How To Avoid Cell Phone Electrocution? Risks Of Charging Phone While Bathing As Texas Teen Dies

Texas teen Madison Coe died Sunday after being electrocuted by her cellphone, which she was trying to attend to while bathing. Madison connected the cellphone to a charger while bathing or the device was already kept for charging when she reached out to it, reports said.

Madison's story was posted on Facebook to raise awareness about the dangers of using a cellphone in the bathroom and to serve as a cautionary tale for others. This is not an isolated incident of a person being electrocuted while trying to access their phone while bathing. In March, Richard Bull, a U.K. resident died when his iPhone came in contact with water while it was getting charged. He is believed to have kept the device on his chest, while it was plugged into a charger fitted in an extension cord.

Read: Teen Dies After Cell Phone Electrocutes Her In Bathtub

Having electrical appliances around water can be dangerous since these devices can cause short-circuit the moment they come in contact with moisture. An unplugged smartphone carries a charge of 5-20 volts which is not capable of electrocuting people, although it might provide a minor shock if it comes in contact with water. However, when you connect it to an electric point, the risk rises exponentially.

Water is a good conductor of electricity. Accessing any electrical appliance, in this case, a plugged-in smartphone is inadvisable. Electricity and water simply don’t mix which is why most smartphones come with an electric shock warning.

Increasingly, smartphone manufacturers are coming out with devices which are certifiably waterproof — leading flagships such as the Samsung Galaxy S8 have IP68 protection, which technically would make them capable of working in the presence of water. While Samsung S-series devices issue a warning if the port is too wet to charge, most smartphones do not work like this.

The risk is amplified with devices like smartwatches, which people wear on their wrist. Even smartwatches such as the Apple Watch Series 2 are certified waterproof.

But, one should not interpret this certification as the license to carry such devices while taking a bath, rather the certification is designed to ensure that your device survives and works in conditions such as heavy rains.

Read: Everything Is Dirty: Your Cellphone, Sneakers And Kitchen Sink Are Covered In Fecal Matter

If it is absolutely necessary to carry your cell phone device in the bathroom with a lot of moisture around, the first thing one should do is to ensure that the device has the requisite protection. Secondly, do not plug your cellphone in the electric switch board. Thirdly, do not use substandard chargers.

You can even use waterproof solar chargers like the Universal Waterproof Solar Charger which do not need to be plugged into the electric supply. However, if you are accessing a plugged-in cell phone in the vicinity of moisture, you are certainly putting yourself at risk, which may even lead to death by electrocution.