The perils of using your phone in the BATH: Girl, 13, is electrocuted and left with burns on her hands and stomach after dropping her smartphone into the water while it was on charge
- The Dutch teenager’s mother dragged her out of the bathtub, doctors said
- Paramedics whisked her straight off to hospital, where she spent two days
- She suffered deep burns to her hands and stomach and later needed surgery
- Her escape prompted medics to warn about using gadgets in the bathroom
A 13-year-old girl was electrocuted when her smartphone fell into the bath while it was charging.
The teenager’s mother dragged her out of the bathtub after racing to the bathroom when she heard a loud scream. She called the emergency services.
Paramedics woke up the unconscious girl by punching her in the sternum, before whisking her straight off to hospital, where she spent two days.
The Dutch teen suffered deep burns to her hands and stomach and later needed surgery to help the wounds heal.
The Dutch teenager’s mother dragged her out of the tub after racing to the bathroom when she heard a loud scream (pictured, the wounds she was left with pre-surgery)
Her lucky escape has prompted doctors to remind the public about the dangers of using electrical gadgets in the bathroom.
Medics who treated her, at the Vrije Universiteit Medical Center in Amsterdam, wrote: ‘Risks of electrical devices in household use are underestimated.
‘Although products are thoroughly tested and certified, they pose a great danger if used inappropriately.
‘A severe electrical burn injury can cause destructive injury with high morbidity, lifelong scars and even death.’
Her lucky escape has prompted doctors to remind the public about the dangers of using electrical gadgets in the bathroom (pictured, the wounds she was left with post-surgery)
They added: ‘Increased smartphone use among minors makes our population more prone to electrical injury.’
The girl was unable to remember how her injury happened – the ordeal left her with amnesia, the doctors revealed in a case report.
Dr Sem Hardon said the severity of her injuries made it likely she was electrocuted by the mains supply, which is 240V in the Netherlands.
The injury left her briefly unconscious and caused muscle twitches, her mother said. Tests also showed she had signs of muscle damage.
Phones have a much lower voltage – but can cause electrical shocks. It poses a much greater danger when connected to the mains supply.
Dr Hardon and team at the burns centre added that moist skin is ‘more vulnerable to electrocution’ because it is less resistant.
The girl’s mother took immediately disconnected the charger from the mains before she took her daughter out of the bath.
The small, oval-shaped burn on her hand was healed within one week of using fusidic acid cream – a standard treatment.
However, her 12cm-long abdominal burn had not healed sufficiently after three weeks. She needed the wound surgically resected.
Dr Hardon and team wrote in the Journal of Medical Case Reports: ‘This resulted in satisfactory healing with little scarring.’
They added: ‘If household electrical devices are used in bathrooms, users must be aware of safety hazards…
‘Nonetheless, electrical appliances or cords should never be plugged in near water and should never be in contact with a wet environment.’
It comes after a Russian accountant died ‘instantly’ after she dropped her mobile phone into the bath while it was charging.
Evgenia Shulyatyeva, 26, was found dead in the bathtub of her home in Kirovo-Chepetsk, around 500 miles from Moscow, by 53-year-old mother Vera.
RUSSIAN ACCOUNTANT DIES AFTER DROPPING MOBILE PHONE INTO THE BATH
A Russian accountant died after she dropped her mobile phone into the bath while it was charging, it was reported in September.
Evgenia Shulyatyeva was found dead in the bathtub of her home in Kirovo-Chepetsk, around 500 miles from Moscow.
Her 53-year-old mother Vera found her, after she rushed to the apartment when her daughter wasn’t picking up the phone.
Investigators say the 26-year-old was ‘killed instantly’ by electrocution after the phone ‘slipped’ and landed in the water with her.
It was not clear if Evgenia was using the device at the moment of the accident.
Evgenia Shulyatyeva, 26, was found dead in the bathtub of her home in Kirovo-Chepetsk, around 500 miles from Moscow, with her phone in the water
Investigators say Miss Shulyatyeva died instantly from electrocution when the phone slipped and fell into the bath with her
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