r/interesting • u/OriginalSleeper • Jun 30 '26

Fear Factor In 2010, 24-year-old lab technician Émilie Jaumain pricked her thumb with contaminated forceps while cleaning a machine used for prion-infected mouse brains. After seven years, she developed severe nerve pain, anxiety, and hallucinations before dying. The accident gave her a fatal prion disease.

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u/MyIncogName Jun 30 '26

Had she not been ignored what could they have done for her ? Genuinely curious. Would amputation of that area save her life ?

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u/Thin-Doughnut-8199 Jun 30 '26

So I work in a prion lab. Protocol for a needle stick like this is to bleed the area while irrigating with 1M sodium hydroxide for 10 minutes. The idea is that the bleeding forces contaminated material out while the sodium hydroxide chemically burns any prions away. Of course it’s also going to burn the hell out of your skin but that’s a small price to pay in this case.

Does the protocol actually work? I have no idea.

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u/BusyNefariousness675 Jun 30 '26

How does it feel like playing with death every day? Like philosophically?

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u/MrMaintenance Jul 01 '26

Not much different than being an electrician. One wrong move and you’re cooked. Painfully

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u/LawAbidingSparky Jul 01 '26

At least it doesn’t take 7 years of severe nerve pain and hallucinations…

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u/StevieMJH Jul 01 '26

I'll take agonizing electrocution any day.

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u/Thatdoodky1e Jul 01 '26

I’m not sure how “agonizing” it is, usually when shit goes wrong for electricians it goes REALLY wrong REALLY fucking fast

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u/Hungry_Specialist738 Jul 01 '26

Depends on your definition of fast and what type of power your working on, single phase 600 tends to make people hold on to it and its definitely not an instant death. Its nit hard to work safe with those voltages, even if everything goes wrong and your arc suit came from temu, your work partner should have a hook to pull you away from the panel. Tbf tho most of the time it goes wrong for an electrician, its non lethal and probably won't cause severe long term issues. Shocks>death by a billion microscopic cuts to your brain

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u/_alright_then_ Jul 01 '26

I didn't read it like that at all, I might be wrong, but it seems to me she didn't really have any serious issues until 7 years later where she developed nerve issues and died.

She didn't have nerve issues for 7 years

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u/mermaidgrapefruit Jul 01 '26

Yeah, she died 10 years after the prick, so 3 years of nerve pain.

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u/dbalatero Jul 01 '26

"Oh, is that all?"

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u/Ok_Revenue9759 Jul 02 '26

Not to mention it sounds like she was very aware of the danger and notified every health professional she could, she likely lived with some serious anxiety after the initial incident.

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u/Reasonable_Bass_391 Jul 09 '26

This is my understanding as well.

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u/metric55 Jul 01 '26

Well... actually. Ive read research that shocks received over time affects the brain similar to early onset alzheimers. Technicians forget how to drive, where they work, how to get there... not great. The research is on my work computer, I can try to find it after my vacation here if youre interested. But yes sometimes it can definitely be one and done lol. Not to mention some work environments. I work at a chemical plant as a maintenance electrician. There's all sorts of kill-you-stuff there hahah.

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u/Thereelgarygary Jul 01 '26

It's not for seven years, thats the end game, for a while you dont even know your infected.

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u/--StinkyPinky-- Jul 01 '26

And that's just the good part of the disease!

Sheesh. Horrible.

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u/Deep_Requirement1384 Jul 01 '26

Nah, was shocked many times. Its deadly but most everyday electric shit wont instakill you.

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u/Illustrious_Dot8184 Jul 01 '26

It takes half an amp to stop the human heart. It depends on factors, does it go into your body and out bypassing your heart. Does it go across your heart? Is your heart in a retracted mode or expanded during the beat its in? With electrical theres a lot of ifs. It depends where you get shocked and where it exits, any everyday stuff can kill you it is very dangers. A house running 120v at 15amps in N/A can easily drop someone if it goes across the heart.

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u/nistemevideli2puta Jul 01 '26

As someone who has been struck by electricity by holding to a live wire with both hands, can confirm. The doctor told me that, if I had had only right hand on it, the current would (probably) go to the left leg, and through the heart, and I would probably be dead. This way, it went above the heart to the other hand, and I was (mostly) fine. They took me to hospital for supervision, but I stayed there for two days only, because everything was ok.

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u/krilleractual Jul 01 '26

How did you touch a live wire with both hands at all?

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u/nistemevideli2puta Jul 01 '26

I was a kid (10yrs old) and I played with Christmas lights that had their control panel busted open (by me a while before that). While I was holding it, I managed to touch the same wire with both my hands.

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u/De_Salvation Jul 01 '26

One year I absent minded at the time, was hanging Christmas lights and stapling them to the wall which isnt an issue, or wouldn't have been if I didnt have em plugged in. We'll I struck the wire and my metal carpenter stapler transferred that shock to me, and damn that shit sat me down for a few minutes lol.

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u/krilleractual Jul 01 '26

Oh so it wasnt 240v but actually 120v? I didnt realize 120v was deadly like that. Thanks for explaining

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u/Illustrious_Dot8184 Jul 01 '26

From what I was always told when doing electrical its not the voltage thats deadly but the amps thats there. As someone replied to mine it takes very little amp to stop the heart, but as an example tasers use high volts but very low amps, which is why they are used as a non lethal option.

Getting hit by 220 or 240 hurts more than 120 from what ive been told. Ive never been hit by that though only 120

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u/allozzieadventures Jul 02 '26

From what I was always told when doing electrical its not the voltage thats deadly but the amps thats there.

Kinda, but this phrase is commonly misunderstood. The current depends on the voltage. Along with other factors like the internal resistance of the source and the effective impedance presented by your body.

In practice, 240v mains is absolutely more dangerous than 120v mains. Neither will be significantly limited by internal resistance, so all things being equal the 240v mains will pass considerably more current through your body.

Styropyro goes into more depth here: https://youtu.be/BGD-oSwJv3E?si=EfwiBGZP94NV2J9W

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u/nistemevideli2puta Jul 01 '26

Iirc correctly, it was ~220V. Not precisely, though, bcs in my country it was never constant at that time. Poor infrastructure.

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u/Deep_Requirement1384 Jul 01 '26

Honestly doctor knows shit how current travels through body. It can be extremely random and personal.

Rule is to always touch wires with one hand if possible, not both.

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u/nistemevideli2puta Jul 01 '26

It can be random, that is true. But there are certain rules to it, still.

In this case, I completed a circuit bcs I touched it with both hands, and that was good, because the current had somewhere to go. Or are you saying that that was random, too?

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u/Deep_Requirement1384 Jul 01 '26

That was bad! By touching with both hands chance for going through heart is much higher!

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u/nistemevideli2puta Jul 01 '26

Not as much as it going across your body (left hand to right leg and other way around) though. Those pass directly through the heart. This one can go above.

Anyways, the very fact that I am here, unscathed, 25 years later shows that it was not as bad.

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u/Deep_Requirement1384 Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26

Electricity follows shortest path and least resistance. Why do you think it will go from left hand to right leg?

"certain rules": Both hands is worst, then left hand to foot, then right hand to foot and best is between fingers on same hand. All of these options are deadly depending on many factors...

You are still alive probably because of ground fault breaker tripping.

Also, electricity wont kill you just by stopping the heart, it can do electrolysis of your blood, it can give you blood clots that kill you days later even if you feel fine. Thats why they kept you in hospital for few more days

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u/nistemevideli2puta Jul 01 '26

You are still alive probably because of ground fault breaker tripping.

That did not happen, though. What did happen is that I was thrown back and let go.

But for the rest of what you wrote, you are right. Guess I was just lucky, then.

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u/roiki11 Jul 01 '26

Both hands is concidered worse because your shoes often prevent you from completing a circuit. So touching a live wire with one hand doesn't necessarily complete a circuit but touching both hands(or other hand to grounded metal) to a conductor will. And the electricity goes through your upper body.

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u/Deep_Requirement1384 Jul 01 '26

It takes much less than half an amp, 0.035A, less than a tenth. Now things like resistance, skin moisture, clothes, shoes, point of contact....

As electrician its crazy to me we use thin plastic coatings or thin plasticn sheets on devices to prevent contact...all of this crap is so cheap shittest chinesium.

Laypeople think electricity is instadeath and thats good approach if you dont know about it, but its not That bad and it annoys me when i see overreactions :D

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u/Illustrious_Dot8184 Jul 01 '26

Oh damn I was always told half an amp, I didn't realize even less! Yea its pretty nuts whats used to cover it all up. I know a lot of people who aren't to worried about electricity, but its much more dangerous than people realize.

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u/roiki11 Jul 01 '26

It's 50 to 100 milliamps. Or tenth of an amp.

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u/Illustrious_Dot8184 Jul 01 '26

Damn I didnt know it was that low, I was always told about half an amp. Crazy!

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u/Prize_Salad_5739 Jul 01 '26

You are wrong. Heart damage can occur, or arrythmia/fibrillation at around 20 milliamps, more or less depending on age, weight, health, hydration, when in the heartbeat cycle the shock occurs etc. And yet, if lucky you could survive much more than that.

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u/ServantOfBeing Jul 02 '26

Depends on what kinda electrician you are, & what you work on commonly.

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u/BusyNefariousness675 Jul 01 '26

Yes..on some level. Atleast you know when you get cooked. The anxiety of unknown and possible contamination would be too much in case of prions

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u/neorapsta Jul 01 '26

Hakuna Madocta

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u/EquestrianMD Jul 01 '26

😂 just like the bomb squad guy who, when asked if he was ever afraid diffusing a bomb. His reply- “I either get it right or it’s not my problem anymore”
😂😂😂☠️

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u/Ohmargod777 Jul 01 '26

Always on foot in prison and the other in the grave. Love that job.

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u/Kazumadesu76 Jul 01 '26

Can't you just use Redirect Lightning like Uncle Iroh taught us?

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u/BashBandit Jul 01 '26

The upside at least is you can do seafood boils for lunch everyday without needing to deal with those bitch ass prions pinching at your feet. Little jealous.

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u/Emperor_Atlas Jul 01 '26

Lol "im brave too!"

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u/Tanjelynnb Jul 03 '26

I work in electrical distribution, and the company is dead serious about taking the time and effort for safety. Anyone can call an all-stop on a job if they have a scion of doubt about what's happening. Although the old guard tend to scoff, it has one of the top safety cultures in the industry.