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Topics: Phones, Technology, Health, Parenting, US News
James Moorhouse
Topics: Phones, Technology, Health, Parenting, US News
Warning: this article includes graphic medical images some readers may find distressing.
A mum in the US has issued a stark warning after her son was electrocuted and suffered third degree burns while charging his tablet overnight.
Many of us like to leave our phones and other tech charging through the night by our bedside, so they're ready to use when we wake up.
However, there can be dangers associated with this, particularly if the cords get tangled up in something they shouldn't, which is exactly what happened to a nine-year-old boy living in Louisiana.
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Ashtyn Pitts ran into his parents bedroom screaming on 19 October insisting that something was wrong, and after turning on the lights, they both realised what had happened.
The youngster's mother Lauren Morrow explained: "[Ashtyn and his brother] came into our room screaming saying something was wrong. Me and his dad got up and ran to their room and before we even got to their room, we could just smell burned plastic.
"Ashtyn pulled me to the side and was like 'mum something's wrong'. And he walked in the bathroom and we turned on the light and that's when I initially saw the burn marks on his neck and hand.
"My heart just fell out of my chest. You can't show emotion during a time like that because he would freak out. On the inside I was having a mini heart attack. I was horrified.
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"I ran to the medicine cabinet because I had some burn creams. I put it on his neck and he kept complaining about it hurting.
"He was charging his tablet in his bed and using the extension cord. The prongs connected to the extension cord from the charger came out just enough to where his necklace was and it shocked him.
"That's what woke him up was the initial shock. When he realised something was burning his neck that's when he ripped his necklace and that's where the burns on his hands came from. It burned his sheet cover and mattress top a little bit."
Ashtyn was rushed to hospital, where he and his parents learned that he had suffered second degree burns on his hands and third degree burns on his neck, something doctors suggested could have very easily been fatal.
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Lauren added: "It was a freak accident but it could have been a deadly freak accident and thank god that it wasn't.
"He could've slept right through that so I'm totally grateful. Even the doctors said the initial shock he got from the necklace touching the prongs is what saved his life.
"If it got any deeper on his neck it could've touched the artery on his neck and he could've bled out. It could've killed him."
While Ashtyn is still adjusting to his new war wounds, which are particularly painful on his hands, his mum is now keen to spread awareness of the dangers of charging devices so close to where you sleep.
She concluded: "He'll never charge his tablet on his bed again. We've told my kids that we don't like them charging stuff because this could happen.
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"During the weekdays they charge it in the kitchen but this was the weekend so we were lenient. They don't even get to put it in their bedrooms anymore and it's completely restricted to the kitchen.
"So many of us do it but let this be an eye opener to everyone that this is something you shouldn't do."