, chest pain, difficulty breathing
- Severe muscle pain, seizure, weakness or numbness in part of the body; confusion, difficulty speaking
The easiest thing to misjudge is severity: the burn on the skin can be the size of a fingertip while the damage inside is already serious. An electric shock is also often mistaken for a simple fall — people fall off a ladder or a chair when they get a shock, so a head, neck or back injury can be more dangerous than the shock itself.
What to do straight away
The first two are above — cut the power, then call 115. After that:
- Check whether they are breathing and responding. Not breathing, or only gasping: tell the 115 operator immediately and follow the chest compression instructions over the phone; if there is an automated external defibrillator (AED), send someone to fetch it.
- Still breathing, still conscious: let them lie still, keep them warm with a dry blanket or clothing.
- Cover the burn with a dry, clean dressing or cloth; remove rings and bracelets from the burnt area because it will swell.
- Note the time it happened, whether it was household or high-voltage electricity, and whether they lost consciousness — the ambulance crew will ask.
- Keep watching continuously until the ambulance arrives: the condition can deteriorate after they have looked fine.
What you must NOT do
- Do not touch the person being shocked until you are certain the power is off — not even just to help them sit up
- Do not pour water on burning electrical equipment, and do not step into water that a fallen cable is lying in
- Do not put toothpaste, fish sauce, oil, fat or ointment on an electrical burn — it makes the depth hard to judge and raises the risk of infection; and do not pierce the blisters
- Do not haul up or drag someone who may have a spinal injury once the area is safe
- Do not give anything to drink to someone who is drowsy or not fully conscious
- Do not let someone who has just been shocked drive themselves to hospital, and do not dismiss it just because they look fine
According to CDC, the rule with someone who has been electrocuted is not to touch them until you are sure the electrical source has been switched off, and to call for medical help. Also according to CDC, every downed power line must be treated as live even if it is making no sound and throwing no sparks — stay away from the surrounding water as well.
When you need to go in
Call 115 or go to emergency care NOW: loss of consciousness even for a moment · not breathing, or abnormal gasping breaths · seizure · chest pain, irregular heartbeat, difficulty breathing · a deep burn, a large burn, or burns on BOTH sides of the body (a sign the current has passed right through the person) · red-brown urine or being unable to pass urine · weakness, numbness, difficulty speaking, confusion · pregnant women, young children, older people, people with heart disease · high-voltage electricity, overhead power lines, or a lightning strike.
Lower levels still have to be seen at a medical facility; what differs is the deadline:
| Situation | What needs to happen |
|---|---|
| Household electricity, fully alert, no obvious burn | Still has to be examined the same day, with an ECG |
| Electrical burn already treated at hospital and discharged | Review within 24–72 hours, sooner if there is swelling, increasing pain or discharge |
Why someone who looks completely fine still has to be checked
Current passing through a person can throw the heart out of rhythm, and that rhythm disturbance does not necessarily appear at the moment of the shock — it can come later, once the whole family has stopped worrying. At the same time the damage sits under the skin: the current takes the path of least resistance, through muscle and blood vessels, so muscle can be destroyed along a considerable stretch while the skin shows only two small marks. Destroyed muscle releases a substance that harms the kidneys — which is why red-brown urine has to be examined immediately. None of this can be judged by eye at home.
Where electric shocks at home commonly happen in Vietnam
- Repairing wiring, changing a light bulb or drilling into a wall without switching off the circuit breaker first
- Electrical equipment in damp places: water heaters, pumps, washing machines, a fan in the yard after rain
- Bare wires, cracked sockets, patched-together extension leads, an overloaded socket behind the refrigerator
- The storm season: floodwater reaching low sockets, cables down across the road or into puddles
- Young children poking metal objects into low sockets with no covers
To be blunt: an electric shock is an emergency and there is no way to manage the acute event at home — the first step is always 115 and a medical facility with an ECG machine. A nurse or doctor coming to your home has a role AFTERWARDS: changing dressings, monitoring an electrical burn once the hospital has treated it, keeping an eye on an older person with heart disease over the following days, or listening to your account on a video call and saying clearly whether this case needs hospital.
The content above has been rewritten in our own words from the US CDC's electrical safety and storm-response guidance; citing CDC does not imply that CDC endorses Y Te Xanh or our services.
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