Evie Summers
Being tased while sleeping is likely to cause a state of neuromuscular incapacitation, resulting in involuntary muscle contractions and temporary paralysis. The electrical current from the taser, typically around 50,000 volts, is designed to overwhelm the central nervous system, leading to a loss of muscle tone and the inability to move. While the effects on the heart muscle are usually minimal, there have been reported cases of cardiac arrest and dangerous arrhythmias, particularly in individuals with underlying cardiac issues or those under the influence of certain drugs. Superficial burns, puncture wounds, and scrapes are also possible due to the metal probes delivering the electric charge. The experience of being tased is often disorienting and painful, with potential neurocognitive side effects such as temporary memory loss and confusion.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| How it feels | Like a Charlie horse cramp, shooting pain, or like bees are crawling on your body |
| Muscle contractions | Short sustained contractions that cause muscles to become uncoordinated |
| Muscle enzyme release | No trigger of creatine kinase, which can cause kidney failure if levels are high |
| Heart complications | Cardiac arrest, arrhythmia, ventricular fibrillation |
| Nervous system complications | Loss of consciousness, seizures, abnormal brain activity, confusion |
| Injuries | Superficial burns, small puncture wounds, scrapes, bruises, twisted testicles, temporary paralysis, temporary memory loss |
| Death | More than 1,000 reports of deaths involving a taser |
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What You'll Learn
Tasers can cause serious heart complications
Tasers are handheld devices that deliver short electrical pulses to incapacitate individuals. While they are generally considered non-lethal, they can cause serious heart complications in certain cases.
Tasers work by sending a signal to the muscles, causing a state of neuromuscular incapacitation. This results in muscle contractions and flexing, making voluntary movements difficult. The electrical current delivered by a taser is typically around 50,000 volts, delivered in bursts of five seconds. While this current is generally too low and too short to affect the heart muscles of people with or without heart issues, there have been cases where tasers have been linked to cardiac complications.
In rare instances, tasers have been associated with serious heart complications, including cardiac arrest and arrhythmia. Even individuals without underlying heart conditions can experience life-threatening arrhythmias, such as ventricular fibrillation, where the lower chambers of the heart beat in an atypical rhythm, reducing the heart's ability to pump blood effectively. This can lead to a heightened risk of cardiac arrest. Additionally, individuals with a history of heart complications may be more susceptible to adverse effects from taser shocks, and medical evaluations are often recommended for this vulnerable group.
Furthermore, being tased is a disorienting and stressful experience, which can lead to neurocognitive side effects such as confusion, trouble with memory, and difficulty processing information. These effects can contribute to trauma, especially in individuals who are already in high-stress situations or experiencing emotional distress. Thus, it is crucial to closely monitor individuals who have been tased for at least 20 minutes afterward to ensure their safety and well-being.
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Muscle contractions and temporary paralysis
Tasers are battery-powered, handheld devices that deliver short, low-energy electrical pulses. When the trigger is pulled, two electrode wires attach to the body, and electric pulses are charged into the muscles, causing muscle contractions. These contractions are short, sustained muscle contractions that render the muscles uncoordinated. The taser delivers 19 short pulses per second over 5 seconds, with an average current of 2 milliamps.
The electrical current of a taser is 50,000 volts, which is too low and too short to affect the heart's muscles or cause unusual heart rhythms, even for those with heart issues. The human body has protective mechanisms that prevent the taser's current from reaching the heart. The skin provides high resistance to electricity, and soft tissue surrounding the muscles and organs, like the heart, also reduces the current.
While the electrical discharges of a taser cause muscle contractions, they do not appear to trigger the release of the muscle enzyme associated with muscle cell damage, creatine kinase. Current research has shown that the muscle contractions induced by a taser cause a small increase in creatine kinase, but not enough to pose a direct risk for rhabdomyolysis, a condition that can lead to kidney failure.
Tasers can cause a state of neuromuscular incapacitation, where the muscles flex, making voluntary movement difficult. This state results in temporary paralysis, lasting for about five seconds or the duration of the taser's active stunning. While the paralysis is temporary, the muscle contractions can be very painful.
The risk of death from a taser is still a concern, and there have been over 1,000 reports of deaths involving tasers or conducted electrical weapons (CEWs). However, serious injuries from tasers represent less than 1% of injuries.
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Superficial wounds and punctures
While serious injuries from being tased are rare, representing less than 1% of all taser injuries, superficial wounds and punctures are common.
Tasers have two metal probes with pointed barbs that shoot out and puncture the skin. The wounds are typically minor, but at least one person reported needing surgery to remove a barb.
The barbs can also cause scrapes and bruises, especially since many people fall over after being tased. A 1987 study found that 38% of people who were shocked reported lacerations or scrapes.
Tasers deliver 50,000 volts of electricity meant to overwhelm the central nervous system. The shocks are delivered in bursts of five seconds, but this can go on indefinitely if the finger stays on the trigger. The electrical pulses from a taser strike last only five seconds, and most people return to their normal muscle function right away.
Tasers are designed to incapacitate someone without causing permanent harm. However, they can be life-threatening in rare cases, especially for those with heart conditions or who are under the influence of drugs.
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Potential for serious injuries is low
Tasers are handheld devices that deliver short electrical pulses to incapacitate someone without causing permanent harm. They are used by police officers as a non-lethal alternative to firearms. The devices deliver 50,000 volts of electricity meant to overwhelm the central nervous system in bursts of five seconds.
While being tased is not intended to be lethal, it can still incur serious effects, which in some cases, can be life-threatening. There have been over 1,000 reports of deaths involving a taser. However, it is important to note that serious injuries from tasers represent less than 1% of all taser-related injuries. The electrical discharges are too short to affect the heart muscle or cause abnormal heart rhythms, even for those with heart conditions.
Tasers cause muscle contractions, which can be very painful, but these contractions do not trigger the release of the muscle enzyme associated with muscle cell damage. They also do not affect the muscles, nerves, or heart. The human body has protective mechanisms, such as the skin and soft tissue, which reduce the current by the time it reaches the heart.
While being tased is disorienting and can cause temporary memory loss and confusion, these effects are typically short-lived and not considered serious injuries.
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Neurocognitive side effects and trauma
Being tased is an incredibly stressful and painful experience, and those who have been tased have reported neurocognitive side effects like trouble finding words or processing information. This temporary effect on memory has led to a push for police to delay questioning people who have recently been shocked. While there's limited research on the psychological effects of being tased, the physical and emotional pain of a strike is an "objectively traumatic event", and the experience may contribute to trauma.
Tasers cause muscle contractions, which are short and sustained. The muscles then become uncoordinated, and the person tased is left stunned and unable to move anything for a brief period. The electrical discharges are too short to affect the heart muscle or cause abnormal heart rhythms in people without heart issues, and even for those with heart conditions, the proper use of the device does not appear to cause issues. However, there have been reports of people who have been tased suffering from seizures, cardiac arrest, and dangerous arrhythmia like ventricular fibrillation.
Serious injuries from being tased happen less than one per cent of the time, and the darts can lodge in the skin, requiring careful medical removal. The most common injury associated with tasers is superficial puncture wounds, with scrapes and bruises also possible since many people fall over after being hit. Very rarely, tasers can cause a serious condition called rhabdomyolysis, which can be fatal. Rhabdomyolysis occurs when muscle tissue is overstimulated and overcontracted, releasing muscle protein into the bloodstream.
Tasers are battery-powered, handheld devices that deliver a short, low-energy electrical pulse. Two electrode wires are attached to the gun's electrical circuit. Pulling the trigger breaks open a compressed gas cartridge inside the gun and flings the electrodes into contact with a body, and a charge flows into the muscles. The taser delivers 19 short pulses per second over 5 seconds, with an average current of 2 milliamps.
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Frequently asked questions
Being tased is a disorientating experience, and the effects can vary from person to person. The taser delivers 19 short pulses per second over 5 seconds, causing muscle contractions and making voluntary movements difficult. While the electrical current is too low and too short to affect the heart muscle or cause unusual heart rhythms, there have been reports of cardiac arrest and seizures in some cases.
Serious injuries from being tased are rare, representing less than 1% of cases. However, there can be neurocognitive side effects, such as temporary memory loss and trouble processing information. There is also a risk of falling and hitting your head, which can lead to a head injury.
If the person appears to go into cardiac arrest, performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) until a defibrillator is available could save their life. It is also important to monitor them for at least 20 minutes afterward to ensure they have not sustained any injuries.
