New US study warns generic phone chargers ‘can cause burns or electrocutions’
Doctors are warning consumers to avoid using generic phone chargers, after a new study found they can burn or electrocute users.
In a recent case study, the Annals of Emergency Medicine mentioned an unnamed woman, 19, who was injured in bed when her charger was under her pillow, Today reports. She was wearing a necklace when she felt “a sudden burning sensation and severe pain around her neck”.
Doctors suspect the second-degree burn occurred when the charger touched her chain necklace and transmitted an electric current, even though the charger was plugged into the outlet but not her phone.
While generic chargers are cheaper than those approved by phone carriers like Apple or Android, they “can cause burns or electrocutions”, according to Dr Carissa Bunke, who led the case study.
Last week, Madilynne Ferguson, of Louisiana, sustained a burn to her arm and sheets following a charger malfunction, KTBS reports.
“There was no smell at all,” Madilynne Ferguson told the outlet. “It could have burnt the house down.”
“There are different types of cables,” Eddie Prestopine, manager of CPR Cell Phone Repair, said at the time. “Apple has a tiny chip that corresponds with the phone, if it doesn’t have the chip it could bring too much power to the phone and overheat it.”
The study also found a “substantial” difference between safety testing and standards when comparing generic and brand-name chargers. There is also a risk when consumers pair a brand-name adapter with a generic wire, according to Dr Leigh Vinocur.
Though users should only leave a charger plugged into an outlet when charging a mobile device, Prestopine says keeping it plugged in once charging finishes could result in more overheating.
If a charger is not being used, but still plugged into an outlet, Bunke says, “it gives a direct line of contact from the outlet to a person’s skin, increasing the risk of electrical injury”. – New York Daily News/Tribune News Service
Source: TheStar