D
dylan3789
I'm hoping someone can help me out.
At the weekend, I did a stupid thing, and that was to try and fix a light fitting without turning off the electrics. I know I'm going to be told that I shoudn't be touching anything electrical without doing so and that I have no business doing electrical DIY if I can't do a simple thing; I've never done anything this stupid before and I can't really explain why I didn't turn things off - except that I wasn't dealing with bare wires or anything so it just didn't cross my mind.
The light fitting is one I put up the other day; it's a hanging pendant light and the issue is that the glass shade and the bayonet bulb holder weren't aligned and the bulb holder is a bit wonky. I gripped the holder after unscrewing the outside part and was trying to straighten it when the palm of my hand must have touched one of the bayonet connectors and I received an electric shock. I was wearing trainers at the time and standing on a wooden chair. I felt my arm shake/move and it went up to the side of my face, which also felt like it was moving and rippling strongly; this lasted for 1-2 seconds and I let go.
I felt fine afterwards but went to A&E to get checked out; they did an ECG and tested for any muscle damage that might show up in a blood test (apparently a serious enough shock and cause muscle to break down and this builds up in the bloodstream).
What I'm trying to establish is how much current was likely to have gone through me. I know that resistance can depend on a lot of things; my hands were dry at the time and the connector touched the centre of my palm, where the skin is quite thick. I'm guessing the electricity passed down my arm and into my face, rather than down my body, because there was a lot of resistance between me and the earth. I did wonder if it went to my face because there are amalgam fillings in some of my teeth but I don't know if that's really likely.
I'm trying to work out how serious a shock this was, as the doctor I saw in A&E was very concerned about possible internal damage that can't be seen, and in his opinion, the absence of an entry/exit wound doesn't necessarily mean all is completely fine. If I only touched one connector, is that 120 volts or still 240? I didn't get thrown about/off the chair and I was able to let go of my own accord once I realised what was happening.
I'm not worried too much about internal damage, to be honest, as I do feel fine; I'm more interested in trying to establish exactly what happened as it's made me realise that my knowledge of electricity in the home needs to be better. And yes, I always need to turn off the fuse - so please don't reprimand me for not doing so: enough people have already told me off!
Any advice would be great, thank you.
Dylan.
At the weekend, I did a stupid thing, and that was to try and fix a light fitting without turning off the electrics. I know I'm going to be told that I shoudn't be touching anything electrical without doing so and that I have no business doing electrical DIY if I can't do a simple thing; I've never done anything this stupid before and I can't really explain why I didn't turn things off - except that I wasn't dealing with bare wires or anything so it just didn't cross my mind.
The light fitting is one I put up the other day; it's a hanging pendant light and the issue is that the glass shade and the bayonet bulb holder weren't aligned and the bulb holder is a bit wonky. I gripped the holder after unscrewing the outside part and was trying to straighten it when the palm of my hand must have touched one of the bayonet connectors and I received an electric shock. I was wearing trainers at the time and standing on a wooden chair. I felt my arm shake/move and it went up to the side of my face, which also felt like it was moving and rippling strongly; this lasted for 1-2 seconds and I let go.
I felt fine afterwards but went to A&E to get checked out; they did an ECG and tested for any muscle damage that might show up in a blood test (apparently a serious enough shock and cause muscle to break down and this builds up in the bloodstream).
What I'm trying to establish is how much current was likely to have gone through me. I know that resistance can depend on a lot of things; my hands were dry at the time and the connector touched the centre of my palm, where the skin is quite thick. I'm guessing the electricity passed down my arm and into my face, rather than down my body, because there was a lot of resistance between me and the earth. I did wonder if it went to my face because there are amalgam fillings in some of my teeth but I don't know if that's really likely.
I'm trying to work out how serious a shock this was, as the doctor I saw in A&E was very concerned about possible internal damage that can't be seen, and in his opinion, the absence of an entry/exit wound doesn't necessarily mean all is completely fine. If I only touched one connector, is that 120 volts or still 240? I didn't get thrown about/off the chair and I was able to let go of my own accord once I realised what was happening.
I'm not worried too much about internal damage, to be honest, as I do feel fine; I'm more interested in trying to establish exactly what happened as it's made me realise that my knowledge of electricity in the home needs to be better. And yes, I always need to turn off the fuse - so please don't reprimand me for not doing so: enough people have already told me off!
Any advice would be great, thank you.
Dylan.
