Necklace touched mobile phone charger: a woman suffered severe burns

Young woman suffers severe burns from her mobile phone charger

A young woman was badly burned by a cell phone charger that touched her collar, carrying electrical power. In the past, electric shocks caused by mobile phone chargers have even caused deaths.

Frequent reports of damage to the charging cable

The media reports more and more cases of injuries caused by the charging of cables for electronic devices such as smartphones. Above all, cheap products from so-called generic manufacturers have been criticized. And apparently rightly; Because as a case described in the "Annals of Emergency Medicine" case, it can sometimes cause severe burns by such devices.

Teenagers and adolescents are particularly at risk

"Generic chargers for phones can cause burns or electric shock," author of the main study, Dr. Carissa Bunke quoted in the journal "EurekAlert!".

"Teens and teens are at particular risk of injury because of their frequent use of mobile devices," said pediatrician of the CS Medical Center Mott Children's Hospital of the University of Michigan (United States ).

"You should not sleep with your phones or your mobile devices in bed while they're charging, and avoid leaving the charger plugged in when it's not connected to a phone."

Burn around the neck

In the Annals of Emergency Medicine, a young woman was seriously injured.

According to the data, the 19-year-old woman arrived with a burn in the pediatric emergency department.

The patient was previously lying in bed with a necklace, "the generic iPhone charger under the pillow and connected to a power outlet when she suddenly felt a burning sensation and intense pain around her neck ", write the authors of the study.

The clinic discovered that she had a neck burn. The wound was treated. Then the patient could be sent home.

Scientists believe that the injury was caused by the charger when it came into contact with the collar and caused the burn.

Several deaths

In recent years, deaths caused by shippers have even been reported.

For example, a 14-year-old girl died in the United States after an electric shock because she was lying in the bathtub, her smartphone connected to the charging cable and this one fell to the water .

And in Russia, a teenager was fatally injured by the use of the iPhone in the bathtub.

Most generic products do not pass security tests

According to the analyzes, the use of products of generic manufacturers can be dangerous.

As reported in the "EurekAlert!" Report, a survey conducted by Electrical Safety First in the UK found that 58% of the 64 generic chargers tested failed the electrical resistance test.

Another evaluation evaluated 400 generic chargers for iPhone with a risk of electric shock. Of these, twenty-two samples were immediately damaged during the testing process and only three samples passed an electrical resistance test, representing a failure rate of 99%.

Since "the majority of generic chargers do not pass the basic safety tests, which increases the risk of electric shock", users must be "informed of the proper functioning of these devices", write the authors of the report. ;study.

"Even with a low-voltage device, a significant electrical shock can occur when the current is high," said Dr. Bunke. (Ad)