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Human voltage

The body operates on anywhere from 10-100 m/V. The reason this is not a set number is due to the fact that not everyone runs on the exact same amount of volts. Also, regardless of whether someone is male or female they fall in the same general range of voltage. As of now there is no medical study that proves there to be an optimal voltage in the human body. Although 100m/V seems like a large number to have inside the human body, to put this in perspective, the common household outlet is 110 volts, in other words the body only has 1/110,000 the voltage the common household outlet does. This electric current, however is not a constant flow through the nerves. Nerves “pulsate” or have surges of electrical current. These impulses are generally around 2 milliseconds long. Our nerves can produce from 100 to 200 impulses per second. Nearly every organ in the human body has some sort of connection to these impulses that our nerves create. Thus, having an external intake of energy, such as an electrocution or an electric shock, can be harmful to the electric flow inside the human body. The circuit that the body operates on is very precise and when these external flows of electric current enter into the body it can cause injuries such as a myocardial infarction, nerve paralysis, renal failure, deafness, vestibular damage or death. When a high voltage electric current enter the human body it immediately starts tracing through the various nerves and organs until it can find an exit. The way it travels through the body is by what is called a synapse in the nerves. Synapses are essentially small gaps in the nerves that impulses jump across and progress. It also travels by the polarization and depolarization of nerves. A nerve starts out with sodium on the outside of the membrane and potassium on the inside. When it depolarizes the sodium floods the inside of the nerve. Once this occurs the potassium ions pass through a gate and rest around the outside of the membrane. This establishes polarization once again.

Current overload

When a person is electrocuted the charge will immediately travel through the body until it finds the path of least resistance. When the charge eventually removes itself from the body it will leave a burn where is has damaged the nerve endings permanently. The longer the charge stays in the body the more damage it will cause. If the current ever comes in direct contact with a vital organ such as the heart or brain it will cause instant death. This is why some people die from electrocution and others miraculously survive. Depending where an individual is shocked and how close that area is to an easy exit for the charge. The easiest place for a charge to release itself is in soft tissue. Thus when shocked the burns on an individual can be found in places such as the armpit. Cardiac complications can often follow an electric shock. Although in a severe electrocution the heart stops, an individual who survives later has complications. Under our body’s standard voltage, our hearts operate at a specific rate. It speeds up when exercising and it slows down when at rest. However, when the normal flow is interrupted by a jolt of electricity it throws off the regular pattern of heartbeats and the heart begins what is called ventricular fibrillation.

Threshold

Small electric shocks are generally not harmful to the human body. They can leave a surface burn, numbness, soreness, or even a tingling effect. However these shocks do not cause internal nerve damage. Due to the voltage the body contains we are resistant, at a fairly confident level, to what is referred to as “The Threshold.” This voltage threshold is about fifty volts. Any shock over this amount does mean it will cause damage, but fifty volts is the amount with which doctors can insure the body will cope with. A current above this threshold, however, is considered to be a “shock hazard” and can cause internal damage.

Devices and Human Voltage

Pacemakers

A pacemaker is a device that can be surgically implanted to regulate a person’s heartbeat if the heart muscles do not react to the amount of electricity given to them naturally through the body. A normal pacemaker consists of a battery, a small generator, and wires with what are called electrodes on the end. A pacemaker can have anywhere from one to three electrodes that each lead to a separate chamber of the heart. These electrodes monitor and also, if needed, stimulate heart rate in the individual. It does this by first sensing the abnormality and sending it back to the generator which, in turn, sends out a small shock of electricity to keep the heart at its correct rate. During physical activities it will speed up and when necessary it will slow down. This device isn’t necessarily used when the body isn’t putting out enough voltage, but when the muscles in the heart are becoming worn and less receptive to the impulses that they are receiving.

Defibrillators

A defibrillator, or an automated external defibrillator, is a device used by paramedics to “jump start” the heart when it is near stopping. However, if a heart has completely stopped a defibrillator will not work because it must first stop the heart and then restart it. The defibrillator has two pads that are placed on opposite sides of the chest and once initiated it sends a shock between the two pads in attempt to run a similar charge that the heart needs. This needed charge is calculated by the two sensory pads placed on the chest. They read and measure the amount that is needed and then send out what is necessary to get the heart fibrillating again. These machines can put out as much as 2000 volts. Thus, if the human threshold is fifty volts, why is it that they are not harmful to the human body? In electricity the danger is not contained in the volts it is in the amplitude. The fifty volt threshold is based on the assumption that 50 volts does not generally carry enough amps to send the heart into abnormal fibrillation. Thus a defibrillator can carry 2000 volts and not harm the human body in any way. In fact a study was done at the University of Rochester and patients who have had to use a defibrillator and those who did had a twenty percent lower mortality rate than those who did not use them.

Stun Guns

Although stun guns are said to not disrupt the voltage flow within the human body, recent studies have shown that stun guns do stimulate the heart. To stimulate the heart there must be enough electric current to depolarize the cardiovascular membrane. When the heart is stimulated it opens up the doors for innumerable cardiovascular irregularities such as a myocardial infarction (heart attack) or ventricular fibrillation. Also because of this change in electrical current in the heart, blood stops flowing during the individual charges being imposed. By the heart not being allowed to pump the correct amount of blood to other vital organs and various parts of the body, stun guns can cause problems to an individual without end.